Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 144th. Edition.
Dear People Who Have Been Brought into God’s Marvelous Light,
In today’s passage (1 Peter 5:1) Peter introduces a new theme on relationships within a church setting and especially as relates to the authority of the elders and how it is exercised. In this first verse, Peter establishes the basis for his instructions.
Partner. He identities himself as a fellow elder. In his humility, Peter does not use the obviously more authoritative “Apostle” – not because he is not one, nor is it because he is undeserving of it, as we will see shortly, but because he wants to identify with the leaders of the church at their level. It is not the practice of Jesus’ greatest friend and Apostle to throw his weight around and should not be ours, either.
Present. But Peter does have something very special going for him – he was “a witness of the sufferings of Christ.” He was there when the greatest evil that wrought the greatest good, happened. Peter was a witness to many great events – miracles and wonders, the incredible wisdom of Christ’s teachings, the resurrection, even. But he chooses to suffer! This is partly because he wants to identify Christ with the suffering of his church and also because he wants to zero in on the place of the suffering of Christ in our salvation. In a sense, Peter is saying to the suffering church, I saw Jesus suffer, so I know our salvation is already purchased, I saw Jesus suffer, so we should know what to expect as his followers.
Partaker. But in the suffering of Christ and of his saints is great hope, that when Christ is revealed in his glory, we will share in it. We already saw in the previous passage (4:14-19) that our suffering brings glory to God. That would suffice because our life’s desire ought to be to bring glory to God. But Peter now says that that is not the sum of it. Christ suffered, as a result of which God elevated him to unmatched glory (Philippians 2:9). Our suffering too will come to an end and when Christ is revealed in his glory, we will not be spectators on the sidelines but participants, sharing in that glory.
Is this not enough reason for us to “purify ourselves, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:3)?
Your Loving Pastor Chris.