Coming Authority

"And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." -1 Peter 5.4

The first words that follow the instructions and description of leadership remind leaders that they are not the final authority. Leaders are called to act as shepherds for the flock of God (verse 2), the sheep belong to God, and He is the Chief shepherd. God has entrusted the care of His sheep to other shepherds, but He will return; the text says when, not if. The ultimate authority over the sheep lies with God, the Chief Shepherd.

This reality puts leadership into perspective. Too many leaders have seen themselves as the final authority. The Egyptian Pharaohs saw themselves as gods. There have been numerous cults where the leaders have sought to deify themselves. Dictators throughout history have abused their people because they have seem themselves as the final authority, the one with absolute power.

Romans 13.1 states, "Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God." At His own trial Jesus told Pilate, "You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above" (John 19.11). The Bible is clear, that all authority entrusted to man, is only theirs because it has been granted by God, and all leaders are responsible to Him for how they use their authority.

As I read this verse, and contemplated this section, I was reminded of something I saw in Washington D.C. just over 10 years ago. While in the capital for a class, a group of us went to the Holocaust Museum on our first night in the city. One of the things I remember most vividly was an damaged arch from a synagogue in Nenterschausen, Germany that stood over the place where the Torah scrolls were kept. On the arch, there is a Hebrew inscription that reads, "Know before whom you stand". This message is one that all leaders must remember, know that you stand before God, and that He will demand an account of your influence and use of power.

The owner of the sheep only entrusts them to a shepherd for so long, he does not sell them, or give them away. He will return, and when he does, the shepherd must give an account for the condition of the sheep. Final authority does not rest with a shepherd, but with the Chief Shepherd, and the authority is coming to hear an account of the one to whom He has entrusted His sheep.


Fight the lion, 1 Peter 5.1-11

TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!