Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
– 1 Corinthians 11:1
Wow! What a short, significant, bold, humble declaration from Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. To look into the eyes of these Corinthian Christians and to say, Imitate me.
1 Corinthians 11:1 Calls Us To Be Imitators
Now that can seem arrogant, not humble, if disconnected from the second part of the verse. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Paul’s saying to his brothers and sisters in Christ, We’re following Jesus. And I’ll demonstrate following him in a way that if you follow my example, you will be following Jesus. I think many followers of Jesus hear that and think, Oh, I don’t know if I can do that. If I can live in a way that’s worthy of imitation like that. But this is what we’re called to.
As followers of Jesus, think about it, it’s so basic when you really meditate on that, this is our identity. We are followers of Jesus. And we have been crucified with Christ, to use language from Galatians 2:2, we no longer live, Christ lives in us, a life we live now, this is for every one of us as Christians. We live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. Like the whole purpose of our lives day in and day out summarized in the initial invitation from Jesus to his disciples in Matthew 4:19, “Follow me.”
Don’t we want to show each other what following Jesus looks like? Don’t we want our lives to be worthy of imitation? Just think about that today. Let’s soak in what would the followers of Jesus’ lives look like around you. If they were imitating you, would they be following Jesus? Would their thoughts be honoring to Jesus? If they were imitating you, would their desires be honoring to Jesus? Would their words actions, would their lifestyles be honoring to Jesus if they were following your leadership?
1 Corinthians 11:1 Encourages Us to Lead Lives Worthy of Imitation
The reality is, in disciple-making, what Jesus has called all of us to do, we show other people what it means to be a follower of Jesus, so let’s, by the grace of God and only in the power of the Spirit of God, rise to the occasion today. You and I have an opportunity to live a life today that is worthy of imitation by others in such a way that if they were to imitate us, they would be following Jesus. O God, may it be so in my life and every one of our lives. Help us today. We need your grace, the power of your Holy Spirit in us. We cannot do this on our own. Left to ourselves, in our flesh, our lives are not worthy of imitation.
We pray, help us to live in the power of your Spirit today. We pray that our thoughts would be like Jesus’, that our desires would be glorifying to Jesus. God, we pray that our lives would look more like Jesus’ today. Our words, our actions. God, that we would love like Jesus loves, that we would care like Jesus cares, we would speak like Jesus speaks. We pray that today, you would help us to, by the power of your Holy Spirit in us, share the gospel with somebody around us.
And God, in all the different areas of our lives as husbands or wives, help us to show our spouses what following Jesus looks like. As parents, help us to show our children what following Jesus looks like today. As students, help us to show our parents what following Jesus looks like today. In 1 Timothy 4 way, to not let anyone look down on us because we are young, but to set an example, to show our peers what it means to be a follower of Jesus, to show the people around us that we work with what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
God, we pray that you would help us to imitate Jesus today in such a way that if people around us follow our example, they will be following Jesus. God, may 1 Corinthians 11:1 be true in and through us today.
Prayer for the Khalaj People
And God, as we pray this today, we pray for the Khalaj people of Iran among whom there are no followers of Jesus.
God, we pray that the gospel would spread to the Khalaj people, that the first follower of Jesus might be found among them, and we pray in advance for that follower of Jesus to live a life worthy of imitation that would draw others to follow Jesus. We pray for disciples to be made in church, to be planted, started, multiplied among the Khalaj people of Iran. Please God, bring it about that the life of Jesus might be seen, known, celebrated, and followed among the Khalaj people of Iran. We pray all of this according to your Word in 1 Corinthians 11:1 in Jesus’ name, amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
