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By: Rich Puckett

As with most of my studies, my comments are in red. The blue is from Matthew Henrys and Believers Study Bible commentary.

1 Peter 5: (v. 1-4) Elders exhorted and encouraged.

(v. 5-9) Younger Christians are to submit to their elders, and to yield with humility and patience to God, and to be sober, watchful, and stedfast in faith.

(v. 10-14) Prayers for their growth and establishment.

Elders exhorted and encouraged

I would word this verse like this, to you church leaders I plead with you, for I too am a fellow preacher and witness of all that Christ went through and his glory to come.

A name frequently used in the Old Testament as denoting a person clothed with authority, and entitled to respect and reverence (Gen. 50:7). It also denoted a political office (Num. 22:7). The "elders of Israel" held a rank among the people indicative of authority. Moses opened his commission to them (Ex. 3:16). They attended Moses on all important occasions. Seventy of them attended on him at the giving of the law (Ex. 24:1). Seventy also were selected from the whole number to bear with Moses the burden of the people (Num. 11:16, 17). The "elder" is the keystone of the social and political fabric wherever the patriarchal system exists. At the present day this is the case among the Arabs, where the sheik (i.e., "the old man") is the highest authority in the tribe. The body of the "elders" of Israel were the representatives of the people from the very first, and were recognized as such by Moses. All down through the history of the Jews we find mention made of the elders as exercising authority among the people. They appear as governors (Deut. 31:28), as local magistrates (Deut. 16:18), administering justice (Deut. 19:12). They were men of extensive influence (1 Sam. 30:26-31). In New Testament times they also appear taking an active part in public affairs (Matt. 16:21; 21:23; 26:59).

The Jewish eldership was transferred from the old dispensation to the new. "The creation of the office of elder is nowhere recorded in the New Testament, as in the case of deacons and apostles, because the latter offices were created to meet new and special emergencies, while the former was transmitted from the earliest times. In other words, the office of elder was the only permanent essential office of the church under either dispensation."

The "elders" of the New Testament church were the "pastors" (Eph. 4:11), "bishops or overseers" (Acts 20:28), "leaders" and "rulers" (Heb. 13:7; 1 Thess. 5:12) of the flock. Everywhere in the New Testament bishop and presbyter are titles given to one and the same officer of the Christian church. He who is called presbyter or elder on account of his age or gravity is also called bishop or overseer with reference to the duty that lay upon him (Titus 1:5-7; Acts 20:1

W. L. WALKER

Witness

PAUL LEVERTOFF

(vv. 1-3) Three descriptive terms are employed in the N.T. to depict the role of the pastor. All three are used in this passage, though here two are used in verb form: (1) "Elders" (presbuteros, Gk.) is a term generically referring to a fully mature man. The respect accorded to an elderly man is transferred to the office of the pastor. The use of the word "elder" indicates profound respect and esteem for the office. (2) "Shepherd" the flock of God employs the Greek verb poimaino. The nominal form of the word is poimen, which is rendered "pastor" or "shepherd." The word describes the spiritual ministries of the leader of the church. As pastor or shepherd, he is to feed, protect, guide, and pray for the flock of God. (3) "Serving as overseers" is a translation of episkopountes (Gk.). The noun form episkopos is usually translated "bishop." The emphasis is upon the administrative responsibilities of the chief officer of the church. The terms are all synonymous in that they refer to the same office. They differ only in emphasis. These responsibilities are to be discharged willingly as an example (tupoi, Gk.) to the flock, and they are not to be rendered due to constraint, due to the desire for inordinate gain, or due to the ambition to be lords over God's people. The term "bishop" indicates strong leadership but not dictatorship (cf. Heb. 13:7, note).

1 Pet 5:1: Verses 1-4. The apostle Peter does not command, but exhorts. He does not claim power to rule over all pastors and churches. It was the peculiar honour of Peter and a few more, to be witnesses of Christ's sufferings; but it is the privilege of all true Christians to partake of the glory that shall be revealed. These poor, dispersed, suffering Christians, were the flock of God, redeemed to God by the great Shepherd, living in holy love and communion, according to the will of God. They are also dignified with the title of God's heritage or clergy; his peculiar lot, chosen for his own people, to enjoy his special favour, and to do him special service. Christ is the chief Shepherd of the whole flock and heritage of God. And all faithful ministers will receive a crown of unfading glory, infinitely better and more honourable than all the authority, wealth, and pleasure of the world.

