<p>5:5- see on 1 Pet. 3:1.</p><p><i>Likewise, you younger ones, be subject to the elder men. Yes, all of you gird</i><i> yourselves with humility, to serve one another</i><i>. For God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble</i><i>-</i> James and John had desired the senior places in the Lord&rsquo;s Kingdom. &ldquo;And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren&rdquo;, and we can imagine Peter to have been the most indignant. For he had thought then that he loved the Lord more than any of the others (cp. Mt. 26:33; Jn. 21:15). &ldquo;But (in admonition) Jesus called them unto him&rdquo; and taught that only in the world did men worry about who was greatest and mind that others were over them, and went on to teach that the true greatness was in humility: &ldquo;Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life&hellip;&rdquo; (Mt. 20:25-28). These words were lived out in epitome at the last supper- and again, Peter had objected to it. He had failed to grasp the Lord&rsquo;s teaching here. And having learnt the lesson finally, he can teach others that they like their Lord should not &lsquo;lord it&rsquo; over their brethren, but rather be clothed with humility after the pattern of the kneeling Lord in the upper room (1 Pet. 5:3,5).&nbsp;&ldquo;Gird yourselves with humility to serve one another&rdquo; is a clear reference to the Lord&rsquo;s humility at the last supper. But it had been Peter who didn&rsquo;t perceive it. Now, it is as if he pleads with his readers not to be as slow as he had been to perceive the supremacy of humility. &nbsp;</p><p>A relationship with a God like ours really ought to humble <i>us</i>. He, the Almighty, has asked us to humble ourselves so that we might walk with Him, as if He is so far beneath the petty pride of man (Mic. 6:8 mg.). This really ought to humble us. The whole purpose of the Gospel is to bring down the mountains of human pride and lift up the valleys of those who lack any self-respect (Is. 40:4), thereby making an equality of attitude amongst God's people. The vision of the Kingdom in Is. 2:2-4 was used as an appeal for <i>humility</i> amongst Israel (2:10-12). We have been clothed with God's righteousness (Is. 61:10; Rev. 3:18), and therefore we should be clothed with humility too, as our response to this (1 Pet. 5:5).</p>