An overview for Sunday School teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of I Peter 5:1-11, for Sunday, May 4, 2025, with the title, “Be Humble.” A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO:

“For more than a century prior to 1850 officers in the (British) Worcestershire Regiment wore their swords to mess (dinner), and even after the custom was generally abandoned, the orderly officer and the captain of the week always went sworded to table. The custom originated in 1746, when a detachment of the regiment … was stationed in the Leeward Islands. While the officers were (in the mess hall) one night, (the enemy) … attacked and massacred the garrison. After this the regiment decided it would be prudent to be prepared.” (Byron Farwell, Mr. Kipling’s Army, p. 65)

(AND/OR you could ask your group: ??? What are some things people might do to be prepared during wartime, that they might not otherwise???

Answers might include: having a shelter ready; conserving energy and/or natural resources: like in World War II Americans saved metal and rubber to enable war production; all lights in coastal cities were darkened at night to prevent enemy ships or planes from bombing; guards were posted, etc.)

It is important during wartime, to be prepared. What many Christians don’t seem to realize is that we too are at war — or at least many of us don’t act like it! But in today’s lesson in I Peter, Peter writes to remind us that we do face a powerful spiritual enemy, and he teaches us how to be ready for face our spiritual battles.

CONTEXT:

This is our last lesson in the our study of the New Testament book of I Peter. We’ve seen how Peter was writing to Christians in what is now Turkey, who were suffering for their faith. He encourages these believers to find comfort in the eternal inheritance they were soon to inherit, and admonishes them to honor God by the way they live, submit to authority, and witness to others, as they endure their trials. 

Now Peter concludes his letter by emphasizing some final, very important things: he gives specific instructions to their leaders, stresses one of the most important qualities of the Christian life, and reminds them to be watchful in the spiritual war that is raging against them. Thus our outline for today comes right out of the text:

OUTLINE:

I. The Ministry of the Elder/Pastor  (:1-4)

II. The Importance of Humility  (:5-7)

III. The Spiritual Battle  (:8-11)

TEXT:   I Peter 5:1-11

I. The Ministry of the Elder (Pastor)

: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, 2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; 3 nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

A. WHO he addresses here:

So Peter begins this first section of Chapter 5 writing to “the elders among you.” It’s important to understand that he is NOT just talking here to “older men” in the church, but to a very particular group, what many of us today would call the “pastors” of the churches.

In the New Testament, we find three different titles that all refer to the same pastoral office: “pastor,” “elder,” and “overseer.” But as we see in Acts 20, these are not three different positions, but all three of these terms refer to the same person/office:

— Acts 20:17 says Paul called “the ELDERS” of the church at Ephesus to meet him.

— Then in 20:28 he tells these same men: “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you OVERSEERS, to SHEPHERD the church of God …”. “Shepherd” (poimen) is the word for pastor.

So in Acts 20, “pastor,” “overseer,” and “elder” all refer to the same men, the “pastors” of the churches.

Significantly, WE SEE THE SAME THING HERE IN I PETER 5:

— in 5:1 Peter addresses them as “elders”: this is the word “presbuteros,” “elder” (we get our word “presbytery” from it)

— 5:2 “Shepherd/feed” the flock — again the Greek “poimen,” from which we get the word “shepherd” or “pastor”

— 5:2 “exercising oversight” — this is from the word “episkopos,” or “overseer.” (we get our “episcopal” from it). 

So in I Peter 5, as well as Acts 20, all three of these terms refer to the SAME group on people: what many of us would call “pastors” or “elders” today.

Herschel Hobbs, Baptist statesman and theologian in the mid-1900s, in his commentary book on The Baptist Faith & Message: “The same office is variously called bishop, elder, or pastor…” and he refers to Acts 20.  

So it is clear that these are not three different offices, but three terms used to describe the SAME OFFICE: call it “pastor,” “elder,” “overseer” — it is describing the same person — what most of us probably just call “pastor” today. 

B. HOW are these men to serve? (What are they to do, etc.)

First of all, the three titles Peter uses here imply certain responsibilities of the minister:

— “elder” implies at least some attainment of age and experience. (Remember I Timothy 3:6 says the pastor is to be “not a new convert”). 

— “Shepherd” refers to how he is to lead and feed the flock with the word of God, preaching and teaching.

— “Overseeer” implies that he supervises the work of the church. 

So these terms themselves give us a good idea of what the pastor/elder/overseer is to do. But then Peter gives some very specific directions for their work in :2-3: 

As an EXERCISE for your group, you might ask them to call out the qualities the Bible requires of the pastor/elder here. OR you can just review them. 

(Either way, you’ll want to point these things out:

First, NOTE THE CONTRASTING way these are put: “NOT/BUT”:

— “NOT under compulsion, BUT voluntarily”

— “NOT for sordid gain, BUT with eagerness”

— “NOR yet as lording it over … BUT proving to be examples”

All these are important qualities for a pastor:

— “Not under compulsion, but voluntarily.” He doesn’t serve because he HAS to, but because God has truly called him to serve. 