Much of the Bible is written to the church and its leadership. Often these verses are preached as if they only apply to Pastors. Yes ministers are key in this task yet so are the teachers and deacons, Paul gave instruction to the aged men and women as well. We as ministers are just farmers we break up the ground, and plant the seed. We hope to see the harvest. Yet, each member of the family of God has somewhat this same job. We are to feed the flock of God. Feed them what? His word, the things that will make them grow and be healthy Christians. It is time as leaders, preachers, to put our church on a healthy diet and get rid of the junk food.

If you take a child and it is proven by many tests feed that child nothing but junk foods what you get is a fat child that grows into fat adult. What is wrong with that, many things, they are not healthy, its not always that they are lazy but the very size of them make it where to do hard work over taxes the body. Heart problems and blood pressure and the list goes on what it does to the body. Each member of your church are temples of God to gather we form one large tabernacle for God. The problem is we have far to many unhealthy church members that are rotten timbers trying to hold to gather the building. Our flocks do not have the tools to grow right and ward off the disease of sin. If we feed them the right things the word of God and teach them how to use that word by exercising it in there bodies we make them strong.

Satan has more victories in the church today then God. The reason is not the member's fault totally; it is in most part the fault of leadership. How can you expect them to know how to use the power of God unless you teach them? It is not enough to give solder a gun or knight armour they must know how to use those tools to win the battle. Homes are falling apart, drugs and alcohol is destroying lives, sex is used like a drug in the hands of a drunken world. What it comes down to is that to many people sit in church hear a message that teaches them nothing, shows them nothing about themselves or gives the way to apply the word to there lives.

Once a preacher asked me, the people come to church and I give them from my heart the word of God but nothing is happening, why? Once I made a stew, it tasted very good, but looked so ugly no one would eat it. If you give the word of God to people but its presented in the wrong manner it will not be received. I went to a restaurant to eat, the waiter came to the table and slammed the menu down, his whole attitude was one of I hate being here waiting on you. Do you ever see that in preachers, and teachers, I have? Once I went to a place to eat that I had been told served the best food in the country, maybe they did but soon as I got a dirty plate and glasses were dirty, floor was dirty I didn't stay long to find out. What do people see you and your church as, is it clean and holy, can they feel love.

I say all this because you are Gods waiter; you carry his word on a platter to feed his people. Your attitude the way you live and method of how much love and caring they feel from you will have much to do with how many get fed. How much of the work did you do to get them to a place where they could eat? I remember a few years a group of folks wanted to do something for many of the poor so they fixed a big meal, ran a add in the paper and waited for the people to pour in. Sad not many showed up though the food was ready to eat. One of the ladies was crying and asking if there are so many hungry why didn't they come it was free. It was not that people were not willing to come, it was no work was done to really let them know and help them find the means to get to the place to eat.

One time while on the farm I was sitting in the house reading, dad came into the room and said did you feed the stock yet, I looked up and said no but I will. He looked at me after a few minutes and said they are not being fed while you still sit in here. You have to go to them and take them the word of God. You will never be a really good shepherd until you care about your sheep. You try going out in to a field and open the gate and yell come and get it and see how many of the cows rush to your voice to eat. They will come out that gate ok and run every where but to you. Now if you take those same cows and rub their backs and pet them and make them your babies you cam open the gate and they will follow you like a puppy on a string. People are no different, you show them love and caring, you be there to meet the needs help them learn to overcome sin, baby them and they will follow you because they rely on you and need you.

Note Peter said the words "which are among you", why are you over in some one else pasture trying to steal his sheep? I have churches start a bus ministry and go all over town taking from some one else field while not ever even asking the ones who live next door. God sent you and put you in a field, you are to harvest it and God will give the increase. I am not saying not reach out and draw more in, what I am saying is before you take in more land use the land you have. Before you, get more sheep feed the ones God gave you? You have a obligation to feed those in your church. Teachers you should be ashamed to step in front of your class and try to teach them when you need to be taught. How dare you to teach with out spending time in prayer and study. You have been given a flock to feed and you have no groceries to feed them with because you did not take the time to shop.

