"BE IMITATORS OF ME" (I CORINTHIANS 4:16; 11:1)

This sounds like an unbelievably egotistical thing for Paul to say, but in fact the truth of the matter is not as bad as it sounds. To temper his command, keep in mind that the New Testament teachings are full of exhortations for Christians to imitate someone or something, and the two references in Corinthians are the only ones in which Paul counsels anyone to imitate him. The other teachings are given below:

    Ephesians 5:1 – “Be imitators of God.”

    I Thessalonians 1:6 – “You became imitators of us, and of the Lord.”

    I Thessalonians 2:14 – “You became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus.”

    II Thessalonians 3:7,9 – “You ought to imitate us.”

    Hebrews 6:12 – “[Be] imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

    Hebrews 13:7 – “Remember your leaders...and imitate their faith.”

    III John 11 – “Imitate what is good, not evil.”

Looking first in more detail at the two “problem” references in Corinthians, we see:

I Corinthians 4:16 is preceded by the words “in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. I appeal to you therefore...” And then the appeal is followed by “For this reason I sent you Timothy...to remind you of my ways in Christ Jesus...” Thus, they are only to imitate Paul because of (a) his direct commissioning by Christ to be their spiritual father and (b) his godly way of life in Christ. Other commentators weigh in on this verse:

Grosheide: “Paul is obliged to speak about himself. But he is not moved by pride as is evident from the fact that he mentions himself only in the last words of the verse in the Greek text. The most important expression is: in Christ Jesus.”

Orr and Walther: “Paul was so completely dedicated to the gospel that he did not hesitate to offer himself as an example for imitation...This was not naïve egotism but the assurance of a tried and tested faith, the confidence of his experience in Christ.”

Fee: “The term [imitator] does not refer to one who mimics, nor even to one who follows as a disciple, but to one who actually internalizes and lives out the mold that has been set before her/him.” Blendinger agrees with this definition: A mathetes (disciple) is one who has heard the call of Jesus and joins him. Mimeomai (imitate) can be distinguished, in so far as it mainly emphasizes the nature of a particular kind of behaviour, modelled on someone else.” Thus to imitate Paul does not necessarily mean to be a disciple of Paul. For this last fact, just look at Paul's horrified response in I Corinthians 1:10-17 when he finds out that some of the Corinthians are claiming to “belong to” him or to other church leaders.

Bauder: “Paul's language here cannot be reduced to a demand for personal obedience.,,Paul never intends to bind the demand for imitation to his own person. It is always ultimately to the One whom he himself follows.”

I Corinthians 11:1 reads “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Thus, in both passages, Paul is not recommending himself as a model due to his own merits, but solely due to the merits of Christ living in him.

But one could next point to I Thessalonians 1:6 and II Thessalonians 3:7,9 in which the believers are told to imitate us. It has been noted by many commentators that Paul often uses the plural in the address and occasionally the body of his letter as a mere courtesy to those who are with him at the time of writing, when in fact he is only referring to himself. That may be true, but scholars have also stated that the Epistles to the Thessalonians are an exception to that rule in that they appear to have been jointly written with Silvanus (Silas) and perhaps Timothy as well. See my post on “Thessalonians: Introduction to the Literary Structure” for some additional evidence pointing to that possibility. If this is true, then this provides another piece of evidence that Paul was not a unique example of someone to be imitated. Most of the other references above confirm that fact in their mention of churches, leaders, and the faithful which are to be imitated.

Perhaps the most shocking statement by Paul is found in Ephesians 5:1 where he urges his audience to actually imitate God. Simpson explains it in the following manner: Low models furnish no high incentive to those who copy them; but to aspire to a resemblance to our Maker sets the loftiest ideal conceivable before his readers...Some of the divine attributes lie far beyond our scope even to measure, much more to copy; but there are communicable perfections [such as His forgiving love – see Ephesians 5:2] which present to us a glorious field of emulation.”

Bauder expresses that same caveat: “Eph 5:1 is the first place where the thought appears that God should be imitated – not as a metaphysical Being with certain attitudes which might serve as ideals for us, but in his nature as graphically revealed in Christ. What is to be imitated is Christ's obedient adherence to the Father's will, shown in love and forgiveness (cf. Matt. 5:48).”

It is Simpson's last sentence above that must be kept in mind when, for example, reading a book such as the devotional classic In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. There are perhaps good reasons for the fact that we are never told in the NT to imitate Jesus. The fact is that what Christ did on earth may not always be an intended model for us to follow since we do not have any of His divine attributes to guide us, we do not possess His sinlessness, and we do not have His mission.