Elders (1 Peter 5:1-4)

This sermon was preached on 22/12/2011

The people of God to whom Peter was writing were facing difficulties. Some had already known the consequences of persecution, and the situation was liable to get worse. We can imagine all kinds of consequences: the fears some may have had of not being strong enough to continue their witness in the face of never-ending opposition; the sorrow and perplexity of those who had lost possessions and, worse, their loved ones; the normal circumstances of church life such as coping with temptations, looking for guidance, seeking for sympathy, provision of spiritual food, and so on. What does Peter do as he proceeds to advise them? He could have repeated an exhortation to look to the Lord, and there is no doubt that the apostle would have stressed the importance and necessity of such a response. Yet he also knew that the Lord uses means, and one of those means is the elders that rule the various congregations of God’s people. In a war, the victory is usually one by the side with the best commanders. The church was and is in a war and a lot is required of its leaders. Peter knew that as well and therefore he begins by encouraging them.

What is an elder (v. 1)?

The term ‘elder’ here is presbuteros, from which we get the word Presbyterian, although the idea of elders is not limited to Presbyterian denominations. It usually occurs in the plural, a reminder that it is not right for a church to have only one elder as some other ecclesiastical systems have (the only Pauline greeting that mentions ‘elders’ is his greeting to the church in Philippi). The eldership role was probably taken over from Jewish practice and the little information we have about the apostolic practice is that elders were chosen by popular vote. The description so far is an ecclesiastical answer to the question, but there is more to the role than being a plural group selected by church members. So what else is an elder?

Paul answers this question in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9 and in those passages he basically focuses on the character and duties of an elder (there he calls them by the name bishop or overseer). It is a very searching list of items and those of us who are elders should go through them often, asking for divine help to live in such ways. But we will focus on Peter’s description of an elder.

The answer to our question, says Peter, is threefold. First, it is an honourable position. We see this aspect in Peter’s wish to be identified as an elder. After all, he had a more important role, that of an apostle (incidentally this is one of the verses from which it is deduced that lesser offices are included in greater ones, so those who hold to this interpretation would say that Peter was also a deacon). Yet he also wanted to be identified as an elder (Peter is not the only apostle who speaks in this way – the apostle John also calls himself an elder in his second and third letters). He recognised that it was an honourable role.

We can also see an aspect of its honourableness in the way Peter says that he and the elders to which he is writing are ‘fellow-elders’. In other words, he does not grade elders. We have a distinction between them in the use of ‘teaching elders’ and ‘ruling elders’. I have heard this distinction expressed wrongly: it is often said that some elders are teaching elders and the rest are ruling elders. The correct way to describe them is that they are all ruling elders and some are full-time teaching elders. But they have equal authority in the church. Another abuse of this aspect is when an elder is referred to as a ‘chief elder’ or as a ‘senior elder’. If all that is meant is that he is older than the others, then it is harmless. But if it is used to suggest that he has more authority, then it is a wrong description.

Peter reminds us that an elder should be respected because he has an honourable role. He then mentions that in addition to being an elder he is also a witness of the sufferings of Christ. Peter cannot mean that he was a literal witness of what Jesus endured at the hands of various authorities and on the cross. The apostle was not present when Jesus suffered in these ways. Instead he is saying that he was selected by Jesus to testify about what Jesus suffered, not only in a physical sense, but also concerning his atoning sufferings. And that is what elders are as well – they have been selected to testify about the atoning sufferings of Christ. We can see how this would be relevant at a time when his followers were suffering for him. They would need to be reminded of the greater sufferings of Christ.

The third feature that Peter shares with the elders is that he, with them, will partake of the glory that is ahead. Partaking has the idea of inheriting, and people normally look forward to what is going to become theirs in the future. Thinking of the glory to come will make them suitable leaders of the church in the present. What the church needs is not leaders who know a lot about this world; instead it needs leaders who are an example in heavenly-mindedness.

So what is an elder? He is a person who is an honourable ruler of Christ’s church with other rulers who are equal to him in authority; he is one who testifies to the atoning sufferings of Jesus whether in a public occasion or in a more private manner; and he is a person whose mind is in heaven and who anticipates the glory ahead once the troubles of this life are over. So we should see that an elder is a crucial individual in Christ’s church and such people have a very important role to play.