Leaders you are accountable for how you do the work that God has called you to do. You are to blame for so many sheep astray and people dying and going to hell because you were lazy and did not feed the flock of God. I had a lady contact me not so long ago, she had just got remarried but being her new husband was once a preacher and he dad was a preacher the church saw them as unfit. Who do you think you are to not feed these sheep and love them because they have some scars, because they got out of the fold, heaven will be filled with people like them and hell full of the self righteous who starved Gods lost sheep.

Some came to me crying because they had received a bill in the mail from the church for tithes. The letter said that if by a certain date they had not paid into the church x amount of money they would be removed from the teaching role and membership. God have mercy on a church or leaders who would turn Gods work in to one of money and greed.

In a nut shell preachers, teachers, its high time for you to get on your knees and repent. Begin today to prepare the meal of Gods word and take it to each member and serve him or her well. Train them, teach them, instead of fighting, bickering, and worrying about how much money you have or do not have. The church is in poor shape today, fat and ugly because its leaders are fat and ugly and so corrupted by sin; they are not serving God but Satan by turning the lost sheep from the fold.

You are not to talk down and treat folks that are your sheep in any but in love showing the same mercy and love that Christ has shown to you. You are not a kind, but a sub shepherd to the great shepherd, you do not own the sheep, they are just placed in your charge to feed and take care of.

I look forward to pay days, and then I can take my ease for a moment and do something for me. I look forward to this payday the most where I can sit at his feet and see him smile up on me for doing his task laid to my charge well. I have received many honors on earth but none compare to the joy I feel when I have pleased my master.

Several crowns are mentioned as rewards for believers: (1) An "imperishable crown" is for mastery over the old man (cf. 1 Cor. 9:25). (2) A "crown of rejoicing" is the adornment of those who have led others to Christ (cf. 1 Thess. 2:19). (3) A "crown of life" is for those who successfully endure trials and temptations (cf. James 1:12). (4) A "crown of righteousness" awaits those who love the appearing of Christ (cf. 2 Tim. 4:8). (5) Finally, a "crown of glory" is received by the faithful shepherd in this passage. Preoccupation with crowns or rewards of any kind is not appropriate for believers. Note the disposition of crowns in Rev. 4:10.

Younger Christians are to submit to their elders, and to yield with humility and patience to God, and to be sober, watchful, and stedfast in faith

We are to edify each other and God. We are to have the attitude of Christ one of humility with love.

1 Pet 5:5: Verses 5-9. Humility preserves peace and order in all Christian churches and societies; pride disturbs them. Where God gives grace to be humble, he will give wisdom, faith, and holiness. To be humble, and subject to our reconciled God, will bring greater comfort to the soul than the gratification of pride and ambition. But it is to be in due time; not in thy fancied time, but God's own wisely appointed time. Does he wait, and wilt not thou? What difficulties will not the firm belief of his wisdom, power, and goodness get over! Then be humble under his hand. Cast "all you care;" personal cares, family cares, cares for the present, and cares for the future, for yourselves, for others, for the church, on God. These are burdensome, and often very sinful, when they arise from unbelief and distrust, when they torture and distract the mind, unfit us for duties, and hinder our delight in the service of God. The remedy is, to cast our care upon God, and leave every event to his wise and gracious disposal. Firm belief that the Divine will and counsels are right, calms the spirit of a man. Truly the godly too often forget this, and fret themselves to no purpose. Refer all to God's disposal. The golden mines of all spiritual comfort and good are wholly his, and the Spirit itself. Then, will he not furnish what is fit for us, if we humbly attend on him, and lay the care of providing for us, upon his wisdom and love? The whole design of Satan is to devour and destroy souls. He always is contriving whom he may insnare to eternal ruin. Our duty plainly is, to be sober; to govern both the outward and the inward man by the rules of temperance. To be vigilant; suspicious of constant danger from this spiritual enemy, watchful and diligent to prevent his designs. Be stedfast, or solid, by faith. A man cannot fight upon a quagmire, there is no standing without firm ground to tread upon; this faith alone furnishes. It lifts the soul to the firm advanced ground of the promises, and fixes it there. The consideration of what others suffer, is proper to encourage us to bear our share in any affliction; and in whatever form Satan assaults us, or by whatever means, we may know that our brethren experience the same.

