1. The first job description in the church is for the position of shepherd. (5:1-4)
2. The second job description in the church is for the position of sheep. (5:5-9)
3. The third job description in the church is for the position of Chief Shepherd. (5:10-11)
1 PETER 5:1-11
What is the church? Is it a building with a steeple? Is it nice facilities with padded pews and a pulpit? What does it take to build the church? Bricks, mortar, wood, paint? Those things are great, but they aren’t what God has chosen to build His church with. He’s chosen to build it with people. Common, ordinary people like you and me. In the passage we just looked at, Peter begins by describing the people God uses to build His church. He’s not talking here about the universal church made up of all believers. He’s talking about the local church. He’s talking about the people that make up the local church and what their responsibilities are. When you look at it that way, it’s almost like he’s giving out job descriptions. Job descriptions to the local church. I want each of us here today to understand our responsibility in the church. In order to do that, we’re going to look at three job descriptions for positions in the church. The first job description is for the position of shepherd.
1 PETER 5:2-3
Now, let’s back up for a second to figure out who Peter’s talking to here. Back in verse 1, he addresses his comments to “the elders which are among you.” Many times in the New Testament, especially in books that were written later like 1 Peter, the terms “elder”, “bishop”, “overseer”, meant the same thing. They meant pastor. Not just a preacher, but a pastor. Don’t get those two words confused. They mean very different things. A preacher is one who faithfully proclaims the Gospel. Preaching is a very important part of being a pastor. But pastoring is so much more. That’s what Peter describes in these verses. The word “pastor” is the exact same word that is often translated “shepherd”. As a matter of fact, it’s translated “feed” in verse 2. It sounds redundant to us, but Peter is telling these folks that pastors need to pastor their church. Or shepherds need to shepherd their flock. Then he goes on to tell them what that means. He goes on to give them their job description. Verse 2 says they are to take oversight not by constraint, but willingly. That’s one thing about the call of God. He doesn’t make us do anything. He doesn’t force anyone to answer His call to ministry. He makes it very plain and clear, but He won’t force you to answer it. Anybody that goes into the ministry because they need a job, will end up with a job—not a ministry. It’s like my dad told me when I was going to get married. He said, “Don’t marry a girl you think you can live with. Marry a girl you know you can’t live without.” The call of God is the same way. I have to be a pastor because I can’t do anything else. That doesn’t mean I’m not qualified to get a decent job somewhere else. There are lots of jobs I could live with. But I can’t live without being a pastor. So pastors are to shepherd the flock willingly. Verse 2 also says they are to not do it for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. Folks, you know as well as I do that pastors don’t minister for the money. True pastoring is a 24-hour a day, 7-day a week ministry that no amount of money could compensate for. And despite that fact, we are to do it with a ready mind which means eagerly. It doesn’t mean we have to eagerly be poor, it means we have to eagerly do the ministry, no matter what the compensation. Somebody talked last week about a finance committee praying about their pastor. They prayed, “Lord, you keep him humble, we’ll keep him poor.” True pastors don’t do it for the money. The final thing Peter says about pastors in verse three is that they don’t lord their position over the flock. They lead by example. God doesn’t call dictators. He doesn’t call CEOs. He calls pastors—shepherds. Shepherds don’t drive sheep like people drive cattle. They lead them. They lead from a position of trust and integrity. Not from a position of power and authority. All power and authority rests in Jesus Christ, not the pastor. So the pastor’s job description says he is to shepherd willingly—not by compulsion. He’s to shepherd eagerly—not for money. And he’s to shepherd by example—not like a dictator. That’s great. If I left it off there, everybody would probably think this was a great sermon. It was short and it was about somebody else. The sermons I’ve always liked the best are the ones that are preached to somebody else—not to me. But now Peter gets to the everybody else part. He gets to the job description for the position of sheep.
