Well, we do want to look in 1 Peter 5, and as always, before we move into things earnestly, I always like to say a few words to the children that are with us, just to encourage them in the focus of what the sermon is going to be about from the passage that we're gonna look at. And so, as always, children, if you wanna tune in, in particular, we'd encourage you to do so. There are handout sheets in the seats in front of you to help you take notes, and parents, as always, you can help your children. not only finding the place in God's Word that we're looking, but even helping to take a few notes and provides a great opportunity for things to interact and talk about with later on today and even through the week concerning what we see in God's Word. But I want us to look at chapter 5, verse 2. And for children in particular want to read just the beginning of verse two as this really sets helps to set the focus of what we're going to look at this morning. And Peter is talking to those whom God has called to share in the leadership of the church to share in the leadership of God's flock referred to as shepherds or elders or even pastors. This is to whom Peter is in particular speaking, but what he has to say applies to the entire church. But listen to what he says at the beginning of verse 2, he says, And this really is the main commandment that he is expressing to those whom the Lord has called to have leadership responsibility in God's church, namely, to shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight. And the big idea that we find in this statement, and really in the entire passage that we're looking at this morning, is that shepherds care for sheep. Shepherds care for sheep. That's the big idea. And there's another part of that, actually, that needs to be affirmed as well, and that is that sheep need shepherds. Shepherds care for sheep, and sheep need shepherds. Now as we're gonna see as we move into this, all of this and all of Peter's exhortation to shepherds in God's church is in the context of understanding that Jesus Christ is the chief shepherd, and all of us find our life in him, and all of us are accountable to him. But as we're gonna see, he's designed to use other men to help facilitate his leadership and his shepherding care in the church. So again, the big idea that we see is that shepherds care for sheep, and sheep need shepherds. Now, I wanna show you a picture. Actually, it's a picture of a painting this morning, and for those of you over on that side, if you'd like to move so you can see this, you're more than welcome to, because I think it helps illustrate this matter of shepherding. And so, John, if you wanna go ahead and put this up on the big screen here. This is a painting that I saw a number of years ago by a French artist named Julian Dupree. And it really gripped me because in our day and age, and children, you probably know this, but we're not real familiar with this matter of sheep and shepherding. And I'm just curious, children, do any of you have a pet sheep? Okay, no, I didn't think so. We're not real familiar with that. But during the time that Jesus lived and that Jesus taught, and even the time that Peter is writing this letter, shepherding and sheep was a very common image that people were very, very familiar with. And this particular painting, as you can see, is of a shepherd. He's the man with the hat and the raggedy coat and his raggedy boots and all there, watching over a flock of sheep. So you see the shepherd, you see the sheep, and now children, and only children, I know this is a difficult question, but what do you see next to the shepherd here? What do you see next to the shepherd? dog, right? And that dog is sitting there, really as a servant of the shepherd. Now I have to tell you, when I first saw this painting, I kind of connected with it, because I thought, you know, the Lord's called me to be a shepherd in His church, and so I kind of thought of this guy that's there as a shepherd, and I thought, well I could kind of relate to him. But then the more I thought about it, and looking at the dog there, what is the dog there to do? there to do whatever the master shepherd tells him to do. The dog has no authority of his own, the dog has no will of his own, but the dog is there to do only what the shepherd tells him to do, and what the shepherd would have the dog do relates to the care of the sheep. And I think this is a helpful picture of understanding the role and the responsibility of shepherds in God's church. shepherds among God's flock, because we have one chief shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, and any of us that the Lord has called to share in the responsibility of shepherding His people, in many ways, we're just like this dog, if you will. Not identical, it's important to affirm. We're not identical to them, but like him in the sense that the dog's role and responsibility is to be loyal to the chief shepherd and to do nothing but what the chief shepherd directs and instructs that dog to do all for the care of the sheep and so that's the point that we see in this passage that we're looking at this morning that shepherds care for sheep and that sheep need shepherds and but the Good Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd, has designed to use others to help in the shepherding of His flock. So we can go ahead and take the picture down and thank you, John and children. Hopefully that helps give some sense of this matter of how the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, cares for His people, how He cares for us through those that He raises up as shepherds. so that's the point of what we're looking at this morning in 1st Peter chapter 5 so we want to go ahead and dismiss some of the children those of you grades 3 and below that are gonna go and share time around God's Word we we are always very quick to want to affirm they're welcomed and encouraged to remain in here for families that desire but we also have those who are raised up to help lead them in God's Word across the driveway and the other facility there and they go so blessings to all of you well as I'd like to do I want to go ahead and read the whole passage and actually I'd like to read all of chapter 5 as we come towards the end now of Peter's letter I think it's helpful to see the full context of all that Peter says in chapter 5 so I want to go ahead and read the entire chapter and of course this morning we're focusing in on this matter the shepherd and his shepherds the shepherd and his shepherds as we see Peter speak most directly to this in verses 1 through 4 but let me read the entire chapter and then we'll look to the Lord in prayer and seek his help as we get into this chapter 5 verse 1 the living Word of God 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 shepherd the flock of God that is among you exercising oversight not under compulsion but willingly as God would have you and not for shameful gain but eagerly not domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock and when the chief shepherd appears you will receive the unfading crown of glory likewise you who are younger be subject to the elders clothe yourselves all of you with humility toward one another for God opposes the proud but he gives grace to the humble humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you be sober minded be watchful your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour resist him firm in your faith knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world and after you have suffered a little while the God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore confirm strengthen and establish you to him be the dominion forever and ever and Amen. And by Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark my son. Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. Father God, how thankful we are for your infinite great holy mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ how thankful we are that you have revealed all that you have chosen to reveal in your word of your glory and of your saving purposes in the Lord Jesus Christ that all who would trust in him might know the forgiveness of sin and might know the the living hope of eternal life in his life and through his death and now his resurrection and even as he is exalted at your right hand and we thank you that you have given your word that we might be instructed and exhorted and understanding of the full measure of all of your grace in Christ to the end that as we are in this world that we might stand firm in faith that we might resist all of the attempts of the enemy to destroy us and to destroy the testimony of Christ through us and so we pray that you would help us even now as we look to your word that we might rightly understand and that we might rightly respond in faith and submission to you and to all of your purposes father I ask that you would indeed give grace to me in the proclamation of your truth to do so clearly and faithfully looking to my own soul first for your purposes in your design Lord we're thankful for your mercies and we trust you to do your work in our souls even now for your glory in Jesus in whose name we pray amen amen Well, I think I've mentioned this before, but many, many years ago, in fact, within the first year after I had come to faith in Christ when I was a senior in high school, I remember seeing a poster that said very simply, there are two fundamental rules of the universe. Rule number one, there is a God, and rule number two, you are not Him. that's good theology needs to be broadened and deepened a little bit but that is good theology to understand that there is a God and to also understand that we are not him the point of that poster the point of that sentiment of course is to affirm that God himself rules and reigns over all and as we come to this passage in 1st Peter chapter 5 we we see reference, as Peter really has been speaking about this throughout his entire letter, to the good, loving, life-giving authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, and how the Lord Jesus Christ, as the chief shepherd, exercises that good, loving, life-giving authority among his people through those that he raises up to share in the shepherding care of his people. Now, if you were with us last week, you know that we took time to... look in more detail across many passages in Scripture to consider this good authority of God in Jesus Christ. And we saw, even as it is displayed in the life of Jesus Christ, as we find in the gospel records of His life, this authority on display. As we see Jesus speaking with authority and saving with authority, even in the passage that Steve read earlier from Matthew chapter 9, demonstrating his authority to forgive by also exercising his authority to heal. And this is really the point of the miracles that he did throughout his ministry, to point to the infinitely great authority that he has to forgive sin. we saw that he also has a sentencing authority a sentencing authority in the sense of of exercising judgment and he has ascending authority as he is now exalted so he is the one who in accordance with the father's will and purposes sends people to minister sends the entire church to be about the work of making disciples and of proclaiming the excellencies of Jesus in this world we see that as the risen exalted Son of God he now reigns in supreme authority this comes into fullest view in the book of Revelation in the New Testament as we see and hear the exalted Christ giving vision to the Apostle John which is recorded in the book of Revelation concerning his rule and his reign and his certain coming again And so we see this in great display. And of course, in light of His sovereign, transcendent, good, loving, life-giving authority, the response that He calls all of humanity to is humble, trusting submission. that we are to be humble before Him and you hear echoes of that or direct statements of that even in verse 6 of chapter 5 humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God that phrase is an Old Testament phrase that Peter is drawing on that speaks of God's sovereign loving good powerful authority and we as his people are to submit to his authority as expressed in his commandments in his word and as determined by his sovereign will even in our circumstances to submit to him and to what he wills and ordains for our lives and so I of this together helps us understand that His purposes in salvation are not simply to restore us to a right relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ, though certainly that is at the very core of things, but within that relationship is being restored to His right rule over our lives. And again, His authority is good. It is life-giving. His authority is the activity of His holy love. so it's important to keep this in mind as we come to these matters that he addresses directly now in chapter 5 of of leadership in the church and of the roles and the responsibilities of shepherds of under shepherds really in God's Church now let me just emphasize also that these instructions and these exhortations these encouragements that Peter is giving while they have obvious direct particular application to those like myself that the Lord has called to this role and responsibility these are matters that Peter intended for every believer to understand and for every believer to to recognize and to share in and so please don't as somebody just before the service sort of quipped to me when they found out what I was preaching on they said oh good it's not about me I can check out now no that's not true you need to be aware of these things to know more of the glory of the chief shepherd as he seeks to work among us as his people and of course understand also that these exhortations from Peter to shepherds come near the end of his letter following all of the other things that he's been talking about up to this point that are directly applicable to everyone and of course even if you were listening as I read the passage you hear as he speaks to shepherds then in verse 5 he gives particular exhortation to younger men to be subject to the elders and that all of us are to clothe ourselves with humility one to another so these are commandments that are important for all of us to understand and for all of us to submit to God's good design by faith in him so we want to move more fully into chapter 5 and look in more detail at the things that Peter is addressing here and understanding that we ultimately demonstrate our humble and faith motivated submission to God's good