“Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” – 1 Peter 5:5
Scripture reading: 1 Peter 5:1-5
In today’s passage, Peter addresses both elders in the church and those shepherded by the elders. All are to clothe themselves with humility. Elders are to be examples of humility. Peter addresses them as a fellow elder who witnessed the suffering of Christ and saw the glory of Jesus on the mount of Transfiguration. In saying this, Peter is suggesting that if elders are truly acquainted with the suffering that Christ endured for their salvation and know of the glory that is waiting for them, they will serve not under compulsion, but willingly. They must not have a domineering spirit, but a humble heart, serving Christ’s church as under-shepherds of Christ, the Chief Shepherd. While they are saddened because they still sin, they serve as those saved by grace, looking forward to the coming glory.
In the same way, those who are placed under the elders’ leadership are to be subject to the elders. They are to trust that Christ set these elders over them for their spiritual well-being and must listen to them, respecting them, even though they will make mistakes and not always be perfect examples. They can only do this with humble hearts. This is why Peter ends this section by stressing that we all need to continually clothe ourselves with humility. This is to be an ongoing action. It means fighting the temptation of pride and growing in our understanding of grace, keeping this in mind that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
Suggestion for prayer
That we could continually work on being humble, whether we are in a leadership position or being led by others.
Pastor Richard Bultje is a missionary and pastor of the River of Life church plant in Niagara Falls Ontario. It is a church plant under the oversight of the Wellandport United Reformed Church. Pastor Richard and his wife, Yukyung moved to Niagara Falls in November 2012 with their three children, Calvin, Isaiah and Gloria. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. It is also available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.
