1 Peter 5 1 4 Pastoral Beattitudes Background

1 Peter 5: 1 -4 Pastoral Beattitudes

Background to the Book • Peter is writing this as a man who has been transformed in regard to his view of suffering for God. • Peter is writing this letter to people scattered throughout Turkey who are also suffering for their faith. • Peter wants to teach them the right perspective, the right attitude and the right hope for all people who suffer for Christ. • There is a chain of 34 imperatives from 1: 13 -5: 9 – It’s a highly authoritative approach yet borne out of a heart of compassion.

Themes in 1 Peter Suffering in not a disgrace, but a grace filled opportunity. Suffering is the path to glory not the detour. Live by God’s promises and grace instead of your own reason. Seek to change your attitude during suffering and not your circumstances. Find value in your Christian identity as an heir of heaven. Trust God’s plan in all things. Follow Christ’s example. Use your suffering to shine the light of God’s love and hope into the hearts of your oppressors. • Heaven is your home. Earth is your pilgrimage of faith, love and witness. • •

An Editorial on 1 Peter and Suffering Jesus suffered vicariously for us to save our souls. Christians suffer vicariously for him in order to bring his love to others. (Colossians 1: 24 -27) God’s grace for us in Christ leads us to extend his grace to others through willing suffering with a hope filled heart under the pressure brought upon us by our persecutors. Peter gives us his own summary statement for his letter in 5: 12. “… I have written to you briefly encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which we stand. ” The true grace of God is his promise of forgiveness now and ultimate deliverance at the end. That gracious promise enables us to stand firm in faith, hope and love in the face of suffering. Our faith during suffering reveals God to others. That is worth a lot in God’s sight.

Our Natural Aversion to Suffering We are not born understanding this great value of suffering. Instead, we have a natural aversion to it, fighting it all the way. I would guess not many prosperity preachers would make use of 1 Peter to encourage their people to believe God for more earthly blessings. Understanding God’s will for suffering Christians is a process of ardent Christian growth. With God’s Word mixed in the school of experience every Christian goes through the same metamorphosis as Peter. We go from trying to control our own lives and circumstances to sublime trust in a faithful Creator who is doing great things when it looks like he is doing nothing at all. We know he is using our suffering to accomplish purposes in us and around us that have eternal consequences. These are the truths that 1 Peter teaches. Peter leads us from seeking temporary prosperity to trusting God’s promises of an eternal prosperity already purchased. That trust leads us to new and better attitudes and actions during suffering.

The Context of 1 Peter is Godly Suffering Remember that this section about elders/pastors is found in a book which teaches Christian suffering as a way of life throughout the entire book. Not many of us graduated the seminary thinking we would necessarily have to suffer in the ministry. Our culture and therefore our church go to great length to avoid suffering and help it’ people avoid it too. So, we maybe thought suffering would plague all of us a little bit and some of us quite a bit but we all dreamily hoped we would never suffer a lot as a pastor. We did not want to be part of that select few. Peter understands. That’s how he began his journey following Jesus. But this is a changed Peter and aims to change us too. What follows is a mild exegesis of the verses with emphasis on how to apply them to our pastoral ministries.

The Structure of 1 Peter 5: 1 -4 Pastoral Beattitudes Verse 1) Introduced by: 1) the twin themes of suffering/glory and 2) purposeful bonding between Peter and the Pastors Verse 2 and 3) Three adverbial descriptors of pastoral (shepherding) attitudes. Verse 4) A promise rooted in the twin themes of suffering and glory and a connection to Christ and as the chief shepherd.

1 Peter 5: 1 -4 in English 1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them— not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

1 Peter 5: 1 – Questions about the Greek. 1Πρεσβυτέρους τοὺς ἐν ὑμῖν παρακαλῶ ὁ συμπρεσβύτερος καὶ μάρτυς τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ παθημάτων, ὁ καὶ τῆς μελλούσης ἀποκαλύπτεσθαι δόξης κοινωνός 1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed. ----------------------------------What is a Πρεσβυτέρους? Why not ἐπισκοπῆς? What picture is in the word παρακαλῶ? What is a μάρτυς? What παθημάτων of Christ is Peter referring to? Why is κοινωνός at the end of the sentence?

1 Peter 5: 1 – Questions about the verse. 1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Where have the fraternal twin themes of suffering/glory appeared in this letter before? In what two ways do we see Peter bonding with the pastors he addresses? What point is he making by calling himself a witness of Christ’s sufferings? (5: 12)

1 Peter 5: 1 – Discussion Questions Why is it so important for Peter to bond with us in regard to sufferings and glory when he writes about our pastoral attitude? How are themes of Peter’s talk with Jesus in John 21 shining through here? How would Jesus and Peter help us deal with the sufferings we have as pastors as we confront and chase after the sheep?

