5
How to be a shepherd
1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I, the fellow elder and witness of Christ's sufferings; also the partaker of the glory that is to be revealed:[a] 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers willingly,[b] not under compulsion; not for dishonest gain but freely; 3 neither as lording it over those entrusted to you,[c] but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd is revealed you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Humility is a must
5 Similarly, you younger ones, submit to elders. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility, submitting to one another, because ‘God resists proud ones, but gives grace to humble ones.’[d] 6 Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time; 7 casting all your care upon Him, because He does the caring for you.[e]
Guard against the devil
8 Be sober, stay alert! Because your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is circling you,[f] looking for someone to devour; 9 withstand him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.[g]
Benediction
10 Now may the God of all grace, who called you into His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, Himself perfect, establish, strengthen and ground you—after you have suffered a while.[h] 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Sign-off
12 I have written to you briefly by our faithful brother Silvanus,[i] as I consider him, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand. 13 The jointly elect sister in ‘Babylon’ greets you;[j] and so does Mark, my son.[k] 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.[l]
Peace be to you, all who are in Christ Jesus.[m] Amen.
<- 1 Peter 4
- a I take it that Peter is referring to his having been on the mount of transfiguration; only James and John could say as much, and presumably they were not among the addressees (James had already been martyred). Peter uses the definite article with “fellow elder” and “partaker”, from which I conclude that he is claiming a position of special authority.
- b Perhaps 14% of the Greek manuscripts add ‘according to God’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).
- c How many church leaders do you know who enjoy ‘lording’?
- d Proverbs 3:34 in LXX.
- e My rendering follows the best line of transmission; God is offering to handle our concerns for us, so we do not have to—now that is a real deal (but it only works if we hand them over).
- f He is not ambling aimlessly; he is circling the prey, looking for an opening. I follow the best line of transmission, albeit with only 24% of the Greek manuscripts here.
- g What does this last clause have to do with withstanding Satan? Well, when we are suffering it is easy to question God's goodness, to think that we are being picked on, to feel sorry for ourselves, and so on—our faith starts to waver and Satan has all sorts of fun. ‘Devour’ means to gobble up (or gobble down); for a while I lived among a people in the Amazon jungle who used to practice cannibalism—I was assured that human flesh is sweet; now really, would any self-respecting ‘lion’ turn up his nose at such a treat? But this particular ‘lion’ is especially fond of devouring Christians.
- h Oh dear, can't I have all the good stuff without needing to suffer? Guess what the answer is.
- i This may be the same Silvanus who is mentioned in the opening verse of both Thessalonian epistles. If so, he was a man of some importance in the Church at that time. Evidently he was entrusted with the responsibility of delivering this letter; if he personally had to go to each province, he had quite a journey.
- j Almost half the Greek manuscripts have a postscript that the letter was written in Rome, and it seems likely that such was the case. So ‘Babylon’ presumably refers to Rome. (So far as I know, the historical Babylon was a ruin at that time, without inhabitants.) The ‘sister’ could be an individual woman, but could also be the church.
- k Presumably Peter is referring to John Mark (Acts 12 & 15, Colossians 4:10, 2 Timothy 4:11), whom he took under his wing, as it were. This is the Mark who wrote the second Gospel. Many Greek manuscripts have a scribal comment that Mark wrote his Gospel with Peter at his elbow.
- l The love here is αγαπη, not φιλια. What is involved is genuine concern for the other's well-being, not an emotional interest.
- m If you are not in Christ Jesus you cannot expect peace. Perhaps 5% of the Greek manuscripts omit “Jesus” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).