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Be Imitators of Me
- 10/10/06
- 7
When I find a topic I’d like to write about for this site, but am not quite ready to write about it now, I often jot down a brief outline of what an article might look like and save the file to my desktop. I tend to invest some time in thinking about the topic and, within a few days, write out a full article. Sometimes, though, I just can’t seem to make an article say what I want it to say and it remains on my desktop for weeks or months. Such is the case with a file called “Imitate Me.” It has been on my desktop for many months now. Through that time I have often opened it up to try to add to it, but nothing I’ve written down has quite done justice to the topic.
Last week I was interviewed on another web site and the final question I was asked was, “As a father, what is the lesson you want to pass on to your children, and how do you plan on accomplishing that?” I had to think about this question for a good long time before I felt that I could answer it adequately. And when I found an answer, I realized that it may just be the key to finishing the article I entitled “Imitate Me.”
Not too long ago I was convicted by the words of the Apostle Paul where he urges Christians to “imitate me” or, in the ESV, to “be imitators of me.” It strikes me as the very height of arrogance for a man to exhort others to be like him and to imitate him. And yet Paul wrote those words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Here is what he says in 1 Corinthians 4:16: “I urge you, then, be imitators of me.” Seven chapters later, in 1 Corinthians 11:1 (a verse that clearly belongs to the preceding chapter and not to chapter 11) he writes again “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Paul is so convinced that what he is doing is right and godly, that he urges others to imitate him. The reference in verse 11 makes it clear that he seeks to imitate Christ and urges others to imitate Christ by imitating him.
Matthew Henry explains these words in this way: “Follow me as far as I follow Christ. Come up as close as you can to my example in those instances wherein I endeavour to copy after his pattern. Be my disciples, as far as I manifest myself to be a faithful minister and disciple of Christ, and no further. I would not have you be my disciples, but his.”
It seems to me that any person who wishes to be in a position of teaching or leadership should be able to echo the words of Paul and say to others, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” A man who does not feel his pursuit of God is worthy of emulation or a man who knows that he is not imitating Christ is a man who does not meet the biblical requirements of leadership. I have never heard a person exhort others to imitate him. Yet I have met men who are worth imitating. My family recently began attending a new church and one thing that drew us to this new church was the pastor, a man who I soon realized was, in many ways, a man we felt we could imitate. We met the other church leaders and were drawn to their example of humility and godliness. This was a church with many people we felt we could imitate.
As I considered the interview question that had been posed to me, I soon realized that, as a father, I wish to model a life that my children can imitate. I wish to be able to say to them, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” I want them to see in me a life of godliness that they want to imitate. I want them to see and to know that I love God best and first and that I love Him more than anything or anyone else. I want them to know that nothing will come between myself and Him. I want them to see and to know that I love my wife second only to God—that she is and will always be my closest companion, my best friend, and that nothing and no one will come between myself and her. If forced to choose between my wife and any other person, I will always choose her. And I want them to know that I love them deeply and dearly, that I love Christ’s people the church, and that I love my neighbor as myself. I want them to imitate me.
And yet in many ways I do not want them to imitate me. As my children they see my sin more clearly than anyone. They see those areas in which I refuse to submit to God and they see the sins that constantly plague me. They may see me at my best, but they also see me at my worst. I know that if I am to be able to say to them “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ,” I will have to make many changes to my life. Were they to imitate me now, they would imitate far too many flaws, far too many sins.
And yet I do want them to be able to imitate me in the ways that I imitate Christ. I see no way of accomplishing this—of accomplishing my goal of being one they can imitate—but by being a student of the Word, by having my heart and my life shaped continually by the very Word of God. And maybe, if God is gracious to me, I will someday be able to say to them, when they wonder how they are to serve Christ in this world, “Be imitators of me.” And God will be glorified.
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at 
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Comments (7)
One thing I struggle with is this: If I ever get to the place where my life is worth emulating (in some measure), then how can I say “follow me” without, at least, sounding brash, and, at most, maintain true humility? This verse has always perplexed me. It seems someone who is worth emulating would be too humble and too aware of their own sin to tell others to do so. Yet I know, because of this verse, it’s possible, even desirable, to strive to attain to this level of Christ-likeness. Have we Calvinists become too fixed on our sin, that we feel we can’t have a correct view of our Christian walks— not just the shortcomings of them, but the virtue present there also?
Theophilus
I don’t believe we should be telling people to follow us. We should certainly be telling them to follow God, and by our lives, show what that means. And instead of “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ,” perhaps we should say, “Be immitators of Christ, as i attempt to.”
I don’t believe we should be telling people to follow us. We should certainly be telling them to follow God, and by our lives, show what that means. And instead of “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ,” perhaps we should say, “Be immitators of Christ, as i attempt to.”
In other words, perhaps Paul got it wrong?
A good lesson that I learned a while pack: Pay extra close attention to the verses that you just do not seem to agree with. Do you ever wish that the Holy Spirit would have inspired Paul, or Luke, or Matthew, or anyone, to say something just a little bit different? Do you ever have to pause for a moment and say, “Wait a second, I think Paul, James, or John is wrong about this one?
If that is the case, then one of two things must be true. 1) You are misreading the verse. 2) Your theology is not correct, or at least not big enough to include the verse.