1 Peter 5: 2 a – Questions about the Greek 2 ποιμάνατε τὸ ἐν ὑμῖν ποίμνιον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπισκοποῦντες 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them— ------------------------------------------What does ποιμάνατε mean? What kind of genitive do you think τοῦ θεοῦ is? What does ἐπισκοποῦντες mean? What kind of participle is it? How is ἐπισκοποῦντες root word used as a noun in other places?

1 Peter 5: 2 a – Questions about the verse. 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them— What thought does Peter communicate by using the words “watching over them” to modify “be shepherds”?

1 Peter 5: 2 a – Discussion Questions How does the picture of a shepherd help us see the high calling we have? What specific shepherding burdens tend to wear on our attitudes? What are some reasons we are tempted to shirk our responsibilities as shepherds? How can we view ourselves as shepherds but avoid a “messiah complex”?

1 Peter 5: 2 b Questions about the Greek μὴ ἀναγκαστῶς ἀλλʼ ἑκουσίως κατὰ θεόν, not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; ---------------------------------------What does ἀναγκαστῶς mean? What does ἑκουσίως mean? What thought does κατὰ θεόv convey? (Law or Gospel)

1 Peter 5: 2 b – Questions about the verse. not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; What does it look like to go see people from your flock just because it’s your job? What truly makes you willing to be a shepherd to people, even the gremlins? Why does God want us to be willing?

1 Peter 5: 2 c – Questions about the Greek μηδὲ αἰσχροκερδῶς ἀλλὰ προθύμως, not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; --------------------------What does αἰσχροκερδῶς mean? What does προθύμως mean?

1 Peter 2 c – Questions about the verse not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; What does “seeking gain” in the ministry look like? How does getting paid as a pastor affect us in our hearts? Where in lies the dishonesty when we are seeking gain in the ministry? What does it look like when we are eager to serve?

Discussion Questions How can a pastor learn to detect the urge to seek dishonest gain in his heart? When we notice our “seeking to serve” is gone, what practical and devotional steps can we take to get ourselves back to the right attitude? Why is it hard to hang out with Jesus in prayer and devotion when we are feeling burned out?

1 Peter 5: 3 – Questions about the Greek 3 μηδʼ ὡς κατακυριεύοντες τῶν κλήρων ἀλλὰ τύποι γινόμενοι τοῦ ποιμνίου2 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. ---------------------------What does κατακυριεύοντες mean? What is the nuance of the κλήρων and how does that embellish the message of this verse?

1 Peter 5: 3 – Questions about the verse 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. What does a pastor who is “lording over” his people look like today? What do the words “those entrusted to you” make a perceptive pastor feel about his flock? (Acts 20: 28)

1 Peter 5: 3 – Discussions Questions If our flock was entrusted to us by God’s decree (κλήρων) what does that say about our inner rejection of them when wish we had a different flock? How can we “lord it over” our flock in our hearts when they cannot see it in our actions as much? How is being an example the opposite of lording it over? What specific areas ought a pastor to become an example for his people?

1 Peter 5: 4 – Questions about the Greek 4 καὶ φανερωθέντος τοῦ ἀρχιποίμενος κομιεῖσθε τὸν ἀμαράντινον τῆς δόξης στέφανον. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. ------------------------------------------------What does the hapax legomenon, ἀρχιποίμενος mean? Why might Peter have used the word κομιεῖσθε instead of λαμβάνω? (cf. 2 Cor. 5: 10) What is the picture in the word τὸν ἀμαράντινον? What was the τῆς δόξης στέφανον in that day?

1 Peter 5: 4 – Questions about the verse 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. Why would Peter not mention Christ’s name but use the hapax legomenon, ἀρχιποίμενος, Chief Shepherd, here? The words “crown of glory that will never fade away” remind us of our inheritance that Peter mentions in chapter 1. Why is Peter using this theme? According to this entire Scripture what is Jesus going to commend and not commend shepherds for when he returns?

1 Peter 5: 4 – Discussion Questions How does this verse help cleanse us of envy when we see the earthly wealth of even our members who chose a secular career over the ministry? (cars in the parking lot, homes, vacations) Our pastoral ministry is a singular focus for a singular person because of his singular love for people. Explain. How might the vision of an NFL Quarterback/coach relationship help us see the unique calling we have? How can we use the hope of heavenly glory to assuage pastoral disappointments?

Main Ideas God loves people. That’s why he sent Jesus to save them. God loves people. That’s why he sends us to shepherd them. Shepherding people is the highest and holiest calling on earth. Shepherding people is the hardest calling on earth. It is appointed for us who have been gifted the high calling to also suffer in it for Jesus’ sake. Our attitudes and motives as we serve as pastors are very important to God can create and restore a good attitude in any of us without changing our circumstances.

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