Page 55 - General Epistles (James through Jude) Textbook

If they continued to serve in the ways Peter instructed them, they would receive
crowns of glory that will never fade away when the chief shepherd returns to earth for
the second time. Jesus Christ is understood to be the Chief shepherd here (see Ps. 23; 1
Pet. 2:25; John 10:11; Heb. 13:20).

Instructions to Younger Men in the Church (1 Pet. 5:5).
As the leaders were leading them, younger men (just like all of those who were admonished to submit
to governing authorities, husbands, and masters) needed to submit to the elders of the church. To
demonstrate submission, they needed to be humble because God was able to shower them with favor.

Instructions to the Called-Out Assembly (1 Pet. 5:6-11).
Peter admonished his audience to do the following. 1) to humble themselves because God was able to
lift them up. “Peter urges his audience to be humble while they wait for God to honor their faithfulness
in His timing. This call to humility reinforces the repeated call in the letter to endure various kinds of
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suffering for their faith by placing their trust in God’s plan (see 4:19 and note).” 2) They needed to
cast their anxieties to God. They needed to do this because even in the darkest period of someone’s life,
God still cares for you. Possibly, those anxieties could have been brought by the fiery ordeal sufferings.
3) They needed to be alert and sober minded. That was significant because the devil was ready to
pounce on those who would be found vulnerable due to excessive suffering at the hands of those who
still belonged to the world and continued to practice values and beliefs of this fallen world. 4) They
needed to resist devil’s advancement toward them by standing firm in the faith while experiencing
intense suffering just like those Christians who were also undergoing through suffering. This was
encouraging to them and would mitigate notions in them of thinking that they were the only ones who
were going through those sufferings. Peter comforts them by reminding them that the same God who
called them to eternal glory, after they had suffered for a little while (cf. 1 Peter 1:6), will Himself 1)
restore them, 2) make them strong, 3) make them firm, 4) and make them steadfast. Peter concludes his
exhortations by reminding his audience why he wrote the letter, “Through Silvanus, whom I know to be
a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, in order to encourage you and testify that this is the true
grace of God. Stand fast in it” (1 Pet. 5:12).

Why Does God Allow Suffering?

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