What does an elder do (vv. 2-3)

Peter reminds the elders that they have to care for Christ’s flock as shepherds. They do this by ‘exercising oversight’. Now Peter stresses some aspects which we may pass over. The term ‘flock’ is a way of expressing endearment. Of course, they are God’s flock, the ones whom God loves and cares for. So Peter is reminding the elders that the ones they are looking after are those whom God is very tender towards. It is as if the apostle is saying, ‘Tend them in a manner as to how God would deal with them.’

The basic way in which they care for the flock is by ‘exercising oversight’. The idea here is superintendence of the flock. Clearly, the obvious feature of a superintendant is presence – it is impossible to function as an absent superintendant. Yet the temptation to keep one’s distance would be very strong in a time of difficulty or persecution. Peter is reminding the elders that they cannot abandon the flock that God has put in their care.

What did a literal shepherd do when he was caring for his flock? He provided them with food, he guided them through the day, and he protected them from danger. We can easily see how such applies to the role of an elder. He ensures that proper instruction is given, that proper decisions are made, and that dangers are pointed out and avoided. Those who are teaching elders will do this publicly but all elders are expected to do this for God’s flock. So we can imagine elders finding some of Christ’s suffering people or frightened people or about-to-deny him people and giving them appropriate encouragements from God’s Word. And in situations where persecution is not the problem, they have to ensure that other dangers, such as worldliness, does not affect God’s flock.

Peter mentions three temptations that will affect Christian leaders. They are a reluctant attitude, an intention to get wrong profit, and a dictatorial spirit. I would be a very poor shepherd of literal sheep. I admire men (and women) who will spend hours looking after those silly animals, and who will shed tears when they are taken away to the slaughter-house.

First, an elder will not want to leave one of Christ’s sheep in spiritual distress; he may find that he cannot help the struggling believer, but he cannot remain indifferent. When he finds himself out of his depth, he will call out to the Chief Shepherd for help, and it is amazing how quickly the right words come. But a reluctant person will forget to pray truly for divine help. He might offer a prayer as an attempt not to get involved, but that does not work. Reluctance is a terrible attitude in a professed carer of Christ’s sheep. The true elder will continually say to himself, ‘How would God want me to deal with this sheep?’

Second, an elder will not use Christ’s sheep as a means of self-promotion. This means that he does nothing with the aim of getting a reward for doing it. It is inevitable that those who are helped will express their gratitude and that is a different matter. But it is possible, for example, for an elder not to pay any attention to a Christian who is poor but instead to spend his energies on those he knows will help him in a variety of ways. In other words, this kind of temptation is a reversal of what should happen. Instead of working to help the other person, this kind of elder works in order to be helped by the other person. Peter says such a motive is wrong.

Third, an elder will not be a bully (domineering), forcing others to do what he wants, even when he is right. Peter himself is an example of how elders should behave: he as an apostle could have coerced his fellow-elders to obey him, but he had learned a better way of achieving his goal. There are bullies in the Christian church, and they often use orthodox language. Yet bullies are very ineffective in a spiritual way and instead of helping develop church life they destroy it. The best remedy for stifling such a danger is for the elder to remember that the flock belongs to God. An elder should never exhort someone to perform a spiritual duty he is refusing to do himself. Instead he is to be an example to the flock. If we run through the list of qualifications for eldership in 1 Timothy 1 and Titus 1, we will see that apart from being apt to teach all the other qualifications should be found in every Christian. In other words, what distinguishes an elder is that he is a consistently good example – not a perfect example, but a person who is growing in grace. When an elder lives like this, he does not have to be a bully.

What will an elder get (v. 4)?

Peter reminds his fellow-elders that if they serve Christ well they will receive from him ‘the unfading crown of glory’. This is obviously a form of reward, but it will not be given by an appreciative church (that can happen in this world and it is a good thing to do for all faithful elders); instead it will be given by a pleased Master.

What will the reward include? One aspect will be for an elder to see in glory those he helped when he was an elder. He may not have realised the way that the Lord was blessing such involvement, but he will see that the Lord did use him. He will discover that the hours he thought were fruitless, the many prayers he offered and thought were not heard, were actually the opposite and he now sees those individuals reflecting the glory of Jesus.

Another aspect is that the enjoyment of the reward never diminishes. The reward will be an eternal reminder that Jesus, who never forgets, is always pleased with what his dedicated elders did for his flock that he left in their care.

The other aspects? We can wait until we get there to find out! Meanwhile we have a call as a congregation to pray for our elders and submit to them, and for our elders to continue to tend the flock of God.