If this is the case, we have to first make sure we are practicing sound hermeneutics and examine exactly what the author is trying to communicate. However, if having still looked at it we are sure that we are reading it correct (for example, Paul really is telling people to immitate him), then we need to take a hard look at our theology and ask what exactly we are missing.
We are told to follow (indeed, even imitate) those who lead us:”Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.”
As leaders, we need to be able to tell someone to imitate us, as we follow Christ. If we cannot say that, if we cannot follow Paul’s example, then it might just be the case that we are missing something.
In Christ alone,mike
And there we have, written by me, a perfect example not only of the fact that accidentally skipping a whole paragraph (in this case, the one with the specific verses) is a bad thing, but also of the failure of human wisdom. I apologise for that.
In a situation where we have a pastoral role, it may be appropriate to do so. Which of those situations we should do it in, however, is beyond my understanding. However, it definitely should not be easy for us to do, and should require that the holy spirit give us the words, because on our own we are incapable of saying that yet maintaining our humility.
Is it possible, however, that 1 cor 11:1 should be taken as ‘immitate me, in that I immitate christ?’ Clearly that is not a valid interpretation of 1 cor 4:16, but what are your thoughts?
Hi Jeff,
I think you are probably right about that passage. Paul definitely knew his sinfulness (not that i have already obtained it…) and certainly didn’t want people imitating him in that way. In that regard, I’m sure it is appropriate to understand it in terms of “imitate me, in that I imitate Christ.”
However, I think it is important to see that Paul (and other NT characters) did not shy away from using themselves as examples. Paul often reminds his audience of what they have witnessed in him, and then encourages them to emulate him.
You are correct that it is not something to be taken lightly. However, I do believe that it is something that all believers should be doing. I do not think that this is something reserved for the “clergy.” Quite to the contrary, we are all ministers of the Gospel and belong to a royal priesthood. As we go into the presence of God, I think it is crucial that we grab those around us by the hand and usher them in as well.
One might say, “But what about all of my sin!” I’m not perfect. Indeed, we are not. However, one of the greatest ways that we can imitate one another is in our weakness. Consider Psalm 51 for a second. This is perhaps one of the greatest known Psalms and serves as an example for many in repenting. David committed terrible acts against the living God. He sanctioned murder and blatently committed adultery. However, in Psalm 51 alone he has providfed an invaluable gift to the church. In the same way, we might not be perfect, but even in the way that handle our sin we can serve as examples (worthy to be imitated) for those around us.
Let us press on to maturity and and in following Christ serve as a person after God’s own heart, worthy of being imitated.
In Christ alone,mike
P.S. While I agree with all that I have said, these thoughts are not entirely my own. I recently have relistened to a sermon given by one of my elders (Erik Thoennes) called “Take the Lead” and I am sure that at least some of my thoughts and examples come from that sermon. I don’t know how Tim feels about posting links here, and so I will not. However, if you are interested then you can search “erik thoennes take the lead” and it should come up as the first option for both google and yahoo.
You wrote: And yet in many ways I do not want them to imitate me. As my children they see my sin more clearly than anyone. They see those areas in which I refuse to submit to God and they see the sins that constantly plague me. They may see me at my best, but they also see me at my worst. I know that if I am to be able to say to them “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ,” I will have to make many changes to my life. Were they to imitate me now, they would imitate far too many flaws, far too many sins.
I was asked to lead a Baby Shower Bible discussion for a young mother at our church. One of the things that I talked about with the women is that the greatest inheritance we can leave our children is a Godly example. Being a Godly example is not leading a perfect and sinless life just like Christ. That is impossible. It is leading a life in which our children witness our progressive sanctification, our repentance WHEN we sin, our asking of them to forgive us when we take out a stressful day on them by yelling at them. Yes, Christ is our perfect example and we must strive to be Christlike. But then Paul is our marred example. He is our example of one who sinned and repented. One who struggled as we do to choose between the things we ought to do vs. the things we want to do. In his writing we can see his struggles with the flesh and the remedy he communicated so well… Christ alone. THere are so many things that we all struggle with in these fleshly bodies. So I tell my children, “Yes, Christ is our perfect example. We are to, by the grace of God, strive to be like Christ. But if you are to be an imitator of dad and mom, be imitators of our deep love for Christ and His truth… be imitators of our sorrow over sin and repentance of sin when we fail, be imitators of our prayers and earnest pleadings before the Lord as we cry out ‘Not my will, but Thine, O Lord.’ ”
We all have a long way to go in our walk… and our children are sponges and WILL imitate us. They are our little mirrors walking around and often display to others horrible things they have sadly learned from us. But, by the grace of God alone, if Christ is in us, God-willing that will be what makes the deepest impression on our children.
Here is a great sermon from John Piper at
http://theresurgence.com/podcast
The Whole Glory of the Gospel of God: From Him, Through Him, and to Him (Part 2)
At first blush, this may not seem relevant to the topic, but I see a connection in the area of the joy of admiring God’s worthiness. Piper explains the inherent joy found in admiration. Ultimately the greatest joy is found in admiration of God. A picture of that joy may be found in admiring Christ like leaders in the church. And, who would we admire on earth if leaders don’t step forward and lead as Christ has ordained that they lead. As a woman married to a godly husband, I can say women look up to this kind of leadership and desire to admire. I am supposing that men have this same desire.
Thanks, Tim, for getting around to writing this article!
Blessings,
Ann