Imitate Me as I Imitate Christ
Following Christ is not about imitation but about abiding in Him as He leads the way.
“Be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1, NASB)
At first glance, Paul’s exhortation to “imitate me as I imitate Christ” seems to contradict the exchanged life message. If the Christian life is not about imitation but participation in Christ’s life, why would Paul command believers to imitate him? To answer this, we must consider the broader context of Paul’s statement, applying sound hermeneutical principles to understand what he truly meant.
Context Determines Meaning
Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 11:1 concludes a larger discussion that begins in the previous chapter. In 1 Corinthians 10:31-33, he urges believers to do everything for God’s glory, seeking not their own advantage but the benefit of others. Paul presents himself as an example—not of self-generated holiness, but of yielded living, fully dependent on Christ. The key to understanding this verse is recognizing that Paul is not asking believers to imitate his external behaviors in a mechanical way but rather to follow his example of dependence on Christ.
This harmonizes with his other teachings:
Galatians 2:20 – Paul declares, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” His life was not about self-effort or striving to be Christ-like. Instead, it was Christ living through him.
Philippians 3:17 – Paul again encourages believers to follow his example, but always in the context of pressing into Christ, not human effort.
1 Thessalonians 1:6 – He commends the Thessalonians for imitating him and the Lord, but this was through receiving the word “with the joy of the Holy Spirit,” not by external mimicry.
Thus, when Paul says, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ,” he is calling believers to follow him in the way that he follows Christ—by yielding to Christ’s life within, by living from the indwelling Spirit rather than from self-effort.
The Danger of Imitation Without Participation
Many take Paul’s words to mean that the Christian life is about imitating Christ’s outward actions—His compassion, His service, His patience. But attempting to replicate Christ’s life in our own strength is futile and leads to frustration. The real Christian life is not a self-imposed effort to be like Jesus; it is the surrender of our self-life so that Jesus can live through us.
This is why Paul never taught behavior modification apart from identity transformation. He did not simply model outward obedience—he modeled what it looked like to live in union with Christ. To imitate Paul is to live as he did: yielding to the Spirit, resting in Christ’s sufficiency, and walking in moment-by-moment dependence on God’s indwelling life.
Personal Journal Reflection
Lord, how freeing it is to know that You never called me to imitate You in my own strength. I don’t have to strive to be like You—I get to yield and let You express Your life through me.
For so long, I thought being a Christian meant trying harder, doing better, and striving to live up to some impossible standard. But that was just my flesh masquerading as holiness. True holiness is found in You, not in my attempts to copy Your character.
Paul’s words make sense now. He wasn’t telling the Corinthians to imitate his actions as a checklist, but to follow the way in which he lived—wholly surrendered to You. His life was a visible demonstration of what it means to trust You fully, to abide in You, to let You be the source of all things.
So, Lord, I trust You to live Your life through me in this moment. I rest in the reality that You are my life, my wisdom, my sufficiency. I yield to Your Spirit within me, confident that the Christian life is not about my imitation but about Your participation.
Closing Thought
Paul’s exhortation is not an invitation to strive for outward conformity but to walk in inward dependence. He was not pointing to himself as the ultimate example, but to Christ within him. To “imitate” him is to embrace the same yielded, grace-filled, Spirit-led life he lived. This is the exchanged life: not I, but Christ.
Unsplash Image Suggestion
Ideal Image: A trail through a peaceful forest, symbolizing walking in the footsteps of Christ by following the path of surrender.