Christ Church

The Shepherd: Humble and Glorious

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Text: 1 Peter 5:1-14

Introduction

As Peter has done throughout the letter, he calls Christians to look to Christ, to be like Christ, to act like Christ. In this final chapter, he does this again, and we are to be like Jesus the Shepherd––humble and glorious. To imitate the Shepherd, Peter gives two primary exhortations. The elders are to shepherd the flock of God (vs. 1-4), and the flock of God is to resist the devil who is a roaring lion (vs. 8-9). How are church leaders to shepherd the flock and how is the flock to resist this lion? The answer lies in the middle verses, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (vs. 6). As the church follows our Chief Shepherd, we follow him both into his humility and into his glory.

Shepherd the Flock (vs. 1-4)

Peter first exhorts the elders as a fellow elder to shepherd the flock of God like the Chief Shepherd Jesus. Peter has received a special commission from Jesus to shepherd his people and now relays this same commission to the elders of the churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadoceia, Asia, Bithynia, Moscow.

Peter lists three negatives and three positives for how elders are to oversee the flock of God. 1) Not by compulsion (forced or fearful), but willingly. 2) Not for dishonest gain (greedy), but eagerly. 3) Not lording your authority over others like normal rulers (might makes right), but being an example like the Chief Shepherd.

How did Jesus treat his flock? “Behold the LORD God shall  come with a strong hand and his arm shall rule for him…He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those who are with young” (Isaiah 40:10-11). Jesus not only cares for his sheep but he fights against all who may harm his sheep (Ez. 34). Ezekiel charged the spiritual leaders of his day of being false shepherds who, instead of providing food for the sheep, ate the sheep for their own food, and wore their wool. A true leader puts himself in between his people and the danger. “I am the good Shepherd,” Jesus said, “The good Shepherd gives himself for his sheep” (Jn. 10:11). Peter now turns to the flock and exhorts them to be shepherded like this.

Humble and Exalted (vs. 5-7)

“Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to the elders.” An elder is one in authority and an elder is one under authority. If the sheep are not obeying the under-shepherds, then these shepherds need to look whether they are obeying their Chief Shepherd. Are you modeling humble submission?

Yes, everyone should be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility. This humility is a good thing because God opposes those who are not clothed with humility but gives grace to the humble. Is there anything more catastrophic than the omnipotent God opposing you? “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you.” You humble yourself at the rim of the Grand Canyon or under the arms of the Milky Way galaxy or when you rightly contemplate God. Humility sees that God is God, and I am not. Humble yourselves under the hand of God, so that His hand may exalt you. We don’t humble ourselves for humility’s sake, but so that we can be given glory. God tells us how to achieve glory, and it’s through humility. Will you trust God and his humble way to glory?

Resist the Lion (vs. 8-9)

Peter gives a sobering caution––there’s a man-eating lion prowling your city. Though you may not see the lion, you hear him roaring. You may not see the devil, but you see the carcasses of his victims. And so be sober, be vigilant, resist the lion––you flock of sheep.

But what hope do sheep have against a lion? Only a humble faith. Resist the roaring lion, steadfast in the faith. James adds, “Resist the Devil and he will flee from you” (Js. 4:7). A young boy straight from the sheep pasture challenged a roaring giant and remained steadfast in his faith (1 Sam. 17:37). David had the humility to not look to his own strength or Goliath’s but to the Lord’s. He knew that the battle is the Lord’s, and so was steadfast. You may look like a boy versus a giant or a sheep against a lion, but that’s the story God loves to tell.

To Him be Glory and Dominion (vs. 10-11)

What was Jesus doing in his suffering and death on the cross? He was resisting! He was breaking the teeth of the lion, casting down the giant, crushing the head of the serpent, conquering the devil. In humble submission, he triumphed. The Shepherd became as a lamb to save his flock so that his sheep could have a Shepherd’s strength. Believe this. Humble yourself to this glorious truth. Remain steadfast in your faith.

What happens when you do? “The God of all grace, who called us into his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you. To Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

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The Age-Long Struggle for the Truth

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The Text

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. 6 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed” (1 Timothy 4:1-6).

Teaching of Demons: The Lie

The Good Teaching of Jesus Christ: The Truth

The Good Confession: The Goal

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How to Worship Jesus Christ

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Introduction

The apostle Paul wanted to sing in the Spirit, but wanted to sing with the mind also (1 Cor. 14:15). In a similar way, we come here week after week to worship God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ, empowered by the Spirit of God. But it is important for us to understand what we are doing, and why we are doing it. Otherwise we will drift into a mindless routine—which is quite distinct from a Spirit-led routine.

The Text

And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving (Col. 2:4-7).

Summary of the Text

In verse 4, Paul warns against the seductive power of a certain kind of religious approach, the kind that always fails to approach Christ. Even though Paul was not present with the Colossians (v. 5), he was with them in the spirit. He rejoiced as he beheld their order (taxis), and the rock solid nature of their faith in Jesus Christ. That word taxis is a military term, and should be understood as a kind of regimentation. But note that this order was both disciplined and alive. It was not the order you could find in a row of gravestones, but rather the order of a military troop, arms at the ready. It was more than such order that pleased Paul, but it was certainly not less. Paul then urged the Colossians to walk in Christ Jesus in just the same way they had received Him (v. 6), which was of course by grace through faith. As they did so, they would be rooted and built up in the Christian faith, in just the way they had been taught. The overflow of this, when it is happening, is abundance of gratitude. As with all things of this nature, we measure whether or not it is happening by the fruit. So with that said, why do we do what we do in worship? And how does it relate to the worship of Jesus Christ?

