1 Peter 5:1

5:1-4 The apostle Peter does not command, but exhorts. He does not claim power to rule over all pastors and churches. It was the peculiar honour of Peter and a few more, to be witnesses of Christ's sufferings; but it is the privilege of all true Christians to partake of the glory that shall be revealed. These poor, dispersed, suffering Christians, were the flock of God, redeemed to God by the great Shepherd, living in holy love and communion, according to the will of God. They are also dignified with the title of God's heritage or clergy; his peculiar lot, chosen for his own people, to enjoy his special favour, and to do him special service. Christ is the chief Shepherd of the whole flock and heritage of God. And all faithful ministers will receive a crown of unfading glory, infinitely better and more honourable than all the authority, wealth, and pleasure of the world.

The {1} elders which are among you {2} I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: (1) He describes peculiarly the office of the Elders, that is to say, of them that have the care of the Church. (2) He uses a preface concerning the circumstance of his own person: that is, that he as their companion communes with them not of manners which he knows not, but in which he is as well experienced as any, and propounds to them no other condition but that which he himself has sustained before them, and still takes the same trouble, and also has the same hope together with them.

1 Peter 5:1 . The elders which are among you I exhort — This was a name of office belonging to those who were appointed to feed and oversee the flock of Christ. They are indifferently called bishops, pastors, or rulers. The apostle addresses them here particularly, because the knowledge and good behaviour of the people depend, in a great measure, upon the kind of instruction which they receive from their teachers, and upon the care which their teachers take of them: who am also an elder — Or rather, a fellow- elder, as συμπρεσβυτερος signifies. So Peter, the first, and one of the chief, though not the head, of the apostles, appositely and modestly styles himself. Commentators justly observe, that if Peter had been the prince of the apostles, as the Papists affirm, he would in this place, and in the inscription of his two epistles, certainly have assumed to himself that high prerogative. And a witness of the sufferings of Christ — Having seen him suffer, and now suffering with him. “One of the purposes for which Christ chose twelve of his disciples to be with him always was, that, having heard his discourses, and seen his miracles and sufferings, they might be able to testify these things to the world as what they themselves heard and saw.

Wherefore μαρτυς , a witness, in this passage, signifies not only one who was present at a transaction, but who testifies it to others.” These two circumstances of Peter’s being a fellow-elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, are mentioned by him to give weight to his exhortation. And also a partaker — That is, hoping to be a partaker; of the glory that shall be revealed — When he shall appear the second time, in circumstances so different from those in which he appeared before; a glory which shall be bestowed on all faithful pastors, in different degrees; yea, and on all his genuine followers.

Also an elder (συμπρεσβύτερος) Only here in New Testament. Better, as Rev., fellow-elder. The expression is decisive against the primacy of Peter. Witness (μάρτυς) The word is used in the New Testament to denote (a) a spectator or eye-witness (Acts 10:39; Acts 6:13). (b) One who testifies to what he has seen (Acts 1:8; Acts 5:32). (c) In the forensic sense, a witness in court (Matthew 26:65; Mark 14:63). (d) One who vindicates his testimony by suffering: a martyr (Acts 22:20; Hebrews 12:1; Revelation 2:13; Revelation 17:6). The first three meanings run into each other. The eye-witness, as a spectator, is always such with a view to giving testimony. Hence this expression of Peter cannot be limited to the mere fact of his having seen what he preached; especially since, when he wishes to emphasize this fact, he employs another word, ἐπόπτης (2 Peter 1:16). Therefore he speaks of himself as a witness, especially in the sense of being called to testify of what he has seen. Partaker (κοινωνός) This use of the word, expressing a present realization of something not yet attained, occurs in no other writer in the New Testament. See on 2 Peter 1:4.

1 Peter 5:1 . Πρεσβυτέρους , elders ) A title of office, in 1 Peter 5:2 ; and of age, in 1 Peter 5:5 .— συμπρεσβύτερος , a fellow-elder ) Mutual exhortation has great weight among equals and colleagues. With propriety and modesty does the first of the apostles thus speak of himself.— καὶ μάρτυς , and a witness ) Peter had both witnessed the sufferings of the Lord Himself, and he was now enduring sufferings.— δόξης , of glory ) 1 Peter 5:4 ; 2 Peter 1:16 .— κοινωνὸς , a partaker ) Apocalypse Revelation 1:9 . An incentive to good shepherds.

