1 Peter 5:1

Who is also a partaker of the glory that is to be revealed in the future. Clearly, this happened when on the holy mountain he beheld the heavenly glory of His face with James and John, or when he saw the power of His resurrection …

The Apostle was about to speak of humility, which he had already mentioned, saying: "doing good" (1 Pet. 4:19). He calls himself a "pastor" (elder) either on account of his age or on account of the dignity of a bishop; for the book of Acts …

I who am a fellow-elder - So the first though not the head of the apostles appositely and modestly styles himself. And a witness of the sufferings of Christ - Having seen him suffer, and now suffering for him.

The elders which are among you I exhort,....

KINDLY notice, dear Friends, the Apostle's great gentleness. Peter was not always thus gentle, but the Spirit of God had rested upon him and now he writes with much tenderness. He does not say, "As an Apostle, I command," but, "As an elder, I exhort." It is always well to combine the suaviter in modo with the fortiter in re, that is, suavity in our method blended with strength in the thing, itself.

His higher dignity as an apostle is herein delicately implied, as eye-witnessing was a necessary qualification for apostleship: compare Peter's own speeches, Ac 1:21, 22; 10:39. also--implying the righteous recompense corresponding to the sufferings. partaker of the glory--according to Christ's promise; an earnest of which was given in the transfiguration.

KINDLY notice, dear Friends, the Apostle's great gentleness. Peter was not always thus gentle, but the Spirit of God had rested upon him and now he writes with much tenderness. He does not say, "As an Apostle, I command," but, "As an elder, I exhort." It is always well to combine the suaviter in modo with the fortiter in re, that is, suavity in our method blended with strength in the thing, itself. There are some who are very blustering in their style of speech and there are others who, if they do not bluster, yet in the smallest matter always put forth their greatest force, or what they think to be so. They command and rebuke with all authority—yet here is Peter, who certainly was not a whit behind the very chief of the Apostles—and he speaks, not by way of command, but, addressing the elders, he tenderly exhorts them. Oh, that we may always manifest such a meek and gentle spirit—not drive men, but draw them to Christ—not terrify and threaten, but entice and woo to the Savior those to whom we are speaking or writing! Next, notice Peter's humility. "The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder." He was an elder, most truly, as are all those who, in word and doctrine, feed the flock of God and who, at Christ's command, take the oversight of the souls of men. But Peter was much more than an elder, he was an Apostle. There were but few Apostles and those who were called to that high dignity were greatly favored—yet Peter does not mention his higher office, but, with true humility, he puts himself on a level with his Brothers. "The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder." My Brother, if God has given to you extraordinary talent, do not exalt yourself on that account.

The elders which are among you - In this place the term πρεσβυτεροι, elders or presbyters is the name of an office. They were as pastors or shepherds of the flock of God, the Christian people among whom they lived. They were the same as bishops, presidents, teachers and deacons, Act 14:23; 1Ti 5:17. And that these were the same as bishops the next verse proves. Who am also an elder - Συμπρεσβυτερος· A fellow elder; one on a level with yourselves. Had he been what the popes of Rome say he was - the prince of the apostles; and head of the Church, and what they affect to be - mighty secular lords, binding the kings of the earth in chains, and their nobles in fetters of iron; could he have spoken of himself as he here does? It is true that the Roman pontiffs, in all their bulls, each style themselves servus servorum Dei, servant of the servants of God, while each affects to be rex regum, king of kings, and vicar of Jesus Christ. But the popes and the Scriptures never agree. A witness of the sufferings of Christ - He was with Christ in the garden; he was with him when he was apprehended. and he was with him in the high priest’s hall. Whether he followed him to the cross we know not; probably he did not, for in the hall of the high priest he had denied him most shamefully; and, having been deeply convinced of the greatness of his crime, it is likely he withdrew to some private place, to humble himself before God, and to implore mercy. He could, however, with the strictest propriety, say, from the above circumstances, that he was a witness of the sufferings of Christ. A partaker of the glory - He had a right to it through the blood of the Lamb; he had a blessed anticipation of it by the power of the Holy Ghost; and he had the promise from his Lord and Master that he should be with him in heaven, to behold his glory; Joh 17:21, Joh 17:24.