Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.  Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another …

1 Peter 5:5

Some believe the command to the younger men to “be subject to the elders” refers to being subject to the older members of the church as a whole.  “Be subject to” comes from the Greek term hypotasso, and Thayer’s Greek Lexicon lists “to yield to one’s admonition or advice” as one of its definitions.  Paul does teach younger Christians to “not rebuke an older man” in the church but to instead “encourage him as you would a father” (1 Tim. 5:1; cf. Lev. 19:32; Prov. 20:29).  It is therefore understandable that some would conclude that Peter is exhorting younger men of the church to be open to seeking and yielding to the correction and advice of those in the church who are older than them (cf. Tit. 2:3-5).

However, the immediate context shows Peter giving direction to those who hold the office of elder, the shepherds (poimein, pastors) and overseers (episkopos, bishops) of the local congregation (1 Pet. 5:1-4; cf. 1 Tim. 3:1-7; Tit. 1:5-9; 1 Thess. 5:12-13; Phil. 1:1; Acts 20:17, 28-32).  Being overseers, the elders were just told by Peter to “exercise oversight” over “the flock of God that is among you” (v. 2) while being careful to “not (be) domineering over those in your charge” (v. 3).  Thus, it fits that Peter would then immediately charge the younger men of the church to “be subject to the elders,” i.e., the overseers and shepherds of the church.  While “be subject to” (hypotasso) can refer to yielding to advice, Thayer and other Greek lexicons give much more emphasis to the definitions of hypotasso which speak of obedience.  This not only fits the context of this verse, but also fits other passages which allude to elders.  For example, Paul speaks of those who are “over you in the Lord and admonish you” (1 Thess. 5:12), a clear reference to elders since they “exercise oversight” (1 Pet. 5:2).  The Hebrew author also clearly speaks of the elders who both “shepherd the flock of God” and “exercise oversight” (1 Pet. 5:2)  by directing Christians to “obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.  Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Heb. 13:17).

It is a sad fact that some Christians have little interest in obeying, submitting to, and being subject to the elders of their respective congregations, brethren who unfortunately do not let their elders do their jobs “with joy” but rather cause them much “groaning” instead.  Some are thorns in their elders’ sides because they are among those warned of by Paul who “will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Tim. 4:3-4).  However, unfortunately there are also those who teach and practice biblical truth in so many areas and yet fail to obey God’s commands to obey their elders in matters of judgment concerning the congregation because they, like Diotrephes, “like to put (themselves) first” and do not “acknowledge (the) authority” of their elders (3 John 9).

This is why Peter immediately spoke of the need for all of us to “clothe” ourselves “with humility toward one another” and taught how God “opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (v. 5).  Humility is hard to practice when one is required to submit to an eldership’s decision that goes against one’s own interests or preferences.  This might especially be hard for us Americans who love our freedoms.  Yet we must remind ourselves of Peter’s promise that God “at the proper time” will “exalt” those who humble themselves (v. 6).  Do we have the humility God requires?

It’s a hard and time-consuming job to shepherd and oversee the flock.  Let’s help our elders work “with joy and not with groaning” by humbly submitting to their decisions concerning the church here at East Main and thanking them for all that they do.

— Jon