Good Shepherds Emmanuel Baptist Church of Nipawin Sermons

Passage: 1 Peter 5:1-5 | Message By: Chris Hutchison | Series: Thriving in ExileI wonder if you’ve ever read someone else’s mail. Maybe you got an email sent to the wrong address, or ripped open a package before realizing it had the wrong name on the label. Maybe you’ve read one of those “open letters” written to a specific person but actually meant to be read by the public.



You might get the feeling of reading someone else’s mail as we get in to our passage today. We’ve been enjoying celebrating the resurrection this morning, but for a few reasons the elders decided we’d keep going with our 1st Peter series this morning. And in our passage, most of these words are not addressed to the whole church but to the smaller group of leaders known as elders. And you might wonder whether it’s worthwhile to spend time thinking about these words that aren’t really for you.



I hope you hang in there today, because, as we’re going to see, these words are for you. Peter’s “open letter” to the elders is full of things that you need to know, and which really matter to you in ways you might find surprising.



So let’s dig in and see where this goes.



1. To the Elders



Let’s remember, first, that we’ve just come out of a bigger section in 1 Peter, beginning back in chapter 3, focused on the reality of suffering in the lives of God’s people. Peter’s been encouraging us to to suffer well and showing us how to suffer well. And last week Jordan walked us through verses 12-19 of chapter 4, which he said was the conclusion to this whole section.



Except that wasn’t quite right. Because look at how our passage opens: “So.” This word also could mean “then” or “therefore.” And it’s sad that this little word doesn’t show up in some English translations because it really matters. What Peter says in this passage is very connected to what he’s just said in chapter 4. As Peter thinks about Christians suffering, he especially thinks about elders who will suffer. Elders, as leaders, will often face the brunt of opposition to the truth.



But there’s an even more specific connection. If you look at verses 17 and 18 of chapter 4, we read that judgement is going to begin at the household of God. As Jordan pointed out last week, these words are drawn from Ezekiel 9, which records a vision of judgement on God’s people which begins at his house. And what does Ezekiel 9:6 say about this judgement? “So they begin with the elders who were before the house.”



The people of Israel were led by a group of elders. And these leaders, these elders, were the first to be judged. New Testament churches were also led by groups of leaders known as elders. And as these churches experienced the purifying, testing judgement of God in the form of persecution, Peter has Ezekiel 9 in his mind and knows that the elders are going to be first in line.



Which means that the instruction to elders in verses 1-4 is not just some blessed afterthought to this letter. “I guess I should say some things to the leaders before I sign off.” No, these are battle plans. Marching orders. This is what elders need to know in order to lead the people of God well while taking fire.



Peter’s Identity (v. 1)



But before Peter gives them any instruction, he starts with his own identity. Verse 1: “So I exhort the elder among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed.”



Peter probably knows that the elders will better receive and appreciate his instruction if they know who it’s coming from. And there’s three elements to his mini-biography here. First, he identifies himself as a “fellow elder.” And I think this is just wonderfully humble. Even though he was an apostle, even though he had been given special authority by Jesus,