God didn’t put the elders over the flock of God but among the flock they are mere sheep, leading sheep, and they take the lead to cooperate with the Lord’s heavenly ministry to shepherd the fellow sheep into the enjoyment of God. Paul addressed the elders, as he himself was also an elder, and told them that their primary function is to shepherd the flock of God among whom God has placed them (see Acts 20). Yes, the Lord as the pneumatic Shepherd (the Shepherd in resurrection) is shepherding His sheep, but He also needs some on earth who cooperate with Him. He was freshly impressed with the Lord’s word and commissions in John 21 when He told him, Feed My lambs, Shepherd My sheep. When Peter wrote his first epistle, what he had in view was the Christian life under the government of God. 5:4 we see that the elders are set by the Lord to be those who shepherd the flock of God according to God Christ is the Chief Shepherd, and it is through the elders that He shepherds His flock, the church.īesides Christ as the Shepherd, there are many other lower case “shepherds”, in this case, the elders, who need to shepherd the flock of God according to God. What a Shepherd we have! Christ as the Chief Shepherd shepherds His flock through the Elders of the Churches We may forget about all the riches and the blessings in the new covenant, but our great Shepherd doesn’t He makes sure we enjoy all these riches, and under His shepherding, we enter into the experience and enjoyment of all that Christ is, has, has accomplished, has done, and has promised to us. Hallelujah!Īs the Lord’s sheep hear His voice, they follow Him out of any fold and He takes them to the pasture, to waters of rest, and to the place of His choice He takes all-inclusive, tender care of the flock.Ĭhrist is also the great Shepherd of the sheep He has been raised from the dead by God in the blood of an eternal covenant, and He executes and carries out all the bequests of the new covenant for us to enjoy.Īs believers in Christ, we are covenanted people God has promised many things to us, He covenanted many rich and wonderful bequests, and Christ in His resurrection and ascension makes sure that all these bequests are being applied to us, are enjoyed by us, and we have a way to experience them. God created us in such a way that we need shepherding, and He is the Shepherd to us.įirst, He came as the good Shepherd and laid down His life for the sheep He came as the real Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, and He came so that we may have life and may have it abundantly.īut we were scattered, divided, and lost, so as the good Shepherd He sought us out, He laid His soul-life down for us, and He poured out His divine life for us as His sheep to be enlivened, fed, nourished, and brought to Him as His flock.Ĭhrist as the Good Shepherd laid down His human life to accomplish redemption so that we as His sheep may share His divine life. Praise the Lord for our Shepherd!Ĭhrist is the good Shepherd, the great Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd, the Shepherd of our souls, and even for eternity He will forever shepherd us and guide us to pastures and streams of water of life. The only way that we can shepherd others according to God is by enjoying His shepherding day by day and learning from Him, being one with Him, and allowing Him to shepherd others through us. Hallelujah for our Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ! The Lord Jesus is the Shepherd according to God He is the Chief Shepherd, the Shepherd of our souls, and the eternal Shepherd taking care of the inward condition of our soul.
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