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1 Peter chapter 5. I'm going to read verses 1-9 and set the tone for this message. Uh our focus will be on verse 5.
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Therefore I exhort the elders among you as fellow as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ and a partaker also of the glory to be revealed. Shepherd the flock of God
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among you exercising oversight not under compulsion but voluntarily according to the will of God and not for sort of gain but with eagerness. nor yet as lording
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it over those allotted to your charge for proving to be examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of
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glory. You glory. You likewise be subject to your elders. And all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another. For God is
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opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon him,
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because he cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert, your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. but
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resist him firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. Let us pray.
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Our heavenly father, we invite you by the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts to give us that light that you promise in
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the unfolding of your word that you would help us to meditate on these things to understand to apply them to our lives to be as
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James called us to be doers and not hearers And so again, we ask, Father, that you would speak and you would do a work in
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this church building it up to be in glory to you. In Christ's name we pray.
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Pride. Human pride is like a disease that can be treated but never fully cured. Parkinson's is one of those diseases.
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It's a chronic progressive disorder that causes one to experience certain physical and cognitive changes in the body that can weaken one's ability to
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control limb movements to speak or to even do daily tasks like brushing your teeth or eating your cereal.
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There are treatments to alleviate alleviate the symptoms, but there is no known cure.
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Pride is a disorder that weakens the ability of the body of Christ to function as it's supposed to do to do the daily tasks of life as a body of
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believers. It manifests itself in several ways but generally as I thought about this I think it encompasses two forms. Pride is the human tendency to think of
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ourselves other than the way God thinks of us. of us. But pride is also our tendency to think of God other than the way that God wants
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us to think of him. It's as if we have the little license plates on our back that says in me I trust.
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We trust ourselves. We trust the resources that we have. We are the center of the universe. We are our chief
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In chapter five, Peter focuses on now matters within the community of believers rather than as he has in chapter 4, threats from outside. And perhaps he focuses on the matters within
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the community of believers. Now because of threats from the outside create conflict, create tension,
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create matters which disrupt the unity and functioning of the mind.
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In verses 1-4, Peter is addressing the elders that we talked about in Sunday school, the presery who are the bishops or the overseers
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exercising oversight in this one office of the church. And now he shifts his command in verse 5
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to the youngers. Literally youngers. You have the elders and you have the
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Those young youngers likewise be subject to your elders. But as we discuss a little bit in Sunday school this morning, who who are the elders in verse five? Are they the same
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elders in 1-4? And who And who are the young birders that Peter is
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addressing in 2 through three? Again, I I think it's clear that that is the office of elders. They are exercising over sight of the body of Christ. They are the
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under sheepers. It is an office of leadership. And some say that in verse 5, it's not fair if Peter redefineses elders in
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verse 5 verse 5 from what he's already taught in verses 1- 4. And that may be
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but elders yes can be used for those who exercise oversight of the flock. But it can also mean older men, older more mature men who are not for whatever
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reason office holders. In any case, as Richard Lensky says in his commentary, Peter shields the standing and authority of the elders.
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verses 1-4. verses 1-4. But here But here and again as he says likewise, I think Peter is just shifting. He's now likewise I want to address the youngers
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in your relationship to those who are older in your congregation.
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Some say that the youngers are elders and wait. They're deacons perhaps younger office holders. But the word in Greek and in the New Testament is never used for an office only. It is people
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who are younger in age. And I I think Peter singles out the younger generation younger generation of believers because they tend to act
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They're less likely, and I don't think this has changed over the centuries, they're less likely to yield to authority and more likely to decide what they like
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and what they don't like about the church, what they want to heed and what they don't want to heed, which is not really following the
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leadership of the elders at all. Because if they're not in unity, then they're creating disunityity. creating disunityity. And I think there's, you know, I use
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this term, the generation gap. I used to hear that when I was growing up, the generation gap. They have their long-haired music. Well, I still listen to long-haired music. It happens to be
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Mozart and Bach and But there there should not be a generation gap in the church.
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And what he's saying is have some respect. There's a dignity, be subject to your elders.
