What are the types of Print

CROWNS found in the Bible?

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Q. What are the different types of CROWNS found in the Bible?

A. Thank you for asking such an interesting question! There are many different
kinds of crowns the Bible mentions - some pertaining to this life only and others
that believers will receive for eternity. There are even a crown or two that are not
nice to have! Here are some of the crowns mentioned in the Bible:

Crowns of Gold
• Crown worn by the High Priest:

"Then they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and
wrote on it an inscription like the engraving of a signet:
HOLINESS TO THE LORD." (Exodus 39:30, NKJV throughout)

For a description of all the clothes the priest wore see Josephus'
History (Antiquities) of the Jews, Book 3, Chapter 7.

• Crown worn by Mordecai, who Persian King Ahasuerus made the chief
minister of state instead of Haman:

"So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal
apparel of blue and white, with a great crown of gold and a
garment of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan
rejoiced and was glad. " (Esther 8:15)

• King David rejoiced over the crown God gave him:

"The king shall have joy in Your strength, O Lord, and in your
salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! . . . For You meet him
with the blessings of goodness, you set a crown of pure gold
upon his head. " (Psalm 21:1, 3)

Crowns of Glory
• The crown that wisdom gives:

"She will place on your head an ornament of grace, a crown of glory she will
deliver to you." (Proverbs 4:9)
 • The crown given to the aged:

"The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness."

(Proverbs 16:31)

• The glory that Jerusalem shall be in the sight of God:

"For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not
rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a
lamp that burns . . . In that day the Lord of hosts will be for a crown of glory
and a diadem of beauty." (Isaiah 62:1,3)

• The crown of glory (rulership) would be taken from the King of Israel due to his pride:

"But if you will not hear it, my soul will weep in secret for your pride . . . Say to
the king and to the queen mother, 'Humble yourselves. Sit down, for your rule
shall collapse, the crown of your glory.' " (Jeremiah 13:17-18)

• The Kingdom of Judah will, in the future, be gloriously restored by God:

"In that day the Lord of hosts will be for a crown of glory and a diadem of
beauty to the remnant of His people . . ." (Isaiah 28:5)

• Those who serve and help guide the church, if they do so willingly, honestly and without
ruling the faith of others, will receive a crown of glory from Jesus:

"The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness
of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be
revealed:

"Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by
compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords
over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the
Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade
away." (1Peter 5:1-4)

Crown worn by Kings

• "And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and
have brought them here to my lord." (2Samuel 1:10; see also 2Samuel 12:30, 2Kings
11:12; Song of Solomon 3:11)

Crown of Deception
• The crown or power given to false christs and false prophets, especially in the end time, to
 deceive and conquer:

"And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a
crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer."
(Revelation 6:2; see Matthew 24:5)

Crown of her Husband

• "An excellent wife is the crown of her husband . . ." (Proverbs 12:4)

Crown of the Wise

• "The crown of the wise is their riches . . ." (Proverbs 14:24)

Crown of Pride
• The pride of the Northern Ten Tribes of Israel (whose capital was Samaria) would be
broken:

"Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious

beauty is a fading flower. Which is at the head of the verdant valleys, to those
who are overcome with wine! . . . The crown of pride, the drunkards of
Ephraim, will be trampled underfoot; " (Isaiah 28:1, 3)

Crown of Rejoicing
• "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence
of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?" (1Thessalonians 2:19)

Crown of Righteousness
• Crown of Righteousness will be given to the Apostle Paul and all those who believe in
God:

"Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all
who have loved His appearing." (2Timothy 4:8)

Crowns of Life
• Those who are faithful to God and endure to the end will receive a crown of life:

"Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved,
he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love
 Him." (James 1:12)

" . . . Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Revelation
2:10)
Crown of Glory: Undershepherd's Crown

Dr. Joe Temple

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Introduction

Open your Bibles, please, to the first Epistle of Peter, chapter 5, verse 1:

I Peter 5
1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of
the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:

2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by
constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that
fadeth not away.