The Structure of Our Worship

Consider first the broad outline of our worship service. We find five basic elements:

Call to Worship—we invoke the name of God, and enter His gates with adoration and worship

Confession of Sin—we wipe our feet at the door.

Consecration—we offer ourselves up to God as living sacrifices.

Communion—we sit down for table fellowship with our God.

Commissioning—we are sent out into the world.

The first and last elements “bookend” the service. The first invites us in from the world to assemble before the Lord to worship Him. The last sends us out into the world in order to function as ambassadors of the right worship that we have offered.

The center three elements follow a basic biblical pattern of sacrifice. In the worship of the Older Covenant, God commonly required three kinds of sacrifices together. When they were offered together, they came in this order. First was the guilt offering (confession of sin: Lev. 17), then the ascension or burnt offering (consecration: Lev. 16:24-25), and then the peace offering (communion: Dt. 12:17-19). We see this overall pattern in Lev. 9 and 2 Chron. 29:20-36.

We call worship that follows this basic pattern covenant renewal worship. But our relationship with God cannot expire, like a lease. We are not renewing anything in that sense. It is more like how food renews the body.

Filling It In

We find in various places of Scripture that certain particular practices are called for in New Covenant worship. One of the things we do therefore is look at the nature of that practice and decide where it would best fit within this over all structure. For example, the Bible requires the public reading of Scripture in worship (1 Tim. 4:13). So where do we put it? It seems to fit best under Consecration. The Bible commands us to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19). Where do we place the different kinds of songs? We are commanded to have preaching (1 Tim. 4:2). Where does that go? In doing this, we are seeking to be obedient while arranging our worship intelligently.

Posture and Demeanor

A very common temptation among the Reformed is to over-engineer the intellectual aspects of our faith. Reason and systematics have their place, but that place is not every place. Reformed people need to be reminded that they have bodies, and that these too are involved in worship. This is why we lift up holy hands in the Gloria Patri (1 Tim. 2:8), and why we kneel when we confess our sins (Ps. 95:6). We stand in order to show deep respect for God’s Word (Neh. 8:5). Our overall demeanor is to be solemnity mixed with gladness. “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord” (Ps. 122:1). Middle English had a word for this demeanor, and it is one we seek to cultivate. It is called solempne.

Conversation Between God and His People

Worship is a time of meeting. During this time, God speaks to the people through His ordained representatives (as in the Scripture reading, assurance of pardon, or the sermon). During this time, the people also speak to God, either through their appointed representatives (as in the prayers of petition), or all together with one voice (as with a hymn or psalm, or the creed). We should therefore learn how to think of the worship service as a very large conversation, with a direction and theme, and not as a disparate collection of random spiritual artifacts, crammed into a shoebox. You are not here as a spectator. You are not here to be watching. You are here to be partaking.

In the Call to Worship: God says, “Come, meet with Me.” We say, “First, let us praise Your majesty.” Having done so, God warns us through the Exhortation not to approach Him with unclean hearts. We respond by Confession. God responds by declaring that we have Assurance of Pardon. This is a conversation in which you all are called to actively participate. As you do, you are following the most important conversation in the world, which is between God and His people.

Worship is War

One other thing must be mentioned. So last, we return to our passage in Colossians. The order we are cultivating here is not the order of porcelain figurines in a china hutch, neatly arranged on a shelf. The order we are pursuing is alive and disciplined, the order of a well-trained military unit. And why? Because every Lord’s Day we go into battle. But as God’s people we fight on earth from the high ground of heaven.

We ascend into the heavenlies in our worship and meet with our God there (Heb. 12:22). But this heavenly worship is not something that has fearfully run away from the enemy on earth. Rather, as the book of Revelation shows in great detail, the worship of the saints in heaven accomplishes God’s judgments on earth. The twenty-four elders worship God in heaven (Rev. 4:10), and the seven seals are opened in heaven (Rev. 5:5). But this does not leave the earth unaffected by it.

How to Worship Jesus Christ

We worship Jesus Christ when we magnify and adore Him in His performance of His office. That means that we worship Christ by coming through Him to the Father (John 14:6). In the verses just prior to our text, we are reminded of this. He wanted the Colossians comforted, knit together in love, and into all the riches of a full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ (Col. 2:2–3).

“For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father” (Eph. 2:18). We honor the Spirit by honoring the Son. We honor the Son by coming to the Father. But when we come to the Father, we do not leave the Son behind. We come to our Father as Christians, with the name of Jesus Christ in our mouths. “Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” (Rev. 5:12).

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Psalm 22

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The Text

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?. . . “ (Psalm 22)

The Song of His Father David

“We shall not be able to ‘explain’ the content of the fourth utterance from the cross, at least, not the essence of it … A well known saying has it that those who would understand the poet must go to the poet’s country. And now the poet par excellence is appearing on Golgotha. Be quiet, for Jesus is speaking. The creative spirit. The sensitive soul. And the Author of the psalms. Now He will sing, will recite his severest hymn – and no longer endure his own verses. You all remember that the fourth utterance, to put it that way, is a ‘quotation.’ It is literally the overture of Psalm 22. The Son of David is repeating the song of his father David.” Klaas Schilder.

The Forsaken Messiah (vv, 1-2, 12-18)

The Faithful Messiah (vv,  1-2, 3-5, 9-11, 19-21)

The Victorious Messiah (vv. 21-31)

Dr. Michael McClenahan is an Irish Presbyterian minister and Professor of Systematic Theology at Union Theological College. He has degrees in Jurisprudence, Theology, and Ecclesiastical History from the University of Oxford, where he wrote his doctoral dissertation on the theology of Jonathan Edwards. He is the author of Jonathan Edwards and Justification by Faith (Ashgate, 2012). This academic year he is the holder of the New Saint Andrews Lectureship.

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