1 Peter 5:1

Verse 1. The elders which are among you.

These elders were the bishops or overseers of the churches situated in the provinces named in the first chapter. This is evident from the duties imposed upon this office, as the same appears in second verse. Paul sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of that church to meet him at Miletus, and, among other things, he said to them: "Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood" (Acts 20:28). These officers were of like kind. Peter says he was one also; that is, he was both an elder and an apostle. I can not here avoid remarking that no pre-eminent claim is here by the apostle asserted, such as is claimed for him by some in the religious world. It was an opportune time to so claim if any such pre-eminence existed. He simply says he was an elder and witness.