Notice especially verse 4:

You will recall that some time ago we began, in our series of prophetic discussions, to consider
the judgments which are yet future. One of those judgments was the Judgment Seat of Christ. At
that seat we will all appear to receive a reward for the deeds done in the body according to
whether they are good or evil–that is, whether they be worth something or worth nothing.
Everyone will receive some kind of reward, for every man shall have praise of God. The rewards
which our Lord is pleased to bestow are presented in the Bible in the form of crowns–five of
them. We have already considered four; now we consider the fifth one.

Five Crowns

We have thought about the Soul Winner's Crown, which is described in the Bible as the “Crown
of Rejoicing,” that crown which is to be bestowed upon every believer who has had the privilege
of having a part in the winning of any soul to Christ.
Then we thought about the Crown of Self-Denial, which is called the “Incurruptible Crown.” It is
the crown which is bestowed upon every believer who is willing to keep the flesh under control,
who is willing to deny himself, who is willing to live by mortifying the deeds of the flesh.

Then we discussed the third crown, which is related to the second coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It is called in the Scriptures the “Crown of Righteousness,” because it is given to every
individual who loves the appearing of the Lord. Of course, the one who loves the appearing of
the Lord will live the the blessed hope as the goal of his entire Christian experience.

In our last lesson, we discussed the crown that will be presented to the faithful servant. The
Scriptures call it the “Crown of Life.” It will be presented to the believer who is faithful, to the
believer who is faithful under trial, and to the believer who is faithful unto death.

For an Opportunity to Worship Christ

Now we come to the last of the five–the Crown of Glory. Let me suggest to you that we have not
looked at these crowns in the order of their importance, because I have no way of knowing that
one is any more important than the others.. We have looked at them only in the order in which
they are found in the Word of God.

You may wonder why we as believers would be selfish enough to want crowns. Do we want to
walk around the street of Heaven with our heads top-heavy, so to speak, with a great stack of
crowns? Are we that full of self? No. The answer is that we want these crowns because we are
going to have the opportunity to lay them at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. We and the twenty
and four elders in the book of the Revelation will cast our crowns at the feet of the Lord. I want
to have a crown–at least one–to give Him, and that is the reason why I do not want anyone to
receive my crown.

Mistakenly Called the Pastor's Crown

The crown that we are now going to think about, the Crown of Glory, I believe has been
mistakenly called the “pastor's crown.” Because it has been referred to as the “pastor's crown,”
many of God's dear children begin to lose interest when you begin to talk about it. They say, “I
am not a pastor and if I am not a pastor, then I will not be able to receive this crown, so I do not
suppose there is much point in thinking about it.” I believe that if you will examine all the
Scriptures related to this crown, you will find that it is erroneous to refer to it as a “pastor's
crown.” I would rather refer to it as the “Undershepherd's Crown.”

Elders of an Assembly

I refer to it as the “Undershepherd's Crown” because of the address which the Apostle Peter
makes in the first verse. Did you notice it?

I Peter 5
1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of
 the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:

In any assembly the Holy Spirit has more than one elder. That is the reason you find the word
always in the plural. Elders are those individuals to whom the Holy Spirit has given the gift of
being an elder. I would like to suggest to you that some of the requirements of elders, as they are
presented in Paul's letters to Timothy and his letter to Titus, indicatetos us why it is proper to
refer to this crown as the “Undershepherds's Crown.”

Need for Patience

One of the requirements of an elder is patience. Keep in mind that the word “elder” is not
exclusively a reference to one who is old in age, but rather one who is mature in spiritual
experience. If you have not realized it heretofore, you should now realize that spiritual maturity
is not necessarily related to calender years. An elder must be patient enough to listen to all of the
burdens and the heartaches and the troubles of the sheep in the flock. An elder is one who is a
lover of good men–that is, a lover of men who are following the Lord. He wants to stand with
them and be able to help them in whatever way he can.