(vv. 8,9) Christians must be sober and watchful, responding to satanic opposition with faith and firm resistance (see Eph. 6:10-18; James 4:7, 8).

Prayers for their growth and establishment

1 Pet 5:10: Verses 10-14. In conclusion, the apostle prays to God for them, as the God of all grace. Perfect implies their progress towards perfection. Stablish imports the curing of our natural lightness and inconstancy. Strengthen has respect to the growth of graces, especially where weakest and lowest. Settle signifies to fix upon a sure foundation, and may refer to Him who is the Foundation and Strength of believers. These expressions show that perseverance and progress in grace are first to be sought after by every Christian. The power of these doctrines on the hearts, and the fruits in the lives, showed who are partakers of the grace of God. The cherishing and increase of Christian love, and of affection one to another, is no matter of empty compliment, but the stamp and badge of Jesus Christ on his followers. Others may have a false peace for a time, and wicked men may wish for it to themselves and to one another; but theirs is a vain hope, and will come to nought. All solid peace is founded on Christ, and flows from him.

Silvanus was one of the leading men in the early church. If he served as the secretary or amanuensis for this letter, it is not unlikely that he had an important role in its composition. On occasion the secretary wrote what was dictated by the author and at other times used his own words to convey the author's intention. It is also possible that the words "by Silvanus" should be limited to indicate only that Silvanus carried the letter to its intended destination.

Peter is probably alluding to the Babylon on the Euphrates, a part of that Eastern world where he lived and did his work, rather than Rome (with Babylon being utilized as a cryptic word). Evidence for this position includes the following: (1) There is no evidence that Rome was ever called Babylon until after the writing of the Book of Revelation in A.D. 90-96, many years after Peter's death. (2) Peter's method and manner of writing are not apocalyptic. On the contrary, Peter is a man plain of speech, almost blunt, who would not interject such a mystical allusion into his personal explanations and final salutation. (3) Babylon is no more cryptic than Pontus, Asia, or the other places mentioned when Peter says the elect in Babylon send greetings to the Jews of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. (4) Babylon, no longer a great world capital in the time of Peter, was still inhabited by a colony of people, mostly Jews, many of whom Peter befriended and won to Christ. (5) A study of the chronology of Peter's travels argues for Babylon to be the Babylon on the Euphrates. Such a study reveals these significant points: (a) In A.D. 40, three years after Paul's conversion and subsequent travels into Arabia, Peter was still in Jerusalem. Around that time, he made his missionary journey through the western part of Judea to Lydda, Joppa, Caesarea, and back to Jerusalem (Acts 9-11). (b) Imprisoned under Herod Agrippa I, he was miraculously delivered by the angel of the Lord (Acts 12). Peter was probably still in the vicinity of Palestine when Herod Agrippa I died (Acts 12:17, 20-23). The date, according to Josephus, was the fourth year of the reign of Claudius, c. A.D. 45. In A.D. 54, soon after Paul visited Peter again in Jerusalem (Gal. 2), Peter returned the visit by going to Antioch where Paul was working and where the famous interview between the two occurred (Gal. 2:11-14). (c) From A.D. 54 to c. A.D. 60, Peter apparently made an extensive missionary journey (or journeys) throughout the Roman provinces of the East, taking his wife with him (1 Cor. 9:5). During their travels in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, Peter and his wife remained in the Orient, never entering Rome. One can verify this by the last chapter of the epistle to the church at Rome, written c. A.D. 60, in which Paul salutes 27 persons, never mentioning Peter. It would seem that Paul did not send him greetings simply because Peter neither was there nor ever had been. Those who hold that Peter governed a church at Rome must face the fact of Paul's omission of Peter's name. Had Peter been in Rome, the omission would have been a gross insult. Furthermore, it had been agreed at the Jerusalem Conference that Peter should go to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles. The church at Rome was Gentile (Rom. 1:13), and Paul was eager to go where no other apostle had been (Rom. 15:20; 2 Cor. 10:15, 16). Since he wrote his Roman epistle to the people at Rome, Paul's desire to witness to that city would be inexplicable had Peter been there at the time, or had he ever spent a number of years there. Neither while Paul was under Roman imprisonment from about A.D. 60 to 63, when he wrote four letters -- Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon -- nor shortly before his death, when he wrote his final letter to young Timothy, did he mention Peter. In his letters he mentioned many fellow Christians who were in Rome, but he stated clearly in 2 Tim. 4:11 that only Luke was with him.