authority we ultimately demonstrate that submission to him by submitting to those authorities that he has put over us However imperfect those authorities may be, however unjust often those authorities can be. And that of course is the context of Peter's entire letter as he is speaking to believers who are suffering because of unjust authority that is over them. That's what he's addressing throughout the entire letter. as Jesus Christ himself submitted to that imperfect unjust human authority in obedience to the Father and accomplishing the Father's purposes so the Lord calls us to this as well and I want to draw your attention even to the end of chapter 4 where summarizing the focus and the disposition that believers are to have as we experience suffering in the pathway of obedience in this world concludes what he says here at the end of chapter 4 with this statement in verse 19 therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good and that again is a is a fit way of even summarizing the entire thrust of Peter's heart in this letter that we are called to often submit or we're called to suffer we submit to God's will, entrusting our souls to Him, and continuing to do good, continuing to...to walk in obedience to Him and what He has called us to, even when it means suffering in this world. Well as Peter's thoughts then move to what he addresses in chapter 5, we see that these matters of his good loving authority and our submission to authority to his authority have great implications and understanding the nature of authority and submission in the local church and so this is what we draw our attention to now moving more specifically now into chapter 5 notice how verse 1 begins following that statement I just read at the end of chapter 4 Peter says so or therefore it could better be translated therefore I exhort the elders among you and he goes on to say what he says to the elders in God's church and the point to see in in connecting this is that leaders in God's church are often the ones who are at the at the forefront of suffering in God's design and we can understand why that is because if men by God's grace are being faithful to proclaim God's truth and by his grace striving to be faithful in shepherding God's people in the proclamation of God's truth we're going to have an even bigger target on our back as it were because of the place of influence and responsibility that the Lord has given to us so as Peter in the end of chapter 4 is talking about this matter of suffering and this matter of needing to continue it to entrust ourselves to a faithful Creator in doing what is good, his mind now goes immediately to those that the Lord calls to share in the leadership of his church, to share as shepherds in the church. so this is how beloved God intends for His people to know His grace and to stand firm in His grace by knowing and understanding and submitting to His will as it relates to the leadership of the church under the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I have to tell you, just a little personal note as we get into this passage, obviously this is speaking directly to me and speaking directly to every person that the Lord has raised up to share in the shepherding of His church. And I don't think there's a single one of us that can stand up here and do what I'm doing right now with any sense at all that I am doing this perfectly, or that I have been a perfect shepherd. And I praise God that that's so, because it reminds us that there is one perfect shepherd, right? There's one chief shepherd. Now by God's grace, hopefully there's progress, hopefully there's a there's a pattern of being above reproach certainly not perfection in any way shape or form but this is what the Lord calls people like me and others that he has called to share in the shepherding of his church too and so these are words that are certainly directly applicable for me, but as I've mentioned, directly applicable for all of us in...in knowing what God's good design is in the care of His people, through His sovereign authority, His loving authority over us. Well, as we look here at verses 1 through 4, I want you to see three parts of a shepherd's calling. Three parts of a shepherd's calling, or of an elder's calling. this is what Peter addresses first of all in verse 1 and going to the beginning of verse 2 he speaks about the shepherds work the shepherds work and then second of all from the end of verse 2 into verse 3 into all of verse 3 he speaks about the shepherds dangers we could also say the shepherds duties the duties and the dangers sort of go hand in hand as you see how he speaks about what shepherds ought not to be contrast to what they ought to be so he speaks of both their dangers and their duties that's the second part of what he addresses and then the third part of what he addresses is in these glorious statements in verse 4 as he speaks about the shepherds reward the shepherds reward and he draws attention again to the chief shepherd and the unfading crown of glory that those who are his under shepherds the confidence of receiving and that statement he makes in verse 4 as a means of motivation as a means of encouragement to those that the Lord calls as shepherds so as we work through this passage and we're only going to really cover the first point today and then Lord willing in the next couple of weeks we'll look at the next two but we see these three parts we see the shepherds work the shepherds dangers and the shepherds reward that provides the big framework of this passage as we'll be in it for a couple of weeks. And so let's look more fully at this matter of the shepherd's work. This is what he addresses in in verse 1 going into verse 2 he says 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 shepherd the flock of God that is among you exercising oversight he's speaking of the shepherds work now at the risk of being Too overwhelming. I have six points I want to make under this point. but I want you to understand before you tune out I want you to understand these are all part of one big picture and and I and try as I can at times to to consolidate things these things just seem to emerge from the text and so I'm constrained to to draw attention to them and I think of it much like whenever you see a beautiful scene we were up in Forest Hill yesterday up in the foothills just a little bit above Auburn Auburn my son Tyler had a had a basketball tournament up there and of course there was all kinds of snow everywhere and as we're driving back the Sun is setting in the West as we're coming down the mountain it's a beautiful scene and to try to describe that scene to anybody would require speaking of numerous different things because there were all the different clouds and different colors and there were trees and there was snow and there was the road that I tried to stay on and there was a lot of things going on and I feel that way it helps me think about, often when we come to God's truth, He displays to us pictures of His glory and of His goodness and of His mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ, and sometimes just to get a fuller sense of that, we probe into some of the various parts. And so, even though there's these six aspects of a shepherd's work, I want you to see they're