Learning from the Master (1Peter 5:1)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
4/4/2012 8:55:40 AM
My Worship Time      Focus:  Learning from the Master
Bible Reading & Meditation     Reference:  1Peter 5:1
 Message of the verses:  As I read over the words that Dr. Wiersbe wrote in his commentary on the introduction to his eleventh chapter on the book of 1Peter I come away with a better understand of this very important section of Peter’s first book.  I have mentioned on many occasions that Warren Wiersbe puts the cookies on a shelf where you can reach them and he certainly did in this section.  He entitles this eleventh chapter of his commentary on 1Peter, which is called “Be Hopeful,” “How To Be A Good Shepherd,” and it covers the first four verses of 1Peter.  If his writings cover only four verses in a chapter of God’s Word, then there must be a lot of important things in those four verses, and the fact that Peter is writing about “Pastors” or “Shepherds” is a very important thing for all believers to learn about for most of us who are believes in Jesus Christ will be setting under the teaching of a Pastor and so we must know what God expects us to know about the Pastor’s role in the church.  Peter was an “Elder” and this is the same word as “Bishop.”  Elder refers to the maturity of the officer, and bishop to the responsibility of the office.  The word Pastor (and this word means shepherd) is another title for this same office as seen in Ephesians 4:11, “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers.”  Dr. Wiersbe writes “The elders were appointed to office (Acts 14:23), where the verb ‘ordain’ means ‘to appoint by the raising of hands’).  Apparently each congregation had the privilege of voting on qualified men.” 
 We have just been through the forth chapter of 1Peter and in that we learned that Peter was encouraging his readers to stand firm in the face of persecution, which would be coming in full force in about a year from the time that Peter wrote his first letter.  I am not saying that Peter knew about the timing of this difficult persecution, but he knew that persecution was happening to some extent to those who named the name of Jesus Christ.  Peter knew how important it was for his readers to have a qualified Pastor leading them for if judgment was to begin in God’s house then God’s house had better be in good order.  Having a qualified Pastor who was learning and growing in the Lord was essential if they were to get through this persecution in a way that would bring honor to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Peter was concerned that the leadership in the local churches be at its best.  When the fiery trial would come, the believers in the assemblies would look to their elder for encouragement and direction.  What are the personal qualities that make for a successful pastor?”
 A Vital Personal Experience with Christ (1Peter 5:1):  “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed.”
 We see in this verse that Peter calls himself a “fellow elder” and does not identify himself as an apostle here, but does say that he was a witness of the sufferings of Christ.  That word witness, according to Dr. Wiersbe, give us our English word “martyr.”  We usually think of the word martyr as one who has given his life for the cause of Jesus Christ, which is something that Peter did, but “basically, a ‘martyr’ is a witness who tells what he has seen and heard.”
 The next five paragraphs in this SD are from the pen of Warren Wiersbe, and I believe that it is important for setting the background for this important subject of the qualifications of a Pastor.
 “It is interesting to read 1 Peter 5 in the light of Peter’s personal experiences with Christ.  First Peter 5:1 takes us to Gethsemane and Calvary.  ‘The glory that shall be revealed’ reminds us of Peter’s experience with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-5; 2 Peter 1:15-18).  The emphasis in 1Peter 5:2 on the shepherd and the sheep certainly brings to mind John 10 and our Lord’s admonition to Peter in John 21:15-17.
 “The warning in 1 Peter 5:3 about ‘lording it over’ the saints reminds us of Christ’s lesson about true greatness in Luke 22:24-30, as well as the other times that He taught His disciples about humility and service.  The phrase in 1 Peter 5:5, ‘Be clothed with humility,’ takes us back to the Upper Room where Jesus put on the towel and washed the disciples’ feet (John 13:1-17).
 “The warning about Satan in 1 Peter 5:8 parallels our Lord’s warning to Peter that Satan was going to ‘sift’ him and the other Apostles (Luke 22:31).  Peter did not heed that warning, and he ended up denying his Lord three times.
 “It is interesting to note that the verb ‘make you perfect’ (1 Peter 5:10) is translated ‘mending their nets’ in Matthew 4:21, the account of the call of the four fishermen into the Lord’s service.
 “In other words, Peter wrote these words, inspired by the Spirit of God, out of his own personal experience with Jesus Christ.  He had a vital and growing relationship with Christ, and this made it possible for him to minister effectively to God’s people.”
 The Apostle Paul wrote the following to Timothy to admonish him to continue to grow in his Christian walk with the Lord, “15  Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.”  (1Timothy 4:15)  Progress means in the original “pioneer advance.”  This show us that Elders must continue to look at new territories of study, they are not to teach the same thing week after week.  In order to do this they must be in tuned with God and His Word.
 At the end of his commentary on this verse Dr. Wiersbe writes “If I have any counsel for God’s shepherds today, it is this:  cultivate a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, and share what He gives you with your people.  That way, you will grow, and they will grow with you.”
 Spiritual meaning for my life today:  A couple of week ago I began to take the Spiritual Diaries that I have written since 2001 and begin to put them into individual books according to the books of the Bible that I have studied.  I went to put my commentaries on 1Peter into book form and found out that I was missing the end of chapter four and all of chapter five so I then decided to complete these missing entries so that I could complete that commentary.  My plan for these SD that are put into book form is to give them to my children and grandchildren so that perhaps they too will begin a serious study of the Word of God.
 I believe that it was surely in the will of God for me to again study the book of 1Peter, especially this portion.  Our Pastor is going over this wonderful book and so I can receive a double blessing from studying it with him and on my own.
4/4/2012 10:14:30 AM