¹Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

(1 Corinthians 11.1)

1 Corinthians 11.1 rightly belongs to the preceding section on food offered to idols and the Christian’s use of his freedom in Christ: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (10.31). This was the all-inclusive principle governing Paul’s discussion—God should be glorified in everything the Christian did. To eat or not to eat was not the question so much as what kind of witness would I be setting by doing such and such, or by not doing such and such? Exercising personal freedom had this loving constraint in mind: ” ‘Everything is permissible’–but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’–but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others” (10.23-24). This was practical application of Jesus’ greatest commandments: “Love God …, and love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22. 37-39). Christian behavior should glorify God by building up the church and leading others into maturity. Behavior that was questionable would lead others to stumble (1 Corinthians 10.32) or fall. The argument for personal freedom in Christ had to be continually held up against the other principle at stake–love your neighbor as yourself. 

Paul’s discussion in 1 Corinthians 8—10 works all this out for his readers. Finally, as their spiritual father (4.14), he “pulls rank” and instructs the Corinthian Christians, in chapter 11.1, to follow his example of loving consideration and responsibility in everything they did. His reason is clear—the Corinthians could follow him because he modeled his own life and behavior on the supreme example, Jesus Christ. He had already said as much earlier on to the squabbling, arrogant and immature Corinthian church with regard to their spiritual lifestyle: “Therefore I urge you to imitate me” (4.16). Here too his point was that as Christ’s apostle, nothing he did or thought was based on selfish gain, but always toward the good of his spiritual children, sometimes at great cost to himself.

But–we contend, we are not Paul. So it seems a bold thing for us indeed to instruct others to imitate us! Yet all of us are models of sorts to those we influence, for good or bad. What distinguishes a Paul from the common crowd is the model of a mature life that lives out biblical principles and standards. This is true spirituality, and that is the challenge we face daily. The fact of the matter is, we can each of us choose to be a Paul.

Far from being a rather proud thing to tell others, mature Christians should rise to the responsibility of deliberately modeling the Christ-life for younger and less mature Christians to emulate. The reality of true Christian leadership is that we should aspire to be little Christs in our society. Simply put, being a godly example is not optional, but rather marks the life of the mature Christian: he has a legacy to pass on, and he is, all the time, setting an example to younger ones to reach toward the same maturity of spiritual character in Christ.

Paul’s life was lived out under such circumstances; in every way, he watched himself, his doctrine and his actions so that all could see Christ glorified in him. He was deeply conscious of his life as an example of “Christ in [him], the hope of glory” (Colossians 1.27). At the end of his life, he could safely say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race” (2 Timothy 4.7). Having done all that he could, Paul went to his death as a final act of his witness to his followers and imitators of the remarkable Christ who had changed his life forever.

Our question to ourselves as we consider such verses as 1 Corinthians 11.1 is, “how faithfully have I modeled the character of Christ so that others might emulate me?” Our challenge as mature Christians is to live up to our calling to be little Christs in our own time and day. This is the task and the obedience that is required of us as the children of God.

Other “imitate me” verses to chew on:

1 Thessalonians 1.6

Hebrews 13.7

Philippians 3.17

²While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”³So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

Acts 13. 2-3

These two short verses tell a whole story about what it means to be sent out and commissioned. Barnabas and Saul were already ministering faithfully at Antioch. For Saul, later called Paul, especially, the Antiochene congregation was the community where his giftedness as a Christian leader had matured and thrived. In these two verses, Luke tells us that Antioch was simply the starting and incubating place that God would use to launch this team of two to greater and more extensive service.

The church had gathered for worship. There must already have been a deep sense of anticipation that God had stirred in their hearts, for verse 2 indicates that they were also fasting. The mood among the people was one of open listening and expectancy for God’s voice; they knew they had to be especially sensitive and alert to his leading.

And indeed, God did not disappoint his people. He spoke. “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (v. 2). Luke does not give us details about the nature of the work, though the rest of Acts clearly spells out that it was God’s salvific mission to the Gentiles. Neither does Luke explain how God spoke to his people, but it probably came via a prophetic revelation given to one or some among the congregation. What is important is that the whole congregation was privy to this revelation, and it was the whole congregation, together with its leaders, that attested to and validated this special and specific call to these two men.

Being “set apart” meant, for Barnabas and Saul, that the ministry they had been fruitfully involved in hitherto would draw to a close. Luke says that the leaders and congregation recognized the new work that was before them, and thus “sent them off”, meaning that the Antioch church willingly released them from whatever duties they had had up to that point in the church. It was the whole congregation that commissioned Barnabas and Saul to this particular purpose for which the Spirit of God had separated them, and it was the whole congregation that Barnabas and Saul reported to whenever they returned from their missionary travels (cf. Acts 14.26-27).

Behind the church’s voice (as the People of God) was the stirring and direction of the Holy Spirit. It was God himself who set the stage for Barnabas and Saul to be “called” and “set apart”. It was God himself who had the wider view of how and when the gospel would be spread throughout the Mediterranean world. The church at Antioch did two things right: they were found faithfully worshipping and fasting when God revealed his plan, and thus, they came to share in God’s great purposes as the first sending church in Christendom. 

These two verses from Acts 13 serve to enlighten us about work that God sets us to do. Firstly, it is clearly God who plans and acts to bring about his purposes in our individual and corporate lives. Barnabas and Saul doubtless had sensed the Spirit’s stirring even before the occasion of the prophetic revelation. The church as the corporate body was obviously engaged too in seeking God’s will. There was a mood of deliberation, and an anticipation and expectancy that God was doing something new. When the revelation came, “Set apart for me …” the whole congregation immediately recognized the voice and hand of God upon their church and the two individual men. As one body, they affirmed that this was the will and direction of God for his people.