Ability to Exhort

Another requirement of an elder is that he should be able to exhort. The word “exhort” means to
encourage. He should be able to convince. The word “convince” means to exhort to the point of
persuasion. This being the ministry of elders, you can see why I say to you that this crown is
available not only to pastors who stand in the pulpit and preach the Word, but it is also available
to all who recognize the privilege that is theirs of ministering to the flock of God. The word
“flock” is emphasized in verse 2:

I Peter 5
2 Feed the flock of God which is
among you,…

God has His flocks everywhere. If you are part of a flock and you assume, under God, the
responsibility of ministering to the needs of the flock, then you are one of God's undershepherds.
Someone may say, “Well, when will I get my appointment?” The Holy Spirit will make it, and
no doubt you will discover that you have the appointment in view of the needs with which you
are faced and your ability under the Holy Spirit to meet those needs. You will recognize in verse
3 the word “flock” again and the word “heritage”–God's heritage–used in connection with the
flock.

Crown Based On Discharge of Duties

This is a reason I am talking to undershephers in this message and not to pastors. If I were
discussing this crown with regard to pastors, then I would reserve this message for a convention
of preachers; but I believe it is a crown that is available to all who are willing to be
undershepherds. Notice in verse 4 the reason for the crown:

I Peter 5
4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory
that fadeth not away.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the chief Shepherd, and every believer mature in Christian experience
has the opportunity of being the undershepherd if he will. Being an undershepherd, he has the
opportunity of receiving the crown–the Crown of Glory that fadeth not away. I would like to
remind you that you do not receive this crown just because you consider yourself an
undershepherd. The way that you discharge your duties as an undershepherd will determine
whether or not you receive the crown. I trust the Holy Spirit of God will speak to our hearts as
we recognize the way that we should discharge the duties of the undershepherd. Look at verses 2
and 3:

I Peter 5
2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by
constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

Responsible for Feeding the Flock

As I look at these two verses I notice two responsibilities of the undershepherd. One of the
responsibilities is described in verse 2 in the phrase “feed the flock of God which is among you.”
You may say, “I am not a Bible teacher. I do not know anything about feeding a flock, so I could
not very well fulfill that command.” We remind you that you have not grown all the food you
feed your family. We remind you that you have not manufactured all the food that you set on the
table, but you have a way of getting it.

If you have the opportunity of sitting under the ministry of the Word here or somewhere else,
you have enough food to share with someone else. If you have not enough food to share with
someone else, then you are not listening the way you ought to listen, and the Holy Spirit is not
putting these things in your heart and your mind as He wants to put them there. You can feed the
flock of God.

If we look at this word “feed” with regard to spiritual food only, then we miss the point entirely,
because this word “feed” is a translation of a Greek word which elsewhere in the Scriptures is
translated by the word “shepherd.” As a matter of fact, when you see the word “shepherd” in
your New Testament, it is the noun form of this particular verb. What is it we are reading here?
“Shepherd the flock.”
Tending the Flock In Other Ways

You know, sometimes people get the idea that when they have fed the flock that is all there is to
do. Would you mothers feel that way? If you just prepared the food for the family, would you
feel that there was nothing more to do? Of course not. You know, actually feeding the flock is a
minor part of the whole thing. Feeding your family food is a minor part of all of the duties which
fall upon the shoulders of you mothers. There is the keeping of the clothing and the provision of
all that is necessary for the children to keep going. How many of you mothers could tell the
number of sore toes you have tied up and the thumbs you have kissed and the encouragement
you have given? It is all part of taking care of the flock.

Beloved, I want to remind you that you ought to open your eyes and your ears and recognize that
all around you are some of God's dear flock, some of God's dear sheep, that need tending. It is
not only that they need feeding; they need tending. There are broken hearts that need to be bound
up. There are individuals who are bearing burdens that are too heavy for them and you and I as
undershepherds have the privilege of bearing one another's burdens and so fulfilling the law of
Christ.

You and I have the opportunity of making it a little bit easier for some others. Accept the
responsibility of tending the flock. By tending the flock of God as one of His undershepherds,
you have the opportunity of receiving the Crown of Glory.

