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
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