"Mark my son" is most likely a reference to John Mark (Acts 12:12; 13:5; 15:36-39). Strong early church tradition in the testimony of Papias links Mark's Gospel to the central truths emphasized by Peter in his ministry. The writer of the second Gospel has been referred to as an "interpreter of Peter."

The "kiss of love" was common among early Christians as a greeting as well as an expression of love. Peace begins (1:2) and concludes Peter's first epistle.

Directions to the elders to feed the flock of God, and not to be lord over God’s
heritage, that when the chief Shepherd does appear, they may receive a crown of glory,
vv. 1-4. The young are to submit themselves to the elder, and to humble themselves
under the mighty hand of God, and cast all their care upon him, vv. 5-7. They should be
sober and watchful, because their adversary the devil is continually seeking their
destruction, whom they are to resist, steadfast in the faith, vv. 8, 9. They are informed
that the God of all grace had called them to his eternal glory, vv. 10-11. Of Silvanus, by
whom this epistle was sent, v. 12. Salutations from the Church at Babylon, v. 13. The
apostolic benediction, v. 14.

NOTES ON CHAPTER 5

A witness of the sufferings of Christ—He was with Christ in the garden; he
was with him when he was apprehended. and he was with him in the high priest’s
hall. Whether he followed him to the cross we know not; probably he did not, for
in the hall of the high priest he had denied him most shamefully; and, having
been deeply convinced of the greatness of his crime, it is likely he withdrew to
some private place, to humble himself before God, and to implore mercy. He
could, however, with the strictest propriety, say, from the above circumstances,
that he was a witness of the sufferings of Christ.

A partaker of the glory—He had a right to it through the blood of the Lamb;
he had a blessed anticipation of it by the power of the Holy Ghost; and he had the
promise from his Lord and Master that he should be with him in heaven, to
behold his glory; John 17:21, 24.

Feed the flock—Do not fleece the flock.

Not for filthy lucre—Could the office of a bishop, in those early days, and in
the time of persecution, be a lucrative office? Does not the Spirit of God lead the
apostle to speak these things rather for posterity than for that time? See the notes
on 1 Timothy 3:3.

But of a ready mind—Doing all for Christ’s sake, and through love to
immortal souls.

When the chief Shepherd—That is, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose is the flock,
and who provides the pasture, and from whom, if ye are legally called to the most
awful work of preaching the Gospel, ye have received your commission; when he
shall appear to judge the world in righteousness, ye who have fed his flock, who
have taken the superintendency of it, not by constraint, nor for filthy lucre’s sake,
not as lords over the heritage, but with a ready mind, employing body, soul,
spirit, time and talents, in endeavoring to pluck sinners as brands from eternal
burnings, and build up the Church of Christ on its most holy faith; YE shall
receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away, an eternal nearness and intimacy
with the ineffably glorious God; so that ye who have turned many to
righteousness shall shine, not merely as stars, but as suns in the kingdom of your
Father! O ye heavenly-minded, diligent, self-denying pastors after God’s own
heart, whether ye be in the Church established by the state, or in those divisions
widely separated from, or nearly connected with it, take courage; preach Jesus;
press through all difficulties in the faith of your God; fear no evil while
meditating nothing but good. Ye are stars in the right hand of Jesus, who walks
among your golden candlesticks, and has lighted that lamp of life which ye are
appointed to trim; fear not, your labor in the Lord cannot be in vain! Never, never
can ye preach one sermon in the spirit of your office, which the God of all grace
shall permit to be unfruitful; ye carry and sow the seed of the kingdom by the
command and on the authority of your God; ye sow it, and the heavens shall drop
down dew upon it. Ye may go forth weeping, though bearing this precious seed;
but ye shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing your sheaves with you.
Amen, even so, Lord Jesus!

Be subject one to another—Strive all to serve each other; let the pastors strive
to serve the people, and the people the pastors; and let there be no contention, but
who shall do most to oblige and profit all the rest.

Humble yourselves—Those who submit patiently to the dispensations of
God’s providence he lifts up; those who lift themselves up, God thrusts down.

If we humble not ourselves under God’s grace, he will humble us under his
judgments. Those who patiently submit to him, he exalts in due time; if his hand
be mighty to depress, it is also mighty to exalt.