1 PETER 5:5-9
Once again, we have to figure out who Peter is talking to. When he was writing this letter, most of the leaders in the church were older than the `rest of the people. So when he talks to “the younger” in this passage, he’s talking to the folks in the church. Regular church members. I bet you didn’t know that regular church members had a job description, did you? Verse 5 says they are to submit. We really don’t like that word much today. But that’s what he says—submit. Because we don’t like the concept, we tend to redefine the word. Here’s what it means. Submit means to be subject to, to obey, to be obedient, to bring under control. We can try to redefine it, but if we do, we’re deceiving ourselves. That’s what it really means. Now, who are church members to submit to? The first one on Peter’s list is the pastor. He says, “submit yourselves unto the elder.” That sounds mighty bold doesn’t it? And mighty difficult, knowing some of the pastors I’ve had. But can you imagine how easy it would be if you had a pastor who did what Peter already told him to do? If he willingly fulfilled his call? If he served eagerly, not for a paycheck? And if he led by example instead of like a dictator or CEO? How easy would it be to submit to that man? But not only are you to submit to the pastor, you are also to submit to one another. In verse 5 he says, “All of you be subject one to another.” And then he tells you how to do it. He says, “be clothed with humility.” I’ve heard our Director of Missions say that all conflict ends in personality. That’s because we all want our way. We all want our way because I think my way is better than your way. I think my way is better than your way because I’m really so much better than you. That’s not very humble is it. Peter tells us that the only way we can truly submit to one another is if we humble ourselves. And then he goes on to say that the only way we can humble ourselves is if God does it for us.
1 PETER 5:6-7
If you have a problem submitting to your brother or sister, humble yourself. If you have a problem humbling yourself, do it under the mighty hand of God. If we begin to see ourselves as God sees us, my righteousness isn’t any better than anybody else’s. It’s only on the basis of the blood of Jesus Christ that any of us has any worth at all. So, what right do any of us have to not submit to each other? None! And that leads to Who else Peter tells us we’re to submit to. God Himself. God is the most important One we’re to submit to, so Peter lists Him last here in verses 6-7. Unless we truly submit to God and see ourselves as He sees us, we’ll be too full of ourselves to submit to anybody else. So the sheep are to submit. But you are also to be sober. Now, I’m not talking about not being drunk, although that is necessary as well. Peter is talking about being aware of the sin that’s going on in the world around you. Church isn’t a bunker. We’re not a fortress built to protect us from the world. We’re supposed to be aware of the evil in the world. Why? So that we can resist it like verse 9 tells us to. If the church isn’t resisting evil in the world, who will? Nobody, that’s our job. That’s why God leaves us here after He saves us instead of immediately calling us on to Glory. So the sheep’s job description says they are to be submissive to the pastor, each other, and above all to God. They are also to be sober by being aware of the enemy and resisting him. So far, our church has job descriptions for a shepherd and for the sheep. Peter then gives us the most important job description—the job description of the Chief Shepherd.
1 PETER 5: 4, 10-11
This church can have a pastor and a bunch of people, but if God isn’t invited, you don’t have church. Just like the shepherd and the sheep have job descriptions, the Chief Shepherd has one too. He has one that He wrote for Himself—willingly, voluntarily, out of His love for us. The first part of the Chief Shepherd’s job description is that He rewards eternally. Verse 4 says that when He appears, you shall have a crown of glory that fadeth not away. We know that when this church gathers for the sole purpose of bringing honor and glory to God, He will bless. And we know that when we as individuals within the church have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, He will provide us an eternal reward. A reward that won’t fade. A reward that won’t rust. A reward that won’t go away. A reward that is as sure as the God in whom we believe. A reward that is eternal life in His presence—praising the name of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ forever. But that’s not God’s only responsibility. Otherwise we might be so heavenly minded that we wouldn’t be any earthly good. God is not only responsible for rewarding eternally. He’s also responsible for strengthening presently. Verse 10 tells us that God, out of His grace, love and mercy, will make us perfect. That means make us complete. He will fill up what’s lacking in our lives. Not with some sort of health, wealth and prosperity gospel. But by giving us the strength to praise Him no matter what circumstance we’re going through. He will stablish you. That means to make you able. The Bible says in Ephesians 3:20 that our God is able to do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” He will strengthen you. That doesn’t mean that He will make you Superman. It speaks of stability, consistency. God will strengthen your walk with Him so you will consistently grow more and more like His Son Jesus Christ. And He will settle you. That’s a building term that refers to a building’s foundation. He will ground you in your faith. He’ll build you on a rock so that when the storm comes, your house will stand. The Chief Shepherd’s job description says He will reward eternally and He will strengthen presently. So, what about you? Are you fulfilling your responsibility in this church? Have you heard God’s call to ministry and tried to ignore it? Are you humbly submitting to your brothers and sisters in the church? Or is your pride getting in the way? Are you submitting to God like you should? He is faithful. He always fulfills His job description. Are you fulfilling yours?