Looking Diligently After the Flock

Notice the second responsibility here in verse 2:

I Peter 5
2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the
oversight thereof…

Notice the phrase “taking the oversight thereof.” That phrase is from one Greek word which
means “to look diligently” after the flock, or “to look diligently” after other believers. Turn with
me in you Bibles, please, to Hebrews, chapter 12, verse 14, and notice a translation of the same
Greek word which means “looking diligently” after the flock of God:

Hebrews 12
1
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
4

1 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness
5 springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

1 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of
6 meat sold his birthright.
1 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he
7 was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully
with tears.

Those Who Fail of the Grace of God

Did you notice the phrase “looking diligently?” There are three things that you and I are
supposed to look diligently for in the relation to the flock of God. “Look diligently lest any man
fail of the grace of God.” Notice how the Scripture puts it. Grace never fails. Will you remember
that? Grace never fails, but we fail of the the grace of God.

What are we told to do if we want this Crown of Glory? We are told to look over the assembly
with which we are associated and see if perhaps some dear brother is failing in God's grace.
Maybe some dear brother has not been in the services for some time, and you have not even
noticed it. If you have noticed it, you have not particularly cared. You have not gone to see what
the trouble is.

You know me well enough to know that I am not drumming up trade for services. You know
that. But, Beloved, I do not know that we ought to ignore the absence of people from the
assembly of the saints. Who knows: Maybe the Devil has made a special attack upon a Christian,
and maybe his strength has failed. Maybe he has failed of the grace of God, and he needs that
encouraging hand from an undershepherd that he may go on with the Lord.

One With a Root of Bitterness

Notice the instruction:

Hebrews 12
1 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness
5 springing up trouble you,……

Look about you. Is there some brother who tends to become bitter about something? Do you
shrug your shoulders and say, “Oh, well, he is just that way?” Do you take it to the Lord in
prayer? That is part of the ministry of the undershepherd–to say, “Lord, this dear brother has
bitterness in his heart and he does not realize it. Something must be done about it.”

A Profane Person

Now look at the next verse:

A profane person is a person who puts more emphasis upon the things of the flesh than he does
upon spiritual things. Perhaps there is some brother or some sister in the assembly, and the things
of the flesh are taking a great demand on him. You see the things of the flesh, you see
materialism griping his heart. You shrug your shoulders and you say, “He is not as interested in
spiritual things as he used to be,” and that is about all that is done about it.

Be the undershepherd you ought to be. If you cannot go to the dear brother or sister and point out
how materialism is getting a grip, how he is going to lose the opportunity for blessing, as Esau
lost it, at least you can take it to the Lord in prayer. You have a tremendous ministry as an
undershepherd, and if you are a faithful undershepherd you will receive the Crown of Glory
which fadeth not away.

Not By Constraint

It is not easy to be a faithful undershepherd. If you will go back to I Peter, chapter 5, you will
notice a few suggestions about it:

I Peter 5
2 …….. taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy
lucre, but of a ready mind;

3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

Now, notice the triple exhortation in these two verses. First: If you exercise the ministry of the
undershepherd, do it not by constraint. Do it willingly. Do you know what “by constraint”
means? It means “of necessity,” or feeling compelled to do it. Now listen carefully. Has there
been some sick individual to whom you have been called to minister as an undershepherd? It is
not very pleasant to minister to him, it it? Somtimes when you have gone to minister to him, you
have gone because you had to. There was no way for you to get out of it. They would not
understand if you did not do it. Someone might criticize you if you did not go, so you went. That
is taking the oversight by constraint.

I am going to tell you something that you may not like to hear: You are not going to get a crown
for that visit. The Crown of Glory does not go to the undershepherd who does what he does
because he has to do it, and not because he is willing to do it.

