Copy Artist

Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1 NASB

Of me – Of all the people who probably least deserved to hear this exhortation, the Corinthians top the list. Their lives are a mess. They are involved in idolatry, sexual immorality, petty rivalries, family squabbles, lack of compassion and a host of disorderly actions. Most of us would write them off as a lost cause. But then most of us probably couldn’t make Paul’s claim either. “Copy me!”

“Wait, I didn’t mean exactly that. I meant copy me in all those spiritually uplifting things that I do, but don’t look too closely at the rest of my life. There are things that I wouldn’t want you to copy, that even I don’t want to admit are part of my behaviors. Please, just pay attention to my words.” Yes, that sounds more like us. Don’t do a really thorough examination of my life. Just do what I wish I could do.

Paul seems to think that these people who are certainly not spiritually mature need to look at him—carefully—to model their lives on his. That’s a powerful claim, not one that we feel comfortable making. But why is it that we are so hesitant to offer our own lives as examples of godly behavior? Is it because we know ourselves so well that we don’t think we match up? We aren’t like Paul, right? Well, maybe not so right. Isn’t Paul the one who prayed three times to have some serious impediment removed, yet without success? Isn’t he the one who was told that this “messenger from Satan” was a permanent part of his service to the Lord? Didn’t Paul have a real falling out with one of his companions? Didn’t he struggle with absolute commitment? Wasn’t he engaged in resistance to the Messiah for a significant part of his life? Maybe he isn’t so different after all?

The Greek text uses the verb mimeomai. “The group is rare in the LXX and occurs only in the Apocrypha. In general the idea of imitation is alien to the OT and there is no thought of imitating God. The situation changes in the pseudepigrapha, which demand that we imitate exemplary people like Joseph, and also that we imitate God by keeping his commandments. Kings should take God as their example in dealing with their subjects.”^[1] Michaelis’ comment is significant. What this means is that Paul is using an idea that originates in the rabbinic period, not in the age of the prophets. Furthermore, because Paul relies on the pseudepigraphic concept, his idea must be distinguished from the use of that verb by Plato. In other words, for Plato and all those influenced by him, life as we know it is not the real life. This life is only a copy, an imitation, of reality, a reality that exists on another plane. Later Christian thinkers adopted this Platonic idea when they spoke of heaven. But Paul is using mimeomai in the rabbinic sense, that is, as an exhortation to literally copy his way of living because he is copying the lifestyle of the Messiah. This involves real earthly decisions and actions. This is not a spiritualized anticipation of another realm. It is living according to instructions given for this age and this world.

Paul is not appealing to the Corinthians to set their eyes on heaven and wait for escape. He is telling them that they are to look at real human examples of godly living and imitate those men and women. Certainly every earthly example will have flaws. Perfection is not an attribute of this world. But holiness is. The Corinthians, despite their problems, have a clear path before them. “Live like me!” says Paul. That raises an important question for each of us. Are we able to confidently exhort others to live like us? Are we walking so carefully that we can point to our own ways of living as examples of the Messiah in action?

Who would you dare to address with the phrase, “Live like I do, and you will draw closer to God.”

Topical Index: copy, imitate, mimeomai, rabbinic, 1 Corinthians 11:1

^[1] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (594–595). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.