1 Peter 5

Peter exhorted the elders among the people he was writing. Remember, elders are pastors.

He told the elders to tend their flocks, which was one of the things Jesus told Peter to do (John 21:16). Peter also focused the elders on doing this for the right cause: according to the Will of God which was grace.

Not as lords over (bosses) God's heritage but by being examples (leaders) to the flock. Leadership is a responsibility, not a perk. Peter stated the leaders of God's flock ought to be the best example of everything Peter wrote prior to this chapter.

When the Chief Shepherd (Jesus) appears, the elders will receive a crown of glory.

The younger should submit to the elders and all should submit to each other in humility because God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. We saw this same statement from James. Here was what was written for explanation of James 4:6 -

James referenced Proverbs 3:34. The proud were the ones who were speaking in their own strength for the world. This actually limited the ability of the Holy Spirit to speak through the person, which was grace. James referenced the scripture to show that God resisted the proud. The only way God could grow a person not flowing in grace was from the outside, from resisting them. However, God gave more grace to the humble. God grew the humble person more from the inside. Believers are humble and will be able to speak more and more for God via grace. God has provided everything necessary for Salvation. The proud people are at fault when they do not receive grace. Pride is unwilling to consider you are wrong and in need of nothing. Someone in pride is not going to reflect God's influence in their life, they are going to present their own influence which is actually from the world. They will speak for the world.

Peter concluded by stating we ought to humble ourselves, specifically by giving our cares to God. Taking everything Peter wrote (as well as what we learned from James) we can see that believers ought to humble themselves so that God can flow through the person via the Holy Spirit (grace) in order for God to do His Will. The proof that a believer is doing this is they will be unjustly persecuted by the world and then handle that unjust persecution well in order to make God's power apparent to all, so that all are saved, which is God's Will.

The devil walks about seeking whom he may devour. This verse was a proof that the devil is not omnipresent. If he is, he would not need to "walk about." When doing a study of this passage according to the definitions and etymology of the words, it is very enlightening:

• Being "sober" and "watchful" was also known as "vigilant." This came from the idea of keeping your blood flowing and ready to respond.
• The word "adversary" meant "adjuster," as in one who leads you to make a slight adjustment from your intended target.
• A "roaring" lion was not an attacking lion. A "roaring" lion was a distracting lion. The devil does not have power to hurt you. The devil has to deceive you into you hurting yourself. The devil is like a roaring lion that appears to be dangerous, but is actually intent on distracting you.
• The term "walketh about" meant the devil is constantly working towards causing this to happen.
• The word "devour" meant "to swallow up," to "lose one's blood flow."

Taken together, Peter painted a word picture where we ought to keep our blood flow up and focused, waiting for God to initiate His Will through us. However, this is not easy as the devil constantly works towards adjusting our focus and causing us to lose our blood flow through intimidation and distraction.

Peter stated that the same sufferings and attacks were being experienced by all believers.

Doctrine: God will, after we suffer for a while, make us perfect, established, and strong because He is the source of all grace.

Peter wrote this from Babylon. John-Mark was with him. Remember, the Gospel according to Mark was Mark's account of Peter's perspective.