1 Peter 5:1
“The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Peter exhorts the elders as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and sharer in coming glory.
What Does 1 Peter 5:1 Mean?
Peter turns to the elders who lead the scattered congregations, and he does not address them from above. He calls himself a fellow elder, standing beside them rather than over them.
He names two things that give weight to his appeal: he was a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and he will share in the glory yet to be revealed. The familiar pattern returns, suffering joined to coming glory. Peter speaks to the shepherds as one who has seen what they are called to follow and who waits with them for the same glory. His exhortation comes warm with shared experience, not cold with command.
In the Original Language
presbyteros (πρεσβύτερος), 'elder' -- an elder, a recognized leader and overseer among God's people.