1 & 2 Peter Class Schedule

1. 1 & 2 Peter Class Schedule

2. 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.

3. New Testament words for leads of local church* First - elders (presbuteros), which means literally one advanced in age. As a title, its emphasis lies on the man’s maturity. Second – bishops/overseers (episkopos), meaning one who oversees. As a title, it emphasizes the man’s function. Elder and bishop/overseer refer to the same office, however. Third - pastor-teacher The word pastor is Greek for shepherd and is a metaphor for what the man does. The word teacher tells how he does it. He shepherds by teaching. * adapted from McCalley

4. 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, Therefore In view of the inevitability of trials…Peter gave a special charge to the elders (overseers) of the congregations of his readers. Constable I exhort the elders among you main verb – exhort direct object - the elders among you

5. 1 Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, exhort - parakaleō - to admonish, exhort, to urge one to pursue some course of conduct see Phil 4:2, 1 Thess 4:10, 1 Cor 4:16 as your fellow elder Peter saw himself as a co-elder with them! Elders therefore who are among you, I exhort, I who am your fellow elder (Wuest)

6. 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, and witness of the sufferings of Christ He also calls himself a witness (martus), a word that refers to an official witness (called to testify by God) other related verses Acts 3:15, 10:38-39 It (the word witness) does not refer to the act of seeing, but to the act of testifying to what one has been seen. Peter is not merely claiming to have seen the crucifixion, but to have been retained to give testimony concerning what he had seen. Wuest

7. 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, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, partaker - koinōnos - an adjective, signifying "having in common" (koinos, "common"), is used as a noun, denoting "a companion, partner, partaker,“ - 1 Peter 4:13 He himself had participated in sufferings for Christ's sake. "Witness" (Gr. martys; cf. Acts 3:15; 10:39) does not just mean that he observed Jesus suffering, which he did. It means he shared Jesus Christ's sufferings and bore testimony out of that experience (4:13). As his readers, Peter also shared the glory that God will yet reveal (4:14). Constable

8. 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; shepherd the flock of God among you shepherd – poimainō - to act as a shepherd (from poimēn, "a shepherd"); the Greek word which literally means "to shepherd," and includes the duties of a shepherd; tending, feeding, guiding, and guarding. see John 21:16; Acts 20:28 Two basic ideas are connected to poimaino. They are the idea of protection and the idea of provision. The exercise of them requires gift, maturity, and authority. Note these areas of gift (I Timothy 4:14), maturity (I Timothy 4:15), and authority (Titus 2:15). McCalley

9. 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; 1st Contrast Lit: serving as overseers – episkopeō - It is not a matter of assuming a position, but of the discharge of the duties. see related verse 1 Tim 3:1 compulsion - anankastōs - by force, unwillingly, by constraint but voluntarily, according to the will of God voluntarily - hekousiōs - denotes voluntarily, willingly First, he should serve willingly as opposed to grudgingly (cf. 2 Cor. 9:7). God wants us to perform any service for Him willingly. Elders should not serve because they feel they must do so because of external pressure but because they desire to serve God. Constable

10. 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; 2nd Contrast and not for sordid gain, sordid gain – from fondness for dishonest gain but with eagerness; eagerness - readily, willingly An elder should serve zealously and enthusiastically as opposed to selfishly. He should not serve for what he can get out of his ministry now but for the love of his Lord. The gain one could derive from elder ministry included honor in the church as well as possible financial gain. It seems that elders in the early church often received payment for their ministry (cf. 1 Tim. 5:17 where the "double honor" probably refers to payment; 1 Cor. 9:7-11). Constable

11. 3  nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. 3rd Contrast nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge lording it over - in the Greek text it speaks of a high-handed autocratic rule over the flock, which is forbidden a true shepherd but proving to be examples to the flock. An elder should lead by giving an example of godly living that others can follow rather than by driving people forward with authoritarian commands (cf. 1 Tim. 4:12; 2 Thess. 3:9). Constable

12. 4  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. And when the Chief Shepherd appears The Elders are undershepherd to Christ the chief shepherd you will receive the unfading crown of glory. unfading - made of amaranths, a fabled flower that did not fade away. The Greek word translated "crown" referred to a crown of victory in the Greek athletic games, a crown given for military valor, or a festal garland worn at marriage feasts. Here it is the reward given to faithful shepherds of the flock of God. Wuest