November 30
Respect of Spiritual Authority
1 Peter 5:5

  1. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
  1. Likewise you that are younger and of lesser rank be subject to the elders—the ministers and spiritual guides of the church, giving them due respect and yielding to their counsel. Clothe (apron) yourselves, all of you, with humility—as the garb of a servant, so that its covering cannot possibly be stripped from you, with freedom from pride and arrogance—toward one another. For God sets himself against the proud—the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful, and opposes, frustrates and defeats them—but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble. The Amplified Bible

He just finished giving instructions to the Elders of the church and now he tells the younger to submit to the elder.  As the Amplified Bible brings out he’s not just speaking of younger in physical age, but the younger spiritually should be subject to the elder spiritually.  And then he tells everyone to be subject to one another--to be clothed with humility in our dealings with each other.

We can all learn something from those who have grown and walked with the Lord longer than we have.  And those who God has placed in positions of authority within the church have been given a leadership gift and we are not to try and usurp another’s God-given authority (But of course we must remember that Jesus is the Chief Shepherd and He is the ultimate authority, and people—even Ministers—are capable of getting off track and falling away from the truth of the Word).

Ultimately, no-one should treat anyone with disrespect, whether they are leaders in the church or members of the congregation, we all have our place and we all need to be humble in our attitude and behavior towards each other.  We all need to accept and respect each other’s positions in the body of Christ.

 

Confession:

I will clothe myself with humility in my attitude and behavior towards my brothers and sisters.  As a young Christian, I will respect elder Christians.  As a member of the body of Christ I will be subject to the leaders of my church as unto the Lord.  As a leader of the church, I will treat everyone and every position in the body with respect.

Obedience is a tree of life!