1 Peter 5:1 . οὖν , therefore —since your suffering is according to God’s will and calls only for the normal self-devotion, which Christ required of His disciples—go on with the duties of the station of life in which you are called.— πρεσβυτέρους , not merely older men as contrasted with younger ( 1 Peter 5:5 ), but elders , such as had been appointed by Paul and Barnabas in the Churches of Southern Asia ( Acts 14:23 ). The collective τῶν κλήρων ( 1 Peter 5:3 ) and the exhortation, shepherd the flock ( 1 Peter 5:2 ) prove that they are the official heads of the communities addressed. Similarly St. Paul bade the elders of the Church ( Acts 20:17 ) at Ephesus take heed to themselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit appointed you overseers . The use of the term in direct address here carries with it a suggestion of the natural meaning of the word and perhaps also of the early technical sense, one of the first generation of Christians Both Jews and Gentiles were familiar with the title which was naturally conferred upon those who were qualified in point of years; the youthful Timothy was a marked exception to the general rule ( 1 Timothy 4:12 ).— ἐν ὑμῖν . Peter does not address them as mere officials, your elders , but prefers a vaguer form of expression, elders who are among you; cf. τὸ ἐν ὑμῖν ποίμνιον , which also evades any impairing of the principle, ye are Christ’s .— ὁ συμπρεσβύτερος … κοινωνός . This self-designation justifies Peter’s right to exhort them.

He is elder like them, in all senses of the word. If their sufferings occupy their mind, he was witness of the sufferings of Christ; of his own, if any, he does not speak. He has invited them to dwell rather on the thought of the future glory and this he is confident of sharing.— μάρτυς … παθημάτων . Such experience was the essential qualification of an Apostle in the strict sense; only those who were companions of the Twelve in all the time from John’s baptism to the Assumption or at least witnesses of the Resurrection ( Acts 1:22 ) were eligible; as Jesus said, the Paraclete shall testify and do you testify because ye are with Me from the beginning ( John 15:27 ). That he speaks of the sufferings and not of the resurrection which made the sufferer Messiah, is due partly to the circumstances of his readers, partly to his own experience. For him these sufferings had once overshadowed the glory; he could sympathise with those oppressed by persecution and reproach, who understood now, as little as he then, that it was all part of the sufferings of the Messiah. He had witnessed but at the last test refused to share them.— ὁ … κοινωνός . Peter will share the future glory which Christ already enjoys for it was said to him, Thou shall follow afterward ( John 13:36 ). St.

CHAPTER 5 1Pe 5:1-14. Exhortations to Elders, Juniors, and All in General. Parting Prayer. Conclusion. 1. elders—alike in office and age (1Pe 5:5). I … also an elder—To put one's self on a level with those whom we exhort, gives weight to one's exhortations (compare 2Jo 1, 2). Peter, in true humility for the Gospel's sake, does not put forward his apostleship here, wherein he presided over the elders. In the apostleship the apostles have no successors, for "the signs of an apostle" have not been transmitted. The presidents over the presbyters and deacons, by whatever name designated, angel, bishop, or moderator, &c., though of the same ORDER as the presbyters, yet have virtually succeeded to a superintendency of the Church analogous to that exercised by the apostles (this superintendency and priority existed from the earliest times after the apostles [Tertullian]); just as the Jewish synagogue (the model which the Church followed) was governed by a council of presbyters, presided over by one of themselves, "the chief ruler of the synagogue." (Compare Vitringa [Synagogue and Temple, Part II, chs. 3 and 7]). witness—an eye-witness of Christ's sufferings, and so qualified to exhort you to believing patience in suffering for well-doing after His example (1Pe 4:19; 2:20). This explains the "therefore" inserted in the oldest manuscripts, "I therefore exhort," resuming exhortation from 1Pe 4:19.

His higher dignity as an apostle is herein delicately implied, as eye-witnessing was a necessary qualification for apostleship: compare Peter's own speeches, Ac 1:21, 22; 2:32; 10:39. also—implying the righteous recompense corresponding to the sufferings. partaker of the glory—according to Christ's promise; an earnest of which was given in the transfiguration.1 Peter 5:1-4 The elders are exhorted to feed the flock of Christconscientiously, looking to the chief Shepherd fora reward.1 Peter 5:5 The younger are required to submit to the elder, andall to practise humility toward each other,1 Peter 5:6,7 with resignation to God,1 Peter 5:8,9 to be sober, watchful, and stedfast in the faith,resisting the devil.1 Peter 5:10-14 The Epistle is concluded with a prayer and benediction. The elders which are among you I exhort; viz. those that were such, not so much by age as by office, as appears by his exhorting them to feed the flock, 1 Peter 5:2; he means the ordinary ministers of the churches among the believing Jews. Who am also an elder: elder is a general name, comprehending under it even apostles themselves, who were elders, though every elder were not an apostle. And a witness; either: 1. In his doctrine, in which he held forth Christ’s sufferings, whereof he had been an eye-witness, in which respect the apostles are often called witnesses, Luke 24:48 Acts 1:8,22 2:32. Or: 2.