To Encourage You

1 Peter 5:1 “So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:”

It’s so interesting how Peter speaks in his letters.  Here is one of the 12 apostles chosen by God as a leader in the early church. In Ephesians 2:20 we are told that the church was “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.” And then in Revelation 21:14, in the description of the holy city Jerusalem in heaven, we are told that, “the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” It’s such an exalted position, this role of an apostle.  Yet, we see Peter speaking in the language of humility as he calls himself a “fellow elder” in his exhortation to the elders in the early church in the passage above.  As such, he was following the example of his Savior, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).

You see, Peter had been greatly humbled in his experiences with Christ.  He highlights two of those experiences in the verse above. First, he says that he had been “a witness of the sufferings of Christ.”  It’s an exalted position, to be an eyewitness of the crucifixion. But it is during this eyewitness event that we are reminded of Peter’s reaction to it.  It was as he witnessed Christ’s suffering that Peter’s greatest humiliation, i.e., his three-fold denial of Christ, occurred.  Certainly, he never forgot this, and certainly, it was an experience that kept him humble for the rest of his life.

The second experience Peter mentions was that he was “a partaker of the glory that is going to be revealed.” Again, Peter was given the exclusive privilege, along with James and John, of witnessing the glorious transfiguration of Jesus.  In Matthew 17 this is described in the following way: “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.’ When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Rise, and have no fear.’ And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.”  It was such an awesome experience, yet it was such a humbling experience, as Peter witnessed the glory of Jesus that was hidden from most by the means of His human flesh.  Peter saw how exalted Jesus was, more so than such great leaders as Moses, Elijah, and certainly more so than the apostles themselves.  As with his experience as an eyewitness of the sufferings of Christ, Peter’s experience of Jesus’ glorious exaltation certainly, likewise, had a humbling effect upon him the rest of his life.

And so we see one of the God’s foremost requirements for Christian leaders, i.e., the trait of humility.  And if that’s the requirement of Christian leadership, how much more so should it be a trait of those who serve under such leaders.  It’s such a critical aspect of our life as believers. It’s emphasized over and over again in God’s Word.  For surely, if Peter humbled himself, and greater yet, if Christ humbled Himself, anyone who calls himself or herself a Christian should heed James’ admonition to “Humble yourselves before the Lord” (James 4:4).  It’s this attitude of humility that should be a mark of every child of God.