One of the biggest stumbling blocks facing believers in the evangelical world is the focus on ‘imitating’ Christ. Let me cut to the chase and say that this is an unbiblical and spiritually dangerous pursuit that should be exposed and abandoned. Unfortunately, this is the root of most sermons and teachings today in the religious system. While the appeal to be ‘more Christlike’ certainly arouses the fleshly sense of guilt and human determination that make for good sermons & moving worship services, they are powerless to produce ‘Christlike’ living in everyday reality.
A Fatal Proof-Text
Proof-texting is the act of lifting a verse or passage of scripture out of the context in which it was written in an attempt to validate a preconceived idea, or system of thought. Because of the reality of ‘proof-texting’, the scriptures have been exegetically taught to validate all kinds of unbiblical ideas & systems in the name of being ‘true to the text’. In my opinion, one of the most dangerous proof-texts that is commonly used to validate the unbiblical idea of ‘imitating Christ’ is 1 Cor. 11:1
Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. (1 Cor. 11:1, NASB)
On the surface, this one statement made by Paul would seem to indicate that the Christian life is one big game of ‘Simon says’. You remember that game right? Many of us played that game as a child. Simon says “touch your ear”, and you touch your ear. Simon says “sit down”, and you sit down, etc…While the philosophy behind ‘Simon says’ might produce an amusing kids game, it produces a miserable Christian life. Paul never taught others to simply mimic his external actions, and neither did Christ. Unfortunately, the ‘what would Jesus do’ concept has become the message of mainstream Christendom. There is a reason for this.
The ‘Imitate Me’ Messengers
As you may know, there are many well meaning, good hearted, and passionate authors out there who have written extensively about the problems of mainstream Christendom. These authors repeatedly talk about how un-Christian and un-Christ like many professing church attenders are. They lay the blame of what they would consider ‘lukewarm’ western Christianity squarely on the backs of church attenders who do not ‘imitate’ Christ enough through a lifestyle of obedience.
I recently read an article that talked about the negative perception that many ‘unchurched’ people have of evangelical Christians. This author went on to blame this reality on ‘hypocritical’ Christians who do not live out their faith. While many of the statistics listed in the article were true, it was built on the same faulty premise that the solution would be found through believers becoming better ‘imitators’ of Christ. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In reality, it is those who perpetuate this kind of mindset that are responsible for the lukewarm culture within evangelical Christendom that they continually rail against. I have previously written about this in the following articles:
Is Radical Really Radical? (why David Platt is the new Francis Chan)- my book review here
Church Member Mentioned In David Platt’s Book ‘Radical’ Responds To My Review Of ‘Radical’
Missional Confusion & The Amway Gospel…an assessment of a movement
Unlearning Discipleship, (why we should forget what we’ve heard)
Francis Chan’s Talk From Passion 2011, And The $64 Million Question
These articles go into further detail about why simply calling people to ‘do’ more is not the solution to the problems found within the institutional religious system. While I do not wish to rehash what I communicated in those articles, I do think it is necessary to talk about the heart behind Paul’s admonition to ‘imitate’ him as he imitates Christ.
External Imitation, Or Internal Imitation?
If we look at Paul’s admonition to ‘imitate’ him as something external, then we would have to assume that Paul was telling the Corinthian believers that they all had to ‘imitate’ him by leaving their home town of Corinth, get some associates to work and travel with (like Timothy), and spend an average of six months in an area to plant churches. Obviously, this is not what Paul was saying at all. As a matter of fact, Paul asked the question:
“All are not apostles are they?”
If all did what Paul did, there would be no churches anywhere. Therefore, Paul’s admonition to ‘imitate’ him was referring to something quite different.
Internally Imitating Christ
Paul was pretty clear when he said “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” Paul was not talking about the external imitation of Christ either, or else each Corinthian believer would have to pick twelve disciples of their own, quit their jobs, and travel from city to city, etc… Paul was talking about something much more profound than mimicking the external rules or actions of Jesus Christ. In order to truly ‘imitate’ Christ, we’ll have to understand three major realities.