all deeply intertwined in one glorious picture, one glorious vision of His purposes for His people. So, six important aspects of a shepherd's work. That's what we're looking at this morning as we move into this. And just for the help of tracking with these, they all begin with the letter F. So, here we go. Let me give them to you, and then we'll look at them one by one. First of all, we're gonna see what I refer to as the flames of the work. The flames, or the fire of the work, if you will. And then we're gonna see the formality of the work, you don't get all these now, we'll go through them one by one. Then we're gonna see number three, the fellowship of the work. And then number four, the foundation of the work. Number five, the focus of the work. And number six, the flock of the work. So those six points related to the shepherd's work, the flames or the fire of the work, the formality of the work, the fellowship of the work, the foundation of the work, the focus of the work, and the flock of the work. of this related to the shepherd's work under the sovereign loving good authority of the chief shepherd so first of all the flames of the work or the fire of the work I've really already alluded to this we need to be reminded of the context of these exhortations and you go back in chapter 4 a little bit before verse 19 up to verse 12 here's the immediate context of what Peter is addressing verse 12 of chapter 4 beloved do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you and then he goes on to give additional exhortations and encouragements related to enduring in the midst of fiery trials and so as I speak about the flames of the work this is a reference to the context in which elders are called to carry out the work that God has entrusted to us and as we saw that exhortation at the end of chapter 4 and the statement in verse 19 about suffering according to God's will and trusting our souls to a faithful creator while doing good God's intention is that elders most fully are to exemplify that exhortation. And certainly in the fires of persecution, in the fires of hostility against the gospel, in the fires of suffering and trials, and again, things that may uniquely come to those in leadership in the church because of the role and responsibility, how much the encouragement to be faithful in the work, in trusting our souls to the...to our Creator, to our Chief Shepherd, how how vital that encouragement is, because the work can easily be discouraging and daunting and challenging and fearful. And so Peter is fully aware of this. Peter, of course, against the backdrop of his own experience, understands this. And indeed, as he goes on to say there in chapter 4, in verse 17, if it is... that it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God, if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? God's judgment and there it is speaking of his his purifying his perfecting judgment upon his people if it begins with the household of God there's a very real sense in which it begins with the the head of the household if you will the heads of the household those that God has put in that place of responsibility under Christ so the flames of the work speak of the context in which this shepherding is to take place and the need therefore to heed the encouragements and the exhortations that Peter gives to elders and so that helps us understand the context second of all we see the formality of the work the formality of the work what I mean by this is that when Peter specifically addresses elders he is speaking of an official formal office in the church the office of elder the responsibility of elder now I'm only going to have time to just touch on this but we were to take time to survey the New Testament, we would see that the term elder, and there are some other terms that I'll reference in just a moment that are synonymous with this term, we see that it refers to an official office in the church, an official role of responsibility among the people of God, an office that has particular qualifications and it has specific responsibilities. won't take time to go there, but we see this unfolding in the book of Acts, the book that provides for us a history of the birth and the growth of the church. Paul's missionary strategy, if you will, and Paul is a prominent figure throughout the latter part of the book of Acts, and his primary strategy in furthering the gospel of God was to go into new cities, preach the gospel, see people come to faith in accordance with the Lord's sovereign design, gather those people together in local churches, and then appoint elders in those churches. Men who would reflect certain character qualifications that would be identified to share in the leadership of that church under Christ. then as that would be established Paul and his companions would move on to new areas and often they would circle back to places where they had seen God established churches and they would seek to encourage and to build them up all the more we see it clearly being referenced as a as a particular office it's spoken of it that way in Acts chapter 11 verse 30 also in chapter 14 verse 23 also in chapter 15 verse 2 and then one or two other references that I'll come back to that I'll reference in just a few moments we also see Paul speaking about this in a couple of his letters if you go back to his letter to Timothy his first letter to Timothy in in chapter 3 he speaks directly to elders and to those who would aspire to be elders and so we find in verse 1 of 1st Timothy chapter 3 he says the saying is trustworthy if anyone aspires to the office of overseer he desires a noble task the term he uses there is overseer is one of the terms which is synonymous with elder speaking of who is providing leadership under Christ in the church. And there Paul is affirming that if a man has a desire, a strong yearning for that work, for that role and responsibility and all that is bound up within that work, Paul's affirming that is a good thing. And ultimately we find and learn that that's a God-given desire that God places to man. It's really the first and most fundamental qualification for an elder is, does a man desire that work? a full understanding of what the nature of that work is. But it's a right thing, and I would say to the men among us in particular, if God is putting that desire, if you have that desire, that is a good thing. Let us know about it. Let us talk with you and pray with you and see what the Lord may be doing and perhaps raising you up to share in that ministry in the church. And I would make a footnote again we don't have time to develop this fully but while men and women together are created equal in the image of God while men and women together are joint heirs in all of the blessings and the riches that God pours out upon us through the Lord Jesus Christ God's Word makes it clear that there is a distinction of responsibility as it relates to leadership this type of leadership in the church in fact at the end of chapter 2 in 1st Timothy, Paul speaks specifically about this, that this is a role and responsibility that in God's sovereign design He has designated for men. And women, of course, have other vital and critically important roles within the body of Christ, but this particular role is one that is