Secondly, the church acted in unity and generous self-giving as God’s stewards when they “released” these two gifted men from their duties within the church. They “placed their hands on them and sent them off” (v. 3). Their gift of Barnabas and Saul to the Gentile mission is immeasurable. Saul-Paul turned out to be God’s man for the hour as he strove for the gospel throughout the Roman world. Today, we are still reaping the benefits of what Paul, apostle to the gentiles, did by the power of the Spirit.

Thirdly, the activities of the Antiochene congregation show us that they were sensitive and obedient to the voice and leading of God. They were worshipping and fasting—sure indications that they were intent on seeking God for his next step in the development and history of Christianity in their region and world.

The engagement and involvement of all three parties—God, Barnabas-Saul, the church at Antioch—is an object lesson for modern churches about how God works. We find no lone ranger Christians acting on their own; no oppressive churches restricting gifted individuals from serving God in new ways; no lack of clarity as to what God’s will was. Acts 13.2-3 is a wonderful example of how the Body of Christ moves and acts in tandem with the desire of its Head, Christ himself, to will and do the purposes of God. If ever we wanted to return to some first-century “model” of church, we would do well to pay attention to some of these short and easily bypassed narratives that hold great truths for us to mine.

⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,¹⁰so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ–to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1: 9-11

Whenever Paul prayed for the Philippians, he did so with joy and thanks to God (1.4). Now, in these later verses, the content of what he prayed for is made known to us. Paul’s prayer for the Philippians reveals the bent of his mind and his life’s priorities: above all, he prayed for their spiritual progress. This was uppermost in his mind and thoughts as nothing else was—his desire was for his Philippian friends, sharers in the spread of the gospel of Jesus, to abound in the life of God.

The first and most basic prayer he makes is for their love to “abound more and more …” (v. 9). The Philippians had already demonstrated their loving generosity in their giving to Paul, but now, he prays that this love should abound even more. There is no end to that love which originates in God’s love, and Paul is encouraged and excited to ask God to multiply it even further in the Philippians’ lives. Love is a fruit of the Spirit, as Galatians 5.22 tells us. All the other virtuous qualities follow from this (1 Corinthians 13) and thus without it, no Christian can reach maturity in Christ.

To whom should this love abound? The sentence takes no object, and Paul must have been deliberately open about this. He meant that love should be growing, and directed outwards towards all. Thus, the Philippians’ love for God should abound, as their love for one another should likewise abound. The former leads into the latter. John poses the negative for us in his letter: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen” (1 John 4.20).

What is the environment most nurturing of such abundant growth? Paul prays that the Philippians’ love should “abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight …” (v. 9). Though love is relational, Paul does not choose to use philo, which describes friendship-love, and which carries the aspect of mutuality and satisfying interaction with others. Paul uses the word agape instead to describe the selfless love of God. This is the self-sacrificial love that he wishes to see abounding in the Philippians. It is tough love indeed that does not depend on reciprocation in order to love. The highest and best example we have of agape is the sacrificial love of Christ.

True love is neither sentimental nor mushy. To be agape, love must be knowledgeable and morally discerning. The knowledge Paul means is the knowledge of God. Paul’s desire is that the Philippians should grow in their knowledge of God’s words and ways, and in their ability to live according to these words and ways. The Christian life is not lived in abstraction but in application. Thus moral perception or discernment is needed too if love is to grow. If we fail to grow in the knowledge of God, the growth of love is hindered. If we fail to live a righteous (moral) life with integrity, the growth of love is hindered.

There are two purposes in Paul’s prayer: “so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless” (v. 10).  The Greek word for “to discern” refers to the testing of the purity of metals and coins to see if they meet the standards required. Understanding and moral conduct are the two things that foster and nurture love. So Paul prays that the Philippians’ growth in love within the environment of the knowledge of God and moral perception will enable them to test and discern how best to live in the light of God’s ways and words (cf. 1 Corinthians 10.23).

To be pure and blameless with a view to Christ’s coming is the other purpose of Paul’s prayer. How are we to become pure and blameless? As we open ourselves to the sunlight of God’s ways and words, his brightness shines on us, and all our parts are “tested” by that pure and unadulterated light. Thus, we are first to be rightly related to God, and out of that fellowship and union with God, we are to be rightly related to others in conduct and action.

Little wonder that we need the Spirit of God to effect such transformation in our lives, and to bring about that growth in love in us! But this is the “natural” and expected outcome of living the life of Christ in us. Thus Paul prays for the Philippians to be “filled with the fruit of righteousness” (v. 11)—if we are in Christ, we ought to produce spiritual fruit for God through the Spirit (Galatians 5: 22-23). Paul does not mean outward conformity or merely external action. He means the inner transformation, the qualities of soul and spirit that point to the God-life pulsing within the circumcised heart. Such fruit of righteousness, Paul says, is to the “glory and praise of God” alone.

Paul’s pastoral heart sees this one thing, that the Philippians should be marked by the life of Christ in such fundamental ways. His prayer for them shows his eternal priorities. Nothing else was as important as the renewal of their minds and the transformation of their lives. True abundance, he knows, consists not of material muchness, but of the simplicity and single-mindedness of following Christ, the true Life Giver.

His prayers for the churches were very telling of the thoughts that preoccupied his days and nights. He longed for Christians to experience the unsurpassed richness and depth of Christ. Paul had one song to sing, and he sang it all the time! We would do well too to consider what we think when we think of “the abundant life”. Our prayers are also very telling of the thoughts that preoccupy our days and nights.