— Related to that, he is to serve “Not for sordid gain, but with eagerness.” In other words, it’s not all about money for him. He doesn’t lead off his pastoral interview asking how much the salary is. There is an appropriate time to discuss salary for a minister, but you can tell if someone is in it for the money. Money is not always to be the bottom line for him personally, or for the work he does in the church.

— Finally here, as he serves as pastor, he is NOT “lord it over” the people — in other words, he doesn’t act like the “dictator” or the “big boss” of everyone in the church. Yes, we just saw that he is to be the “overseer” of the church; that is true. He IS to lead and direct the church. But he’s not to lead as a “master,” but as a servant. An important phrase here is: “proving to be examples.” How does he get people to do what they should in the church? He doesn’t merely “boss them around;” rather he SHOWS them by his own personal example what they are to do:

— SHOW the congregation how a person lives out their faith

— SHOW the congregation what humility looks like. 

— SHOW the congregation what a witness does. 

— SHOW them what it means to care for people.

The best sermon a pastor will give his people is the “sermon” of his own life example. 

John Chrysostom (“Chrysostom” means “golden tongued”) was a preacher in Constantinople about 300 years after Christ. He said:   “A good example is better than a thousand sermons.”

You may consider posting this quote and discussing it with your class: 

??? Do you think this is true? What thoughts do you have about his quote??? 

If your church is without a pastor right now, this would be a fantastic passage for you to use to pray for your future pastor.

Pray these specific verses and qualities for them.  

AND it would be a great passage to pray for your PRESENT pastor too! This is how God says he should be serving. If he isn’t, don’t criticize him; rather pray this scripture for him on a regular basis. It will be one of the very best things you can do for him, and for your church.

II. The Importance of Humility

:5 “You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

??? Ask your group???:

“Do you notice a word that is repeated in some form THREE TIMES in this section” (:5-7)???

(“humility/humble”:

— :5b “all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another”

— :5c “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble”

— :6 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God”

“Humility … humble … humble …” THREE TIMES in two verses God emphasizes the importance of humility here.

(— Notice that this part of this verse, that God gives grace to the humble, is a quote from Proverbs 3:34 from the Septuagint or Greek version of the Old Testament. So Peter is again quoting scripture here in his teaching.)

— Psalm 138:6 is another cross-reference here: “For though the LORD is exalted, Yet He regards the lowly, But the haughty He knows from afar.”

??? You might ask your group to share: ??? WHY do you think humility would be such an important quality in the church, that he would emphasize it these three times???

(You/your group can share their thoughts — and there are several things we could share, like: 

— pride is offensive to people and turns them off; it could be very damaging to fellowship in a church; 

— humility keeps us open to learning from others and from God, but pride keeps us from that.

— pride makes things all about US, instead of keeping God at the center. 

There are a number of things you/your group can share. But then point out that this TEXT actually gives us at least one important answer to this question, at the end of :5: “For God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Here we find a very practical reason we should be humble: If you want God to give you grace, then you need to be humble! But if you won’t humble yourself, God will “oppose” you! The word “oppose” here is the Greek “anti-tasso.” “Tasso” means “to line up in military order.”“Anti,” of course, means “against.” SO if you are proud, GOD will line up in military order against you! I don’t think anyone wants that! So let’s humble our pride, and let God give us His grace.

ILLUSTRATION:

Franz Joseph Hayden was one of the great musicians of all time. Yet unlike many accomplished musicians, he did not wallow in pride, but was always very humble. Patrick Kavanaugh, in his book, Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers, wrote:

“Once, late in life, when Haydn met a devotee who heaped praise upon him, Haydn cut him off. ‘Do not speak so to me. You see only a man whom God has granted talent and a good heart.’” (p. 42)

Kavanaugh wrote that this was typical of Hayden; that the the single most prominent characteristic of his life, was his humility. He also suggests that because of his humility, Hayden was never content to “sit on his laurels” and the praise that many lavished upon him, but he continued to humbly work, and to produce some of his finest music even into his 60s and 70s. God kept on giving grace to the humble! 

And He will do the same for us. Humility is one of THE single most important qualities of the Christian life, both for initial salvation, and for our continued growth in the Lord:

HUMILITY AND SALVATION:

The very first of Jesus’ Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount is Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” He shows us there that humility is the foundational quality of the Kingdom. You can’t get into the Kingdom of God without humility. To be saved, you must humble yourself and admit your sin, and your own inability to save yourself — that you are a “spiritual beggar,” which is what “poor in spirit” means. If you can’t do that, you will never be saved, and will never enter the Kingdom.

— Remember Jesus said in Luke 18 that it was the publican who wouldn’t even lift his eyes to heaven, but merely prayed: “God be merciful to me, the sinner,” who went to his house justified. The Pharisee, who didn’t humble himself, was not. God only gives grace to the humble. Humility is a prerequisite for salvation.

So encourage your members: don’t let your pride keep you out of the Kingdom of God. Humble yourself today, admit your sin to God, and ask Him to save you, not on the basis of anything you can take pride in, but only because of what Jesus did for you, when He died on the cross for you. You must humble yourself, if you are going to be saved.