Be sober—Avoid drunkenness of your senses, and drunkenness in your souls;
be not overcharged with the concerns of the world.

Be vigilant—Awake, and keep awake; be always watchful; never be off your
guard; your enemies are alert, they are never off theirs.

Your adversary the devil—This is the reason why ye should be sober and
vigilant; ye have an ever active, implacable, subtle enemy to contend with. He
walketh about—he has access to you everywhere; he knows your feelings and
your propensities, and informs himself of all your circumstances; only God can
know more and do more than he, therefore your care must be cast upon God.

As a roaring lion—Satan tempts under three forms:

Walketh about—Traversing the earth; a plain reference to Job 2:2, which see.

But the God of all grace—The Fountain of infinite compassion, mercy, and
goodness. Mohammed has conveyed this fine description of the Divine Being in
the words with which he commences every surat or chapter of his Koran, two
excepted; viz.;

Of which the best translation that can be given is that of the apostle, In the
name of the God of all grace; the God who is the most merciful and the most
compassionate, who is an exuberant Fountain of love and compassion to all his
intelligent offspring.

Who hath called us—By the preaching of the Gospel.

Unto his eternal glory—To the infinite felicity of the heavenly state.

By Christ Jesus—Through the merit of his passion and death, by the influence
of his Holy Spirit, by the precepts of his Gospel, and by the splendor of his own
example.

To him—The God of all grace, be glory—l honor and praise be ascribed, and
dominion—e government of heaven, earth, and hell, for ever—rough time, and
ever—rough eternity. Amen— be it, so let it be, and so it shall be. Amen and
Amen!

By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose—To say the least of
this translation, it is extremely obscure, and not put together with that elegance
which is usual to our translators. I see no reason why the clause may not be thus
translated: I have written to you, as I consider, briefly, by Silvanus, the faithful
brother. On all hands it is allowed that this Silvanus was the same as Silas, Paul’s
faithful companion in travel, mentioned Acts 15:40; 16:19; and, if he were the
same, Peter could never say as I suppose to his faith and piety: but he might well
say this to the shortness of his epistle, notwithstanding the many and important
subjects which it embraced. See the Syriac, Vulgate, etc. If the words be applied
to Silvanus, they must be taken in a sense in which they are often used: "I
conclude him to be a trustworthy person; one by whom I may safely send this
letter; who will take care to travel through the different regions in Asia, Pontus,
Galatia, and Bithynia; read it in every Church; and leave a copy for the
encouragement and instruction of Christ’s flock." And in such a state of the
Church, in such countries, no ordinary person could have been intrusted with
such a message.

Exhorting—Calling upon you to be faithful, humble, and steady.

The Church that is at Babylon—After considering all that has been said by
learned men and critics on this place, I am quite of opinion that the apostle does
not mean Babylon in Egypt, nor Jerusalem, nor Rome as figurative Babylon, but
the ancient celebrated Babylon in Assyria, which was, as Dr. Benson observes,
the metropolis of the eastern dispersion of the Jews; but as I have said so much
on this subject in the preface, I beg leave to refer the reader to that place.

And …Marcus my son—This is supposed to be the same person who is
mentioned Acts 12:12, and who is known by the name of John Mark; he was
sister’s son to Barnabas, Colossians 4:10, his mother’s name was Mary, and he is
the same who wrote the gospel that goes under his name. He is called here
Peter’s son, i.e. according to the faith, Peter having been probably the means of
his conversion. This is very likely, as Peter seems to have been intimate at his
mother’s house. See the account, Acts 12:6-17.

Peace be with you all—May all prosperity, spiritual and temporal, be with all
that are in Christ Jesus—at are truly converted to him, and live in his Spirit
obedient to his will.

Amen—Is wanting, as usual, in some of the principal MSS. and versions.

The subscriptions are, as in other cases, various.

In the VERSIONS:

The end of the First Epistle of the Apostle Peter.—SYRIAC.

The First Catholic Epistle of Peter the apostle is ended.—SYRIAC
PHILOXENIAN.

The end of the Epistle of St. Peter; may his supplication preserve us!

Amen. Praise be to the Lord of never ending and eternal glory! Amen.—
ARABIC.

The First Epistle of Peter is completed; may his intercession be with us!