Not for Filthy Lucre

Second: If you carry on the ministry of the undershepherd, you should do it not for filthy lucre's
sake. “Filthy lucre” in the Bible is usually interpreted as referring to money, and certainly that
could be included, but it is not exclusively a reference to money. We are told to do what we do,
not with the idea of gaining something. Is that what you do as an undershepherd? Do you feed
the hungry with the idea of gaining something? Do you minister as an undershepherd with the
idea of gain? If you do, then you are not going to receive a Crown of Glory. Instead of doing it
for filthy lucre's sake, you should do it with a ready mind.

These words “ready mind” come from a single Greek word which speaks of being predisposed to
do something–that is, always ready to do it. You do it because it is just part of you. You do it
because it is just part of your very nature. That is the way God wants it. He does not want you to
carry on the ministry of the undershepherd out of a sense of obligation, but He wants you to do it
because you love to do it. You are prredisposed to do it. You do it with a ready mind.

Examples to the Flock

Now the third thing he says is, “when you perform the ministry of the undershepherd, you should
do it not as being lords over God's heritage, but rather as being examples to the flock.” You
know what it means to be a lord over God's heritage–you “lord” it over everyone; you tell
everyone what ought to be done, but you never do it yourself. You tell everyone how he ought to
live, but you do not show him any examples. You go around griping about the fact that people
are not friendly, but you are not friendly yourself. You go around griping about the fact that no
one is interested in the sick and the afflicted, but you are not either. You see, if you practice the
ministry of the undershepherd, you are to set the example. You set the example of ministering, or
tending the flock of God.

Abundant Opportunities for Service

Now, Beloved, the last sentence in the paragraph begins with:

I Peter 5
4 And when the chief Shepherd shall
appear,……..

He is going to appear one of these days. aThe Bible speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as the good
Shepherd in John, chapter 10. It speaks of Him as the great Shepherd in Hebrews, chapter 13. It
speaks of Him as the chief Shepherd in I Peter, chapter 5. The good Shepherd gave His life for
the sheep; the great Shepherd is interceding for the sheep all the time; the chief Shepherd is
coming back for the sheep. When He comes back, He has a crown for every undershepherd, the
Crown of Glory that fades not away.

Beloved, there may be some of these crowns that some of us may not be able to receive, for any
number of reasons. But I see no reason why, if you are a child of God, you could not receive the
Crown of Glory, the Crown of the Undershepherd. Certainly you do not need to look for an
opportunity. It is on every side: All you need to do is minister to those who are in need and you
will have all you can do. I hope you will seek the crown for the undershepherd, the Crown of
Glory that fadeth not away.

Seven Bible Crowns

 Introduction: We are witnessing much interest in Bible crowns. There are two
nouns translated "crown" in the Greek New Testament. They are, stephanos ("that
which surrounds") and diadem. Often involved with "crown" is the idea of benefit,
victory and being triumphant, as we shall see.

I. Crown of wisdom and understanding.

A. Proverbs 4: 1-9; 1: 1-9

B.True wisdom is not found in human philosophy.
1. James 1: 5; Colossians 1: 9-10.

II. Crown of excellent wife.

A. Proverbs 12: 4
B. The wife can be an asset to the husband.
1. Proverbs 31: 10-31, Proverbs 18: 22.
a. Cp. Proverbs 19: 13-14; 21: 9

III. The Silver-haired head crown.

A. Proverbs 16: 31; 20: 29

B. There is honor in old age and consequent respect.
1. Leviticus 19: 32; 1Timothy 5: 1-2

IV. The crown of children's children.

A. Proverbs 17: 6
B. Grandchildren also offer both great joy and responsibility.

V. Beloved and longed for brethren crown.

A. Philippians 4: 1
1.Paul regarded the saints at Philippi as his "joy and crown" (Phili. 1: 1-8, 2: 12,
13).

VI. A crown of thorns.

A. Matthew 27: 27-31

1.I Peter 2: 21-24; 4: 16, 19

VII. An incorruptible crown.

 A. I Corinthians 9: 24-27
B.We must run for an imperishable crown!
1. James 1: 12; Revelation 2: 10

Conclusion: There will be an ultimate crown provided for those who overcome, a
crown of everlasting life (Rev 3: 11).