HUMILITY AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH:

Humility is not only foundational to our initial salvation, if we want God to continue to give us grace to grow in the Christian life, we need to continue to humble ourselves. We do this by reminding ourselves, God, and others, that we can’t do anything without Him. 

I personally believe that one of the single greatest indicators of humility is our prayer life. Why would that be? Because if we are truly humble, we know we can’t do things in our own strength; we know we need God — and so we pray. But if we are proud, and self-confident, we don’t pray — because in our heart of hearts we don’t really think we need God! So in a very real sense, how often and how fervently we pray, reveals in a very practical way just how humble we truly are — or are not!

You might challenge your group with this: ??? If this is true, then what does my prayer life say about how humble I am???

We ought to be praying before/during/after everything we do, for Jesus Himself said “Without Me, you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Humble yourself; admit how much you need God, and pray. If you will, scripture says God will give you the grace you need!

III. The Spiritual Battle

8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

After instructing the pastors, and encouraging the people to humility, Peter now reminds us all about the spiritual battle that we all face. He speak in :8 of “your adversary, the devil …”.

We need to remember that there is a real devil, who is opposing us, and who wants to destroy us:

— Ephesians 6:10-13 is one of the great +x passages on that:

10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against [e]flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” And then it goes into the spiritual armor with which we are to fight the battle.

But both of these passage remind us that we are facing a SPIRITUAL battle. The battle is not against the people or problems we see, but it is a spiritual battle, against the devil and his demons. “Modern scientific humanists” do not believe in this spiritual realm, and they mock those who do. But if we hold to the teaching of God’s word, we need to recognize the reality of the spiritual battle. 

C.S. Lewis wrote:   “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”

You could post this quote for your group, and ask them to share their thoughts about it — especially in light of what I Peter 5:8 says.

(Some thoughts might include:

— Disbelieving in the devil/demons leaves you unprepared against a great enemy. If you don’t believe in them, it leaves you wide open to them. (This is one reason by Lewis says one of Satan’s strategies is to keep people from believing in him at all.)

— But on the other hand, many of us have known people who were TOO preoccupied with demons. I’ve known a person who believed in a “demon of soap operas,” and another who believed in a “demon of redneck”!)

The key, as always, is to keep a scriptural balance. Do what Peter teaches here:

—recognize that we DO have a real spiritual adversary, the devil.

— “be on the alert” against him. This Greek word refers to someone who stays awake during the night watch, watching out for an incoming enemy. Don’t fall asleep on Satan’s attacks. He is real, and he is coming against you and your loved ones.

— And when he attacks, “resist” him, Peter says. “Antihistimi” literally means “stand” (“histemi”) “against” (“anti”). “Stand against” him. And how do we do that? Peter says “be firm in your faith.” Paul goes into much more detail in Ephesians 6, detailing the spiritual armor, including the “shield of faith,” and “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” and they “praying at all times.”

Remember, these are SPIRITUAL attacks we need to stand against. It doesn’t do any good to literally stand outside your house with a suit of armor on. Our “armor” is spiritual. Remember II Corinthians 10:3-4 says: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but [a]divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.” We have to fight with SPIRITUAL weapons: faith, God’s word, and prayer. 

It’s notable that in context, after warning his readers against Satan’s attacks, Peter tells his readers in :9-10 to “resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. 10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”

So he’s writing, as he does all through this letter, in the context of their suffering for their faith. And he says, stand against the attacks of Satan. What are these attacks? NOT ONLY the actual physical attacks that may come against them — but also the SPIRITUAL attacks that Satan may tempt them with: to believe that God is not good because He is allowing these things to happen; or that God is not all-powerful because He can’t stop them; or that no good thing will come out of our suffering — when His word tells us specifically that He DOES bring good things out of everything that touches us. 

So we resist Satan’s spiritual attacks by using “the sword of the Spirit, the word of God” as Paul writes in Ephesians 6:

— when Satan tempts us to believe that God is not good, resist him by quoting Psalm 119: “You are good and do good.”

— when Satan tempts you to think God can’t help you, stand against him by quoting Jeremiah 32:17, “‘Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You”!

— when Satan comes against you with an attack of despair, that nothing good can come out of the suffering you are in, fight the spiritual battle with “the sword of the Spirit” and say “I KNOW that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him, and who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

RESIST him; fight the spiritual battle. And the way you do it is with the spiritual weapons of faith in God’s word, and prayer. 

Fight the battle, Peter says. And then he closes, saying that your suffering is just for “a little while.” It will soon be over. And then God will call you to His eternal glory in Christ. So here at the end of the book, Peter circles back to the beginning: remember the eternal inheritance he mentioned in Chapter 1, “Imperishable, undefiled, will not fade away, kept in heaven for you …”.  Keep your eyes fixed on that, and don’t let Satan’s attacks discourage you. 

We all need this encouragement as we fight our battles; your class members need this word. I’ll be praying for you as you prepare to share this much-needed word of encouragement this week!

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