1. There is only one Christ
In John 15, Jesus said that He is the vine, and we are the branches. Jesus never said that we are to ‘imitate’ the vine. Branches and vines have vastly different functions and purposes. Rather, as branches, we are told to simply ‘abide’ in the vine. This vine (Christ) is quite sufficient, is large, and contains enough life to sustain each ‘branch’ that is connected to it. Another ‘vine’ (Christ) is not needed, nor is it possible for branches to take on the role of being the ‘vine’. Whenever branches try to be the vine, there are problems. As a matter of fact, the quest to ‘mimic’ and be like the vine can be traced all the way back to Lucifer (Satan) himself. What is needed, however, is for the life of the vine to be carried to each place. This is the purpose of branches.
2. Divine love is humanly impossible
Jesus said that if we love Him, we would keep His commandments. He also said that everything is summed up in the command to love God with all of our beings, and to love one another in the same way that He loved us. Considering how deep the love of Christ is, that’s truly a tall order!
I have tried to love like this, and I can tell you that this is a humanly impossible task. If you think you can love like Christ by your own human life and strength, just give it some time. You’ll get sick and tired of the cycle of guilt and failure that comes with trying to ‘imitate’ Christ from your own bankrupt flesh.
God is the substance and personification of love, humans are not. Let’s be clear about that. When Christ gave us the humanly impossible command to love, He wasn’t laying a burden on our shoulders that would weigh us down through our own attempts to love by our own life and strength. Remember, He is the one who told us to come to Him if we are carrying a heavy burden, and He would replace our heavy burden with a light one. When Jesus told His disciples to love, He was simply illustrating the fact that our own life and efforts are powerless to love like this. In order for His disciples to love, they would need another life source altogether.
Jesus Himself did not love others through the strength of His human flesh. Jesus said that He could do nothing of Himself, rather He only did what the Father did. That brings me to my third point.
3. ‘Imitating’ Christ Involves Eating & Resting In Divine Life
Jesus was quite clear about how we would ‘imitate’ Him. He said this:
As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. (John 6:57, NASB)
I think this is one of the most overlooked statements in the entire New Testament. This statement also contains the key to ‘imitating’ Christ. Jesus lived because of the life of His Father dwelling within Him. His Father was His food. He was in constant communion with the Father at all times. His Father’s life was also His source of rest. Simply put, He was always ‘feasting’ & ‘resting’ by the indwelling life of the Father within Him. This was how humans were designed to live from the beginning. In the same way, we ‘imitate’ Christ when we live by His indwelling life that now resides within our inner being.
His life on the inside is our continual feast.
His life on the inside is our continual bed of rest.
His life on the inside is our continual wellspring of love for God & others.
Although the institutional religious system interprets ‘abiding in the vine’, and ‘eating Christ’s life’ as external religious works, they are not. If they were external actions, Jesus would have lived like a ‘monk’ secluding Himself from the world so He could focus on His ‘prayer life’. He did nothing of the sort. Rather, Jesus demonstrated that feasting & resting in Christ through abiding in Him is a continual state of being. Jesus demonstrated this in the way He interacted with the Father at all times.
Equipping The Saints To ‘Imitate’
If information acquisition or external religious works were enough to equip the saints to ‘imitate’ Christ, then simply attending bible studies, listening to one person preach a sermon each week, spending hours in seclusion ‘praying’, or going on missions trips, etc… would be sufficient. Although this is the norm for ‘committed’ folks in the religious system, it is foreign to New Testament church life.
I have heard some amazing sermons in my life, and I have been a part of some incredibly moving worship services, but NONE have ‘equipped’ me like actually being with a group of people who are beholding Christ and living by His divine life as a daily reality. The greatest gift that I have ever received is the gift to see & hear Christ in every situation. I have received this gift through the example of others who live this kind of a life as a daily reality. The life of Jesus Christ (vine) is fully carried out through the community of believers (branches) who are being built together in community. ’Imitating’ Christ was never intended to be an individualistic lifestyle.
Although the world may think we are ‘imitating’ Christ, in reality, it is Christ who imitates Himself through His body. After all, He is the only one who can actually do that. May we abandon the fatal ambition of trying to ‘imitate’ Christ, and may we allow the one who can ‘imitate’ Himself to live His life through us unhindered.
For the imitation