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But he's not encouraging obedience, no matter if the leadership is doineering or if they're not following scripture and violating the rules of the scriptures. And he's not
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encouraging obedience if the leaders exempt themselves from accountability. Certainly, he's not encouraging obedience to someone who tries to govern
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with unbridled power. But he is encouraging the youngsters to be in proper subjection
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and inclined and follow mature guidance. asking them, "Please do not despise godly authority."
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godly authority." These are undersheperds under the chief shepherd and they've been given an authority, but they stand accountable to him.
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Not asking the elders to disrespect the elders but
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leadership and not to complain about the direction of the church.
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But Peter in this same verse exhorts the entire congregation and he says, "And all of you, the elders, the youngers, all of you,
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clothe yourselves with humility toward one another." one another." The Greek could be in translated this way. All of you in your relationships to
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one another tie on the apron of due lowly mindedness. lowly mindedness. That's the idea behind the Greek
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to wrap yourselves up in a slave apron. Or if we want to follow the undersheperd's motif here, perhaps he is thinking of the the the leather apron
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that a shepherd would wear when he is shearing the sheep so he doesn't cut himself or get kicked in the stump by a
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sheep that does not want to be sheared. But this saying, clothe yourselves with humility, or dawn the apron of
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lowlymindedness, is countercultural is countercultural in Peter's day, but I think it's still countercultural in today's age. In the Greco Roman world, humblemindedness was
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an attitude of the slave, not the attitude of a free person. It is the in pagan or sec sec secular society it's
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the strong it's the self assertive that wins the day is it not and any submission or subjection would have to come when a person is
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under compulsion or by force perhaps Peter is thinking of the example of Christ and his ethics when it came to
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requiring ing unity. In John 13, we read that Jesus got up from supper and laying aside his garments, taking a towel, he ged
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himself. Then he poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples feet and to wash them with the cow with which he was gi. He took on the slaves
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And again notice the object of tying on to tie on what the do lowlymindedness.
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The the word has a an active meaning. It it means minding something. Paul speaks of this in Philippians 2. Do nothing from selfishness or empty
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conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but
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also for the interest of others. We are minding so that we can act appropriately in the body of Christ.
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In 1968, the London Underground came up with this this phrase that they wanted to be memorable for people to practice safety when when they got on the tube or the train
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from the platform to the train as a gap. And I have never been to Europe. I've never been on the tube. But what I understand is that at least initially in
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all the signage and in all the the verbal commun communication when the train would stop they would say mind the gap. Mind the gap. Mind the gap. And it
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became this little phrase that people would say when they were exiting the train or entering the train. Mind the gap. Mind the gap. It came into their
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What about a practical safety announcement designed to alert us to true humility in the church? that when we cross the threshold, as we gather together as the gathering
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of the humble, mind the body, mind the body, mind the body, mind the due loneliness, the lowly
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I wrote the title of this message, the challenge of mutual humility, and I went through about five iterations of the title. And I finally settled the challenge of
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mutual humility. And it is a challenge because you had to deal with people with other sheep that are like
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But I again understand that it's even greater challenge than that to try to be humble to try to display humility in the body
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because the common motif in verses five and six and yes for those of you wanting to know why we're not going right into chap verse six it is somewhat of an art
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artificial division here but The imperatives that are coming, I think, deserve their own sermon. But notice what he says.
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Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the crowd. And in verse six, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God
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that he may exalt you at the proper time. See, it's it's not the mutuality. It's not that I'm going to work up my
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humility. It's the motivation that matters. What is your motivation for being humble in the body of Christ?
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Edwin Clowny wrote, "Christians are to find freedom in their submission to God. Freedom in which they can submit to others for the Lord's sake."
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He goes on to say that because Christians reverence the Lord, they don't fear people,
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they are able to humbly treat others with respect and dignity. Humility is not having or showing some
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excess willingness to serve or to please others. That's just ingratiating yourself. And what looks like humility can actually be pride.
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Cuz someone might say, "I was humble as I could be, but she never liked me. I can't help it that she's that way, but I'm humble." That's pride.
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Or I'm trying to be humble up, but I can't help it. I'm just better than he is. That's not humility.
