Paul tell us in this verse to follow him as he follows Christ. But what made Paul’s life worth following?
A Life Worth Following (1 Cor 11:1)
1 Cor 11:1 Is my life worth following?
Context: Paul is addressing the entire Corinthian Church. He is not writing to an individual believer.
Three key issues here:
First, the quality of Paul’s life, the worthiness to be followed.
Second, there is a deliberate invitation. “Follow me”
Third, it was Christ that he was following and inviting others to follow. Jesus first
Let’s start with the first one: “Follow me” Your life must be worth following.
• So, what makes Paul’s life worth following?
1 Thessalonians 2:6 In the midst of a hardworking ordinary life, this is a life worth following
2 Corinthians 11:23-28 In the midst of extreme hardship, this is a life worth following.
Eph 6:19-20 In the midst of severe persecution, this is a life worth following.
2 Cor 12:7-10 He delights in in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties
o Paul delights in them because in them he sees the power of Christ.
o In the midst of a life of weakness and frailty, that’s a life worth following.
1 Cor 4:12,13 Even when Paul was mistreated and slandered, he responded with kindness and blessings.
o In the midst of rejection and slander, this is a life worth following.
• Paul’s life was worth following on many levels.
o Throughout his life you see, character, integrity, passion, zeal, leadership, love, care.
o Comfort though, was also not his highest pursuit.
• As we seek to live a life that others will follow toward Christ.
o Do we exemplify, character, integrity, passion, zeal, leadership, love, care?
Second, the second key issue here. There is an invitation
• Paul is actively inviting people to follow him. “Follow me!”
• Now the “follow me” in the English sounds like a verb.
o But in the Greek, it’s a noun, “an imitation.” “Become an imitation of me”
• The verb to become is in the Greek Present Tense.
o This act of becoming like Paul or Christ is an ongoing process.
This doesn’t happen in a moment or overnight.
• The verb “to become” is also a command.
o Paul is commanding his readers to become “imitations of him.”
• We need to recapture this very biblical element of inviting people to follow us, a we follow Christ.
o This is after all what discipleship is all about.
o Jesus invited people to follow Him.