5:1 I exhort the elders among you,
 

as a fellow elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ,
and who will also share in the glory that will be revealed.
5:2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight,

not under compulsion, but voluntarily,

not for dishonest gain, but willingly;

5:3 neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you,

but making yourselves examples to the flock.

5:4 When the chief Shepherd is revealed,
you will receive the crown of glory that doesn't fade away.

5:5 Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder.

Yes, all of you

• gird yourselves with humility,
• to subject yourselves to one another;
for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time;
5:7 casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.

5:8 Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful.
Your adversary the devil, walks around like a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour.
5:9 Withstand him steadfast in your faith,
knowing that your brothers who are in the world
are undergoing the same sufferings.
 

5:10 But may the God of all grace,
who called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus,
after you have suffered a little while,
perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
5:11 To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

5:12 Through Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I consider him,
I have written to you briefly, exhorting, and testifying
that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.
5:13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, greets you;
and so does Mark, my son.
5:14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace be to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.

After Peter had denied Christ, Jesus approached him asking "Do you love me?" Peter acknowledged such, but Jesus then told him to feed his sheep. No doubt Peter kept this in mind when he wrote this passage. That is how spiritual authorities reveal their love for Jesus. They are to feed the flock of God.

There are those who demand to get paid for their ministry, and only minister reluctantly. They have a right to get paid, but Paul encouraged such people in a number of passages to not exert such rights. To the Ephesian elders he said,

"I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing.  You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"Acts 20:33-35 (niv)

"If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ." 1Cor 9:12 (niv)

"Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you." 1Thess 2:9 (niv)

But consider how Jesus exercised spiritual authority. He discipled a group of individuals in the context of doing ministry to the masses. He never built a building nor established an institution. To him the church was the people alone. And though he was the Son of God, he raised disciples to do what he was doing and told them to "go and make disciples of all nations" and  to teach them "to obey all that I commanded you". (Matt 28:19,20) Thus the vision was that all Christians would achieve the same level of maturity, while of course having diversity of gifts and ministries. And this is what Ephesians teaches:

"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.  From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." Ephesians 4: 11-16 (niv)

A good elder should follow the example of the chief Shephard rather than the popular trend of elitist institutionalism, striving to develop those under his authority unto maturity in Christ. And let his crown be measured not by mere numbers, but by the quality of faith of those he has impacted. It is also quite common, as with any organization, for those in authority to take credit for other people's efforts. (Taking credit for more than one's due is the same kind of sin that Ananias and Sapphira committed in Acts 5, for which God killed them. So take heed!)

vs 5 However, that having been said, elders do have legitimate authority which should be taken seriously. And inherent in Jesus' command to make disciples (Matt 28:19,20) is the requirement that young Christians be willing to be discipled by older ones.

"Be subject one to another" This phrase is found in the greek texts that the King James is based upon, but is absent in the texts that more modern versions like NIV are based upon. This expression is also used in Ephesians 5:21 which introduces three vertical relationships. The controversy over this expression is whether it refers to mutual submission in which there is no recognized authority figure but that everyone "submits" to everyone else. Or whether it means for the ones under authority to submit to their corresponding human authority figures - "one to another". I have an extensive analysis in the Ephesians 5:21 commentary on this matter. Based upon the context I conclude that this is speaking with respect to vertical relationships and that the concept of "mutual submission" is a misnomer, being simply an outgrowth of modern worldly philosophies, such as feminism. In the context in 1st Peter we notice that he has spoken of three vertical relationships. Government-Citizen; Husband-Wife; Master-Slave. In each case the subordinate member is exhorted to submit. But in no case is the one in authority commanded to submit to the subordinate member. And the same is true in the Ephesians passage. There is no Biblical basis for the concept of "mutual submission" in such relationships, and "submission" is irrelevant unless it is spoken of with respect to a recognized authority figure.

vs 6 The "mutual submission" idea has been used as an excuse to simply not submit to legitimate authority figures. Such an attitude reveals a lack of humililty. Submission and Humility go hand in hand. Humble people have no problem with submission. Even Jesus being Lord of Lords humbly submitted himself to the Father's will even to death. And though he was despised of men and died seemingly cursed of God and humiliated, yet God exalted Him to the highest place. What is "Humility"? Humility is simply a realistic evaluation of yourself in the sight of God.

vs 7 It takes humility to rely on the Lord. But casting our anxieties and concerns upon Him frees us up to walk in newness of the Spirit in submission to legitimate authority figures both spiritual and secular.

vs 8-9 And again Peter reminds us to be watchful. We live on a hill that slopes away from God.  And thus the Psalmist prays, "Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness." Psalms 119:36 (kjv) We experience resistence in climbing the hill. If we are not watchful, Satan through the world and our flesh can drag us down unknowingly. The particular afflictions that Peter speaks of are those due to the world's persecution of Christians. This implies an awareness of what is going on in the general Christian community. So Christians shouldn't be so myopic as to limit their awareness to their own little circle of Christian friends.

vs 10-11 Suffering for Christ will seem like a small thing afterwards. For if received properly, the positive effects far outweigh the humilation.  However there is again a difference in the greek texts between the KJV and the modern versions which makes it unclear whether this is a promise or simply a wish or desire. In the KJV, the four effects mentioned are in the optative mode. "The optative mood is generally used in the so-called "fourth-class" conditions which express a wish or desire for an action to occur in which the completion of such is doubtful." (Online Bible Lexicon) So the KJV would view this as a wishful desire. But the modern versions, like NIV, are based on a greek text which uses the future indicative instead. Indicating that this is a promise.

To Perfect: Means for one to become what he ought to be. To be fit for service.
To Establish: Means to become stable, set firmly in place
To Strengthen: Means to be strong in spirit - to hold our faith as convictions
To Settle: Means to lay the foundation, as when one settles down to live the Christian life.

vs 12 Many of the New Testament letters were dictated to a degree. "Silvanus" is also a greek variant of "Silas." This was probably the same Silas who wrote 1st and 2nd Thessalonians along with Paul and Timothy. (1Thess 1:1; 2Thess 1:1) As such there was no doubt a good deal of interaction between Peter and Paul's ministry.

vs 13 In speaking of "Babylon", Peter was probably speaking metaphorically - meaning "Rome". The apostle John was also given a vision in the book of Revelation in which "Babylon" was also spoken of in a derogatory sense (as in Rev 17:5), closely parallelling Rome including the seven hills of Rome mentioned in Rev 17:9. "Marcus" or "Mark" also wrote the gospel of Mark. He also had been involved both in Peter and Paul's ministries. "My son" may indicate Peter's close relationship with Mark. The gospel of Mark thus contains much of Peter's account of Jesus' ministry.