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And if being humble is your motive, even your most sincere service becomes a source of pride.
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We were watching a mo a movie the other night. Some of you have probably seen it. Gospel Park. It's one of those British, you know, upstairs downstairs kind of thing. And this is what the head
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housekeeper says when she's confronted with, "Why are you like this?" She says, "What gift do you think a good servant has that separates them from the others?
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It's the gift of anticipation. And I'm a good servant. And I'm a I'm better than good. I'm the best. I'm the perfect servant. I know when they'll be hungry
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and the food is ready. And I know that when they'll be tired and the bed is turned down. I know it before they know it themselves. it themselves. That might be a good definition of a
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servant, but it smacks the lawful pride. And yet, when that is our motive to be humble, to act humbly,
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it can be an awful pride. And we can fall into pride when we refuse to share prayer requests even because mine are so trivial.
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Or when we imply that we don't need fellowship around the word by refusing to attend the gathering of the body because that's pride that says I don't need y'all.
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But Peter reaches back into Proverbs chapter 3 and shows us the global principle. global principle. He knows how pride operates.
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The scriptures used and the Old Testament in that verse uses the word scoffers and scorners are very similar to
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scoffers and the scriptures use those words. The scoffing at God and others. Scoffing is more than dislike. It's an active
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expression of contempt of disdain and derision toward God, toward God's word, toward other believers. It's a mockery. It's a moral arrogance
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directed against God and his wisdom. And it reflects a resistance to correction manifesting itself in rebellion against
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wisdom and a refusal to learn. The scripture says God opposes the crowd or literally in the Old Testament, God
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scoffs at the scoffers. He treats them with contempt, disdain, and derision.
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He has an arrogance against them because of their of their arrogance against him. Proverbs 3 literally though though he scoffs at the scoffers he gives grace to
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the equipment. In Isaiah he that chapter 2 God instructs Isaiah to write the proud look of man will be a base and the
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loftiness of man will be humbled and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
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In Proverbs 1, wisdom asks, "How long, oh naive ones, will you love being simpleminded and scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools
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acknowledge?" Jesus said simply, "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted." See, that's what pride gets you. Not
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humility, but humiliation. That's the global principle. God is opposed to the proud.
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But the good word is God gives grace to the humble. the humble. Disciples of Jesus Christ have a confidence, do we not? Because we know things. We know that we are created in the image
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of God and we know that we have been saved by grace through faith.
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The Christians cannot be proud because they are also aware of things. They know that there is inddwelling sin. They know that we cannot
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set free. We are incapable of changing our lives ourselves.
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When Paul writes in Colossians 3 about the distinction, he says there's no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarians, cyians, slave and freemen, but Christ is all and in all. What he's
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saying here is that we ought to regard and value each believer that we encounter in their relationship to Christ. That's where it all begins.
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That's what all of our interaction stands on stands on is valuing them and relating to them in their relationship to Christ.
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And he says, "Therefore, since you have put on a new nature as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
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bearing with one another, forgiving each other. Whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you, so also should."
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also should." To the Corinthians, he says, "Who made you superior? What do you have that you have not
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The answer, of course, is nothing. That we've been chosen by God. We've been forgiven by him.
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Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also should be. That's a true humility. Our ability to interact, our ability to serve, our ability to serve, love one
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another with with the liberty and freedom and desiring unity is all down to God's grace.
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So I think Peter says, "Place yourself, tie on that lonely mindedness under God's authority and humbly submit
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to his sovereignty for the good of the body, for the building up of the body of Christ, the building up of the saints. Let us pray.
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Our heavenly father, this is so important. I pray that we would all all go away with a mindedness,
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minding ourselves, minding the body, [snorts] minding the things that make for unity, for peace, for oneness in the body, knowing how important it is. But
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knowing that our motivation is not to please people or to act in a perfect way, but our motivation
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is to wait upon you. Knowing that you you oppose the crowd, that you give grace to the humble, knowing that you have a mighty hand and
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you do exalt in due time. So we ask father please teach us cause us to mind the body of
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from Romans chapter 15. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus. So that with one accord you may with one
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voice glorify the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore accept one another just as Christ also accepted us
