You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. —1 Peter 1:5

The world is often a bad display of humility, but do we see a difference on the inside of our churches? Does the local church function in a way that demonstrates relational humility from the top down? The Bible uses the term one another to speak on relationships within the church. Stuart Scott says that “People, created in the image of God, are made for relationships”¹Stuart Scott and Andrew Jin, 31 Ways to Be a “One-Another” Christian: Loving Others with the Love of Jesus (Shepherd Press, 2019), 11.. In fact, you might be surprised that the phrase one another occurs the most in Romans—seventeen times. Romans, a book on the righteousness of God, teaches us that being justified and made righteous by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Rom 1:16; 10:9–10; 2 Cor 5:21) would bring the truest relationships on this created planet. 

Peter also understood the necessity of righteous relationships as he addressed an alien people scattered from persecution throughout the land (1 Pet 1:1–2). Christians today are still alien to this world. It is the sojourner that finds the greatest relationships in the local church. Yet, relationships can be difficult. Therefore, Peter exhorts both shepherds and members to function humbly according to their responsibilities. Humility within church relationships helps Christians advance God’s Kingdom even amidst worldly hostility. Soli Deo Gloria!

The Heart of Humble Under Shepherds (1 Pet 5:1–4)

Spiritual authority is not an excuse for relational abuse.

Peter teaches the shepherds to exercise a heart of humility as under-shepherds. Humility is necessary when functioning according to their spiritual authority. In essence, spiritual authority is not an excuse for relational abuse. In 1 Peter 5:1–3 we see humble shepherds called to have a heart that: 

1. Exercises oversight voluntarily (not under compulsion), 
2. Serves eagerly (not for sordid gain), 
3. Proves to be an example to the flock (not lording it over). 

Shepherds are to demonstrate this heart of humility when they function as overseers (Acts 20:18), share authority (plural use of elders and in 1 Pet 5:1), teach (1 Tim 3:2; 5:17–19), lead (Heb 13:7, 17), refute doctrinal error (Tit 1:9; Acts 15:6), pray for the sick (Jas 5:14), and when they protect the church in biblical restoration and discipline (Matt 18:15–17). In 1 Pet 5:4, Peter reminds shepherds of their need for humility by putting shepherds in their functional place under the head Shepherd. Shepherds will be rewarded for humility with physical crowns that won’t lose brightness—unfading crowns. The reminder for humility brings us back to Jesus’ teachings on discipleship: “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master” (Matt 10:24). Likewise, shepherds need to be reminded they are not above the head Shepherd in their function. Ultimately, shepherds prove their humility by having a heart that is submissive to Christ. 

Relational Humility between All: Members and Under Shepherds (1 Peter 5:5)

There should never be a situation in Christ’s local church where we see the self-imposed innovations of men used to synthetically stimulate praise for themselves.

Peter commands all relationships in the church to be humble: You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.

First, Peter references younger men in the church. The term younger is used biblically to compare physical age (Luke 15:13; John 21:18; 1 Tim 5:11), but in our context here it refers to a class of individuals used comparatively to the office of the spiritually mature leadership (1 Tim 5:1; 1 Pet 5:5)²Horst Robert Balz and Gerhard Schneider, Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1990–), 463.. Therefore, the younger is in reference to those who find themselves in subjection to the group mentioned in the prior section, which are the spiritual leaders (elders, shepherds, and overseers). Younger church members (in age or spiritual maturity) are demographically prone to lack submission, and need to prove they are humble by their ability to be subject to their spiritual leaders. Younger members are to bring themselves “under the firm control of” the shepherds³Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 475.. The use of elder (presbyterois) is plural and teaches us that younger men need to be subject to all their shepherds in their local church, not just their favorite leaders. The spiritually young rely on the spiritually mature to bring discipleship growth. The shepherds are to face hostility in the world, yet in the church they are to have joy in their leadership and not grief (Heb 13:17) through the unprofitable resistance of the youth.

Our relational path forward begins with thinking of ourselves less by thinking about others more and thinking of ourselves as lowly—we are all below the head Shepherd.

Second, Peter equally exhorts the entire church to “clothe yourselves with humility toward one another” (1 Pet 5:5a). Peter tells all church members to improve their relationships through humility. All members, whether young and old, shepherds or members, are to demonstrate and “dress oneself” with humility⁴Louw-Nida, enkomboomai, p. 525. The command clothe yourselves comes from the word to “put or tie something to oneself”⁵William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 274..

So what is humility and how do we wear it? Humility was criticized in Peters day but is commended and commanded in the Bible. Humility can be defined as appropriately assessing your value in Christ, with modesty, and considering yourself lowly (Prov 16:19). The entire church is humble when each individual puts “his whole confidence in the grace of God, who cares for those who subject themselves to Him”⁶Walter Grundmann, “Ταπεινός, Ταπεινόω, Ταπείνωσις, Ταπεινόφρων, Ταπεινοφροσύνη,” ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard … Continue reading. Peter uses the term proud (hyperephanos) as the opposite of humility; which has the sense of arrogant self-exaltation derived from pride instead of letting the Lord exalt you in His timing (Jam 4:10; 1 Pet 5:6). Pride is seen when someone synthetically forces their superiority on relationships. One example of self-exultation was the case in Greek mythology where Salmoneus “was punished by Zeus, to whom he claimed to be superior by developing a machine that simulated claps of thunder^”7William Arndt et al, BDAG, p. 1033. There should never be a situation in Christ’s local church where we see the self-imposed innovations of men used to synthetically stimulate praise for themselves in the local church. The mention of pride and humility in the context of the New Testament church is a reference to Proverbs 3:34 and is also seen in James 4:6 when discussing conflict within church relationships. It is clear that our relational path forward begins with thinking of ourselves less (by thinking about others more) and thinking of ourselves as lowly (we are all below the Head Shepherd). When we fail to fall into our proper relationship with the Head Shepherd, we synthetically assert a greater value to ourselves, causing pride that is opposed by God instead of causing grace through our humility (1 Pet 5:5b).

The way forward to build humility within our relationships, and live the one anothers, is to join in humble harmony: 

1. Shepherds are commanded to think of themselves less by humbly knowing their place and thinking of members more, always pointing to the authority of the head Shepherd.
2. Members are commanded to think of themselves less by humbly thinking more of our Savior, and bringing joy through humbly arranging themselves towards their under shepherds. 
3. All church members must constantly put on and dress themselves by thinking of ourselves less and serving under the “mighty hand of God” (1 Pet 5:6). 

Soli Deo Gloria!

This article was originally posted at Fight the Good Fight.

Author

David J. Lupinetti

Associate Pastor San Tan Bible Church

David J. Lupinetti is the Associate Pastor at San Tan Bible Church in Arizona. He has a passion for Expository Preaching, Biblical Counseling, Discipleship, and Evangelism. David completed his M.Div. at The Master’s Seminary and is a Certified Biblical Counselor through The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). He is married to his wonderful wife Ana Luiza, who is from Brazil.