Amen, and Amen.—AETHIOPIC, Nothing in the COPTIC.

Nothing in the printed VULGATE.

The end of the First Epistle of St. Peter.—COMPLUTENSIAN Polyglott.

The First Epistle of St. Peter is ended.—BIB. VULGAT. Edit. Princ.

In the MANUSCRIPTS:

The First of Peter.—Codex Alexand. and Codex Vatican.

Written from Rome.—A MS. of the twelfth century,

The end of the First Catholic Epistle of Peter, written from Rome.—A MS. of
the thirteenth century.

These later subscriptions are of little value, nor do any of them help to
ascertain the place where the epistle was written. The word Rome is only the
supposed interpretation of the word Babylon, as in 1 Peter 5:13, which see.

As the true Church of Christ has generally been in a state of suffering, the
epistles of St. Peter have ever been most highly prized by all believers. That
which we have just finished is an admirable letter, containing some of the most
important maxims and consolations for the Church in the wilderness. No
Christian can read it without deriving from it both light and life. Ministers,
especially, should study it well, that they may know how to comfort their flocks
when in persecution or adversity. He never speaks to good effect in any spiritual
case who is not furnished out of the Divine treasury. God’s words invite, solicit,
and command assent; on them a man may confidently rely. The words of man
may be true, but they are not infallible, This is the character of God’s word alone.

I SHALL sum up the contents of this chapter in the words of a good
commentator: "Because the knowledge and good behavior of the people depend,
in a great measure, upon the kind of instruction which they receive from their
teachers, the apostle in this chapter addressed the elders, that is, the bishops,
pastors, rulers, and deacons among the brethren of Pontus, etc., 1 Peter 5:1,
exhorting the bishops in particular to feed the flock of God committed to their
care faithfully, and to exercise their episcopal office, not as by constraint, but
willingly; not from the love of gain, but from love to their Master and to the
flock, 1 Peter 5:2; and not to lord it over God’s heritage, but to be patterns of
humility and disinterestedness to the people, 1 Peter 5:3. This exhortation to
bishops to feed Christ’s flock was given with much propriety by Peter, who had
himself been appointed by Christ to feed his lambs and his sheep. Next, because
the faithful performance of the bishop’s office was, in that age, attended with
great difficulty and danger, the apostle, to encourage the bishops, assured them
that; when the chief Shepherd shall appear, they shall receive a crown of glory
that fadeth not away, 1 Peter 5:4. The distinguished reward which Christ is to
bestow on those who have suffered for his sake being a favourite topic with our
apostle, he introduces it often in this epistle.

"Having thus exhorted the pastors, the apostle turned his discourse to the
people, charging them to be subject to their elders, and to one another; that is, to
be of a teachable disposition, and to receive instruction from every one capable
of giving it, and to do all the duties which they could to each other, according to
their different stations and relations, 1 Peter 5:5. But especially to be subject to
God, by humbly submitting themselves to the judgments which were coming
upon them, that God might exalt them in due time, 1 Peter 5:6. Casting all their
anxious care on God, because he cared for them, 1 Peter 5:7. And to watch
against the devil, who went about as a roaring lion, seeking to destroy them by
instigating the wicked to persecute them, and drive them into apostasy, 1 Peter
5:8. But they were to resist that terrible enemy by steadfastness in the faith, and
not to think themselves hardly dealt with when persecuted, knowing that their
brethren everywhere were exposed to the same temptations of the devil, 1 Peter
5:9. In the meantime, to give them all the assistance in his power, the apostle
prayed earnestly to God to stablish and strengthen them, 1 Peter 5:10. And ended
his prayer with a doxology to God, expressive of his supreme dominion over the
universe, and all the things it contains.

"The apostle informed the brethren of Pontus that he had sent this letter to
them by Silvanus, whom he praised for his fidelity to Christ, 1 Peter 5:12. Then,
giving them the salutation of the Church in Babylon, where it seems he was when
he wrote this letter, he added the salutation of Mark, whom he called his son,
either because he had converted him, or on account of the great attachment which
Mark bore to him, 1 Peter 5:13. And having desired them to salute one another,
he concluded with giving them his apostolical benediction, 1 Peter 5:14." See Dr.
Macknight.

Finished correcting this epistle for a new edition, Dec. 31, 1831,—A. C.