uniquely designated for men. so we see Paul speaking of it as a specific office. Over in chapter 5 of 1st Timothy, in verse 17, he gives some further directions, and again, he's making reference to elders as a particular office. It says, let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. He goes on to unpack that a little bit. The point I want you to note there is that he's making reference to a particular office. then over in his small letter of Titus the letter that he wrote to Titus which is right after 2nd Timothy he also makes reference to this as he is encouraging Titus who he's left on the island of Crete to be faithful in appointing elders and so this is what he says to him in chapter 1 verse 5 of the book of Titus this is why I left you in Crete so that you might put what remained into order and appoint elders in every town as I directed you so again we see this official formal if you will pattern of leadership and this is what Peter is making reference to in 1st Peter chapter 5 there is a formality to this with regard to the purposes into the design of God that this is an official office of leadership and beloved it really helps us understand among other things that New Testament church leadership is really very very simple not always easy. It's very difficult. In fact, it's humanly impossible, but...but the design of it is very simple. And to complement the work of elders, so that elders can be faithful in the God-given responsibility of ministering God's Word in prayer, we also see in the New Testament evidence of the office of deacon. Those who are given by God to support and complement the ministry of elders, so that elders can be freed up and do what we're uniquely called to do. And all of this in God's design, working within the body of Christ, for the good of the whole body and for the growth and the comfort and for the strengthening of every sheep who is a part of the body, and all of that to the glory of God and to the furthering of the gospel. Now, speaking still on this point of the formality of the work, I do want to just draw attention to the three different main terms for church leaders that we find in the New Testament, because it's important to understand that contrary to much of what we see in many churches in our day, contrary to much...much of what we see and understand even across the landscape of church history, these three different terms all refer to one office, okay? Here's the three different terms. The first is the term that is translated by the translators in 1st Peter chapter 5 verse 1, elders. Elders. It's the Greek word presbuteros. Presbuteros. It's where we get the term Presbyterian, and it helps us understand even the... the nature of Presbyterianism is a... is a form of... of understanding of church government that has a regard for plurality of elders. there's other aspects involved there as well but that's why that that's that's how that term is connected there now the term the Greek term press Buddha Ross it appears a number of times throughout the New Testament it's the term that used primarily in the book of Acts in those references that I mentioned earlier and it can refer to those who are older in physical age but it clearly also refers in its many uses in the New Testament to those who have a certain measure of spiritual maturity reflecting the work of the Spirit of God so it can refer to physical age as those who are older but it also bears significance related to spiritual maturity And that spiritual maturity, in fact, is descriptively spoken of by Paul in 1 Timothy 3 and in Titus 1, as he speaks of various character qualities that are to be reflected of those who would be identified in this office, in this role of responsibility. So we see the term elder, it's the Greek term presbuteros. A second term that we see is the term that is often translated in our English New Testaments as overseer, it's the Greek word Episkopos. Episkopos. And of course, this relates to what we understand as the Episcopalian form of government, and of that denomination that bears that name. But the Greek term Episkopos literally means overseer. Again, it is used a number of times in the New Testament. We find it right here in chapter 5, verse 2. When Peter says, shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight. It's the Greek word, that's one Greek word, episkopos. And it's a participle as it appears there in 1 Peter 5 verse 2, and the term refers to the diligent, attentive, skilled, superintending care, overseeing care of the man who is in that role. And again, in connection with the other term, presbuteros, elder. then there's a third primary term that we find that is translated either as shepherd or pastor and it's the Greek word poimena poimena and this is what we find at the beginning of verse 2 when Peter uses it as a verb when he says shepherd the flock of God that is among you it's that Greek root word poimeno and it's used both as a verb and as a noun many times in the New Testament John chapter 10 when Jesus speaks of himself as the Good Shepherd he's using that term poimenos it's also used back in chapter 2 of 1st Peter in verse 25 and this passage is really helpful for helping us understand the nature of God's leadership in the church verse 25 says for you were strained like sheep but have now returned to the shepherd poimenos overseer, episkopos of your souls." There we see those terms used interchangeably, referring there specifically to the Lord Jesus Christ. But those are the three main terms that are used throughout the New Testament. Episkopos, poimenos, and presbudoros. Overseer, shepherd or pastor, and elder. these are not referring, again, to different offices in the church. They're referring to the same office, just different aspects of that work. And the term poimena, by the way, has to do with and refers to a sense of ownership that the shepherd, the good shepherd, the chief shepherd, has over the sheep, and it also refers to his comprehensive provision, nourishment, leading, and protection. And so all of these terms together provide for us a rich and a full picture of the Lord's shepherding care for His flock, but also how He brings about that shepherding care through His Word, through the power of His Holy Spirit, and through those men that He raises up to share in the shepherding of His church. Now I want you to see a couple of instances where all three terms are used together. One of them is right here in 1 Peter chapter 5, and perhaps you've already observed this, that Peter uses all three terms in this passage. Notice it in verse 1, so I exhort the elders, there's presbuteros, I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder, a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and then verse 2, shepherd the flock of God, there's that root word poimento, and then exercising oversight, episkopos. so in two verses, he uses all three terms, and you see they all relate to the same person and to the same scope of responsibilities. One other place we see these rather dramatically spoken of together is in Acts chapter 20, and I'd invite you to turn back there. Acts chapter 20, we find the Apostle Paul departing from the city of Ephesus, knowing that he is not going to see the church in Ephesus, nor the leaders in the church in Ephesus. He knows they're not...that he's not going to see them again on this earth. And so it's a very sober, very emotional parting that he has with them, and on verse...in verse 17 of Acts chapter 20, read a little bit. I'm not going to read through this whole section, but just enough to highlight this, as he is exhorting them and encouraging them. And so we read in verse 17 of Acts 20, now, from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. And there is the term presbuteros. He calls the elders. then notice down in verse 28 now in the midst of the specific things that he is exhorting and encouraging them with here's what he has to say among other things he says pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers Episcopal and then he goes on to say to care for the Church of God and then NASB says to shepherd the Church of God that phrase to care for is the word poimento and so again all three terms are used in verse 17 again down in verse 28 all referring to the same office and different aspects of the same office now hopefully among other things you you can see in all of this that God's design again for authority for responsibility for shepherding care in the local church is really quite and profound. That there are to be elders, overseers, pastors, really all the same term, representing different aspects of the same office. There are to be deacons who complement and support elders in that work, so they can be given to what they're given to do, all of that for the good of the whole body. of course the entire body shares in giftedness from God as we are to minister those gifts to one another and that's what Peter has addressed in chapter 4 verses 10 and 11 that all of us are stewards of his grace all of us share in ministry one to another but under the shepherding care of Christ elders slash shepherds slash pastors slash overseers have a particular responsibility within all of that so that's the formality of the work this is not a human design this is God's design human beings unfortunately sometimes in great and grandiose ways have totally distorted this by wrong hierarchies of leadership within the church and different titles that are used for different roles of leadership that have no basis in the New Testament this is God's design as we see for his shepherding care of his flock." Well that's the formality of the work. We'll move through these somewhat quickly, the rest. Number three, we see the fellowship of the work. The fellowship of the work. Notice how Peter addresses other elders. Now Peter's an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has a unique foundational role in the establishing of the church. In fact, back in chapter 1, verse 1, he identifies himself as an apostle. does he try to pull rank on these men that he is now addressing directly does he try to put himself in a place of superiority over such men no not at all he speaks of the shared fellowship that he has with them in this calling as elders so he identifies himself as a fellow elder and the term that he uses in the Greek that's literally what it means a fellow elder one who is sharing with you in this role and responsibility and it helps us even understand that while apostles like Peter had a clear and a specific foundational role in the church they were ultimately providing that foundation and in the ultimate foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ but reflecting the roles and the responsibilities of elders of shepherding God's people of caring for God's people in accordance with the Word of God Notice also in verse 1, he identifies himself as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker, or that could also be translated as a sharer, and it's the Greek word koine. It comes from that word from which we get the word fellowship, koine, or koinonia, and he's referring to himself in the fellowship that he shares with other elders. And so, from Peter being, as the Catholic Church would suggest, the first pope in a unique place of authority over the church, Peter is saying, no, I am a fellow elder. I share in this same fellowship and responsibility under the chief shepherd...under the chief shepherd. Now notice also in verse 1 that Peter speaks of his partnership, he speaks of his fellowship as a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed. Now when he speaks of being a witness of the suffering of Christ, the sense of what he is saying there most likely is referring to his being one called by God to bear witness of the sufferings of Christ. I don't think he's primarily speaking of being an eyewitness of Christ and his sufferings, though indeed he was, although it's debatable whether or not Peter actually witnessed the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. But certainly it's right to say that he was an eyewitness. He walked with the Lord Jesus Christ. He saw the whole scope of his sufferings that culminated, of course, in his death. but again I think the sense of what he's referring to here is one who like other elders and indeed like the entire church is given to bear witness of Christ to proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ and he also identifies himself in this fellowship as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed in that hope of of the coming glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and he's made frequent reference to this in the letter back in chapter 1 he also does in chapter 4 and even here in chapter 5 and so he's identifying himself as a fellow elder he's speaking of the fellowship of this work not putting himself in any place over these other men that the Lord has called that he's speaking to and he's doing this to exhibit his own humility and to exhibit a sense of persuasiveness that they would heed the counsel and encouragement that he's giving and so he speaks of this fellowship of the work and we see a fourth aspect of this work and that is the foundation of the work the foundation of the work is Jesus Christ and again that's why he's speaking as he is there in the end of verse 1 he's reminding himself he's reminding those to whom he's writing as elders he's reminding the entire church that the focal point of everything the foundation of everything is the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ his coming glory following his sufferings and he's speaking here ultimately of the hope of eternal life that is given to believers because of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the privilege and the responsibilities in that living hope that we now have that we are partakers of the fruit of his sufferings and we are partakers of his coming glory. And so he's reminding elders, he's reminding the entire church that the focal point is the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ crucified, risen, and coming again. And this is why he speaks as he does at the end of chapter 2, as I already referenced part of that passage, but as he is upon the example of the Lord Jesus Christ let me bump up to verse 21 of chapter 2 and read down through verse 25 Peter says for to this you've been called because Christ also suffered for you leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps he committed no sin neither was deceit found in his mouth and when he was reviled he didn't