"So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:1-8

The opening statement of 1 Peter is written to a group of believers who are going through difficult times, which involves persecution. Peter reminds them that they fight an enemy who incessantly prowls about seeking to eat them up. Therefore, they are to resist him. 

The first four verses of 1 Peter 5 deal with the leaders/elders of the church. He underscores the reason such weight is given to this group of people is because:

1. Leaders (at all levels) are pacesetters.
2. The avowed desire to honor Christ heightens the fierce rage of the devil.

“The devil laughs. He is perfectly content to see you becoming chaste and brave and self-controlled provided, all the time, he is setting up in you the Dictatorship of Pride– just as he would be quite content to see your skin rash cured if he was allowed, in return, to give you cancer. For pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love or contentment or even common sense.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

How to Resist the Devil

1. Walk in Humility

Heidelberg Catechism, Question 60

Q. How are you righteous before God?

A. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ; that is, although my conscience accuse me, that I have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God, and have never kept any of them, and am still prone always to all evil; yet God without any merit of mine, of mere grace, grants and imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never committed nor had any sin, and had myself accomplished all the obedience which Christ has fulfilled for me; if only I accept such benefit with a believing heart.

Humility comes as the glory and wonder of the cross is continually understood. 

"But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.” 1 Peter 4:15 

Prepare for the promise; the Lord will exalt/lift up His people.

2. Cast your anxieties/cares upon the living God.

"But the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful." Mark 4:19 

"But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap."  Luke 21:34 

"As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful."  Matthew 13:22 

The mighty, eternal, unchanging God tenderly cares for His people. 

Anxiety:

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:24-34

1. Abba Father feeds the birds and he will feed you (Matthew 10:29-31).

2. Worrying does not w________ (Matthew 6:27) 

3. You are a c_______ of God; Your Abba Father is almighty and caring (not an unnamed force or a wish fulfillment/ fictional narrative…)(Matthew 6:31-32) 

Key Thoughts

• Speak the gospel of grace to yourself daily.
• Our God is mighty, good, and tender.
• Humility is the result of understanding the mercy of the cross.
• How does one anticipate the devouring growls of the adversary?

Answer Key: work, child