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1 Peter 5:4
4 And [kai] when the chief Shepherd [archipoimen] shall appear [phaneroo], ye shall receive [komizo] a crown [stephanos] of glory [doxa] that fadeth not away [amarantinos]. KJV-Interlinear
4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. NASB
There are five crowns of reward, for the believer, mentioned in the Bible. Three relate to self, and two relate to others.
For Self:
Crown of victory or incorruption, 1 Cor. 9:25 – remaining in fellowship.
Crown of life, James 1:12, Rev. 2:10-11, 1 Cor 3:15 - testing by trial.
Crown of righteousness, 2 Tim. 4:8 - maturity (perfection, integrity).
For Others:
Crown of the soul winner or rejoicing, Phil 4:1, 1 Thes. 2:19 - bringing others to Christ - their salvation.
Crown of glory, - teaching others about Christ - their growth, 1 Pet. 5:4.
In ancient times, winners of various events or those who accomplished things of an extraordinary nature, were presented with wreaths of flowers and such. These awards naturally faded over a short space of time. Their awards also were generally accompanied with honors, and even compensation, depending on the nature of the award.
This is the concept of the crowns mentioned in the scriptures, as they apply to each believer.
By accomplishing these various tasks, or by participating in them, then the believer can expect to receive an award when they come face to face with Christ.
Heb. 13:20
20 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, NASB
At the ‘appearance of Christ,’ who is the Chief Shepherd, is a reference to your standing before His Judgment Seat for your evaluation.
When you participate in a competition of some type, you expect some type of award. It may be a ribbon or a medal for finishing first, or second, or third, or even a participation award, maybe a plaque or a trophy. And so it is with your spiritual life.
When you advance in your spiritual life, there are rewards waiting for you in heaven and eternity. The Parables of Christ, are filled with examples of these rewards. And even though we do not know the specifics of these rewards, we do know that they are beyond anything we can imagine (exceedingly abundantly beyond all we can think or ask), and that covers a huge unknown region that has not even been invented.
And not only are these rewards beyond imagination, but they will last forever, never fading, never being lost.
In this world, you have to defeat someone in order to win, and there is only one first place prize, one second place prize, and so forth.
But in the spiritual life, when you help someone win, you also become a winner. Heaven has enough room for us all to be winners. Your only competition is yourself and your willingness to seize hold of the greatest gift that God has provided us all, which is your spiritual life.