revile in return when he suffered he did not threaten but he continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness by his wounds you have been healed for you were strained like sheep but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls and over again throughout this letter and this is a key part where Peter explicitly speaks of the of the reality of Christ's sufferings of the fruit of those sufferings namely that he has borne our sins that he has satisfied the wrath of God that he has paid for our guilt he has enabled the means of God forgiving because his justice has been satisfied in pouring out his wrath on Jesus in our place and so we have been healed from our sin and from our guilt and from our separation from God and so we now are to die to sin and to live to his righteousness in the hope of the forgiveness in the life that he's called us to and this is constantly the foundation of the very existence of the church is that we are those who are God's people upon whom he has poured his mercy through Jesus Christ so again as Peter is speaking to shepherds of the church he's reminding them that the foundation of everything the authority of everything is the Lord Jesus Christ and all that he accomplished through his sufferings even now as he now reigns in exalted glory soon to come again the foundation of the work is Jesus Christ well that leads to the sixth aspect of the work the focus of the work this is the direct commandment at the beginning of verse 2, shepherd the flock of God that is among you. Or it could also be translated as, shepherd the flock of God that is with you, that is among you. And this is the central commandment, this is the imperative, shepherd the flock of God. This helps us understand the focus of the work. this is a commandment that is given with a sense of urgency, in which shepherds are to be responsive, to understand this is what we are called to do, to shepherd God's people and to respond with immediate, deliberate, ongoing resolve and devotion. And notice how he then expands a little bit, as I referenced earlier, he says, shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight. He speaks down a little bit more detail of the nature of this shepherding work, the focus of this work. Exercising oversight, providing superintending care of the entire flock and of each sheep within the flock. Now we'll look at these things in a bit more detail next week as well, but the essence of this shepherding responsibility and again there's an entire biblical background of this metaphor this picture of a shepherd with sheep the primary function of of the shepherding work is to be feeding and nourishing the sheep we think of that those great statements from King David in Psalm 23 as he reflects upon the shepherding care of God he says in that Psalm, the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness. And he goes on to speak of the shepherd's care. At the very heart of that is this sense of feeding. Feeding the sheep. Now of course Peter had direct experience with this, and I'd like you to turn back to John chapter 21 to understand the weight and the significance of Peter's exhortation that shepherds are to shepherd the flock and that the heart of that shepherding involves feeding and feeding is ultimately accomplished through the Word of God that we nourish one another and that shepherds have a unique responsibility of feeding with the Word of God in John chapter 21 following Jesus resurrection from the dead and following of course Peter's denial of the Lord Jesus Christ as it's recorded in earlier chapters there in the gospel of John and we find it also in the other gospel records now Jesus catches up with Peter and he reinstates him to ministry and notice the focus of what the risen Lord the good chief shepherd now is exhorts and instructs Peter to do. We'll pick it up in verse 15 and read down through verse 17 of chapter 21. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of John, do you love me more than these? And he said to him, yes Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, feed my lambs. He said to him a second time, Simon son of John, do you love me? He said to him, yes Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, tend my sheep. he said to him the third time Simon son of John do you love me and Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time do you love me and he said to him Lord you know everything you know that I love you Jesus said to him feed my sheep Repeatedly, Jesus is pressing home to Peter. His responsibility, God-given responsibility, as a shepherd in God's flock, is to feed the sheep. And of course, flowing from that feeding, connected with that feeding, is a sense of knowing the flock, leading the flock, protecting the flock against all who would harm. And beloved, this is ultimately bound up within the Word of God as the food that God has given to us to be nourished by. That's the primary responsibility of a shepherd is to be feeding the flock of God with the Word of God. think about it this is what Peter is even exemplifying in his entire letter as he is writing to sheep and he is laying out the Word of God as God is directing him and he is exhorting them in the grace of God that they might see and know ever more fully the the great hope of the salvation that Jesus Christ has accomplished and the great glory that awaits as they continue to trust him and persevere even in the fires of trial he's feeding them with the Word of God and telling elders that they are to be shepherding the flock, it's primarily grounded in this matter of feeding the Word of God. And we see this over and over and over again through Scripture. I won't go back there, but in Acts chapter 20, as Paul is speaking to those Ephesian elders about the nature of his ministry among them, he says elsewhere in that passage, I did not fail to declare to you that whole counsel of God. He says, but publicly, and from house to house, I was teaching and laying before you the Word of God. even as he leaves those elders he tells them in verse 32 now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified and so our primary responsibility as as elders and shepherds is to be feeding with the Word of God praying that God would so work through his word to continue to nourish and strengthen your faith in him but that's the heart that's the essence that's the focus of the work of an elder to be proclaiming and teaching the Word of God publicly and from house to house in large group corporate settings such as this an individual one-on-one times coming alongside and and considering how the Word of God and what what the Word of God says how it applies to our life and walking and working and praying and talking and shepherding each of you to that end. And so this is the focus of the work, shepherding through the Word of God, feeding through the Word of God. And this leads us to consider this final aspect of the work that I want to draw your attention to, and that is the flock of the work. Don't miss the significance. Peter says, shepherd the flock of God that is among you. He emphatically makes clear that the sheep belong to one shepherd. chief shepherd, the flock of God. Now throughout his letter, Peter has spoken of this with regard to believers, that they are the people of God. We are the people of God. We've been purchased by His precious blood, he makes reference to in chapter 1 verses 18 and 19. We've become recipients of His mercy. We're identified as His chosen people, as he says in chapter 2 verses 9 and 10. what Peter is affirming over and over again that that every believer is a part of of God's flock the sheep belong to the one who poured out his blood for them again back in Acts chapter 20 verse 28 that passage that I read earlier Paul says to the Ephesians elders shepherd the flock of God that is among you which he purchased with his own blood Now why is this vitally important for shepherds to understand? Why is it vitally important for the sheep to understand? Because we belong to one shepherd, the Good Shepherd. You, those of you who have affirmed your membership among the body here at River City Grace, you're not my people, you're not the elders' people, you know, you don't belong to Chuck and Smokey and Steve and Greg. You belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. our care for you and our work among you and our burden and our desire for you is fundamentally driven and motivated by the fact that you belong to God and he poured out his blood for you and you're precious to him in that sense and so however imperfectly we we labor to fulfill our calling our responsibility we do so with that strong awareness of you have one Shepherd and it's not us we have a role we have a responsibility but we didn't die for you we can't absorb the wrath of God on your behalf only Jesus has done that we can't ultimately support and sustain you in trials and difficulties and challenges that the Lord ordains in your lives only the Good Shepherd can do that and and that's why really rightly understanding these exhortations in chapter 5 can only be done by understanding those statements at the end of chapter 2. That we have one who has borne our sin. We have one who is the shepherd and overseer of our souls, and that all of us are a part of His flock. And we have God-given calling, and we have God-given responsibilities within all of that, but you are God's. You are God's. He is the one in the Lord Jesus Christ who gave His blood for you. this is why Peter's going to go on and talk about the dangers and the duties of an elder, and that's what he addresses in the rest of verse 2 and...and in verse 3, relating to the...the boundaries of our responsibility under the chief shepherd. We're going to look at that more fully next week. But beloved, do you see what this points to? This points to the fact that Jesus is a faithful shepherd of his sheep. this is why also, by the way, this is why church membership is such a vital reality, because what this passage assumes is that there are elders who are identifiable, and that there's a flock who is identifiable. that they both know who the other is. The elders know who the flock is, and the flock knows who the elders are, and that's really the essence of membership in the church, is just affirming that, yes, I'm a part of the flock in a general universal sense belonging to Christ, but in a particular local church sense, as we see it played out over and over again throughout the New Testament. letters are written to local churches as Paul is ministering to and in local churches as we see in the book of Acts and even Peter is addressing elders in the context here of local churches and so it helps us understand why these matters are so vitally important that that the elders know who the flock is and that the flock knows who the elders are and that there's a shared submission to one another under Christ and a right understanding of the roles and responsibilities for all of us So beloved, this is the work of a shepherd, because the good shepherd, the chief shepherd, cares for his sheep, and all of us as sheep need him as our shepherd, and we need the means of his shepherding care that he's ordained in and through the local church, and those whom he's called to share as shepherds in the local church. you might say just as we as we wrap it up well what's the response how do we how do we respond to this I think two primary ways one of them we see directly in the passage namely that there's to be a disposition of submission to that leadership under the shepherding leadership of Christ and this is why Peter says what he does in verse 5 likewise you who are younger be subject to your elders and And then he makes clear, "...clothe yourselves, all of you, elders and non-elders alike, all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble." And then goes on to give additional directives. but in God's design however imperfect shepherding leadership in the church may be and it is imperfect for all of us because we're yet in a process of sanctification but hopefully there's progress hopefully there's identifiable characteristics that reflect the fruit of the Spirit such that we are above reproach by God's grace and that's why Paul speaks about those things in Titus 1 and in 1st Timothy 3 all of us laboring and walking together and working together under the chief shepherd whose glory we share and whose glory we anticipate so there's to be a disposition of humbly submitting to that leadership as under Christ and And then I think a second key point of application is to pray for the elders. Understanding the scope of responsibility, understanding the significance of it, pray. And this is why Paul in places like Ephesians 6 and in 2 Timothy 3 and elsewhere is soliciting the prayers of God's people. Because we're men of flesh. We need God's grace. We need God's strength. These are humanly impossible tasks and responsibilities the Lord has called us to. beloved all of this is for God's glory in Christ and for the deepening of his purposes among us and for the strengthening and the and the well-being of each one of our souls in him we'll continue to consider these things in the next couple of weeks as well but let me lead us in prayer for now our Heavenly Father so much that we have considered all there's just so much for us to to think about and to digest in these matters and And I would ask that preeminently, you would just continue to draw our hearts and minds to the Lord Jesus Christ, to the One who is the Chief Shepherd, that all of us would understand our relationship before You, in light of Your holy and majestic authority, that we would rightly understand our relationships with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ in the broadest sense but even within your design of shepherding leadership in the church to understand the nature of those relationships as well we thank you for your shepherding care and pray that if there is anyone here who is outside of that care because of their rebellion and because of their sin that God you might be pleased to open their eyes and to awaken them to your holy wrath to the fear of you that they might be convicted of their guilt that they might see your salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ and that they would flee to him by faith Lord thank you for the time that we've shared now may you apply all of these matters to us as you know us and have designed for us to hear these things Lord apply them to our souls for for your glory and your purposes in us in Jesus name Amen