“By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.” – 1 Peter 5:12
Recently, I was given the opportunity to preach at my church, from this passage of scripture, about a man named Silvanus. Who was Silvanus, though?
Well, according to the passage, he was an assistant to Peter, and according to 1 Corinthians 1 and 1 Thess. 1, he was an assistant to Paul throughout his second missionary journey.
That’s it. Those are the only times the name Silvanus appears in the Bible. So what do we learn from this?
First, Silvanus was a good servant. He stayed with Paul throughout an entire missionary journey, and Paul’s missionary journeys were no joke, and was even trusted by him to preach (1 Cor. 1:19). After that, he also helped serve the apostle Peter as well, even helping him pen a book of the Bible. This means he was a dedicated worker, who was open to be used by God to achieve a larger purpose.
Second, Silvanus didn’t care about his name. Think about it. This was a man who willingly placed himself under several apostles, and merely tried his best to serve them and to further Gods work. Here is a man who served, preached, and taught, not because he wanted to become famous, but simply because he wanted to help.
Oftentimes, we as people tend to think about, “what’s in it for me?”. How will I benefit from helping, how will this make me money, give me influence, or get me brownie points? Sometimes, it’s okay to stay in the background and just support the people around you, with no hope of fame, fortune, or influence from it. Sometimes, it’s a good idea to just stand back and learn.
