How Should Christian Leaders Use Authority? | 1 Peter 5:3-4

Our text today is 1 Peter 5:3-4:

not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. — 1 Peter 5:3-4

Peter never forgot the night Jesus picked up a towel.

John tells us that Jesus knew the Father had given all things into His hands. He knew where He had come from and where He was going. Yet those hands did not grasp for greater status. They removed His outer garment, tied a towel around His waist, and washed the feet of His disciples.

The One with absolute authority used it to serve.

In that moment, Peter resisted because he did not yet understand how authority worked in the kingdom of God. But years later, that scene shaped the way he taught leaders here.

Yesterday, as we began this final chapter together, Peter told us that Christian leaders are shepherds. The people under their care belong to God, not to them. Today he moves from the leader’s assignment to the leader’s example.

Peter writes:

“Not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.”

Shepherds must lead. But Christian authority must never become a tool for intimidation, manipulation, control, or self-preservation. The world measures authority by how many people report to you. Jesus measures it by how willingly you serve the people entrusted to you.

Peter had heard Jesus say, “The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them” (Matthew 20:25). Then Jesus added, “It shall not be so among you” (Matthew 20:26). And I would assume Peter remembered that, because he echoes that lesson.

Instead of dominating people, leaders are to become “examples to the flock.” The word translated "example" bears the picture of a "model." Every model leaves an imprint.

People may listen to your instructions, but they learn from your patterns. They watch how you handle criticism, how you respond under pressure, how you treat your family, how you speak about people who are absent, and what you do when you are wrong.

Your life models even when your mouth is closed.

This does not imply Christian leaders must present themselves as flawless. Peter certainly could not.

Being a model means living a life that others can follow toward Christ. Sometimes that means demonstrating courage, sacrifice, prayer, and obedience. At other times, the most powerful example is saying:

“I was wrong.”

Or “Forgive me.”

Then Peter turns our minds toward the future:

“And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

Every Christian leader remains under authority. Pastors have a Pastor. Shepherds have a Shepherd. Leaders have a Lord.

Jesus is the Chief Shepherd, and He will return. That truth is both comforting and sobering. It is comforting because the church does not ultimately rest on any human leader’s strength. It is sobering because every leader will answer to Christ for how he treated the people placed in his care.

But Christ promises an unfading crown to those who faithfully serve His flock.

Peter, of course, is speaking directly to church elders, but the principle reaches all of us who carry influence. You may lead a family, a business, a ministry, a team, a classroom, or one younger believer. Somewhere, someone is learning from the way you use authority.

Authority in the kingdom is not a ladder to climb. It is a towel to pick up. A leader worth following does not merely point toward Jesus from a distance. They walk toward Jesus so others can see their steps.

And tomorrow, Peter will show us the garment every leader—and every believer—must wear if we are going to live this way: Humility.

DO THIS:

Choose one relationship in which you carry authority or influence. Ask yourself what your current example is teaching that person about following Jesus. Then take one visible action today that models service, repentance, patience, or obedience.

ASK THIS:

1. Do the people under my influence feel served and strengthened—or controlled and diminished?
2. What pattern am I setting through the way I respond to pressure, criticism, and failure?
3. Am I more concerned about recognition from people or approval from the Chief Shepherd?

PRAY THIS:

Chief Shepherd, thank You for every person You have entrusted to my influence. Forgive me for the times I have used authority to protect my ego, secure control, or demand recognition. Teach me to lead as Jesus led—with truth, courage, humility, and service. Make my life a faithful pattern that helps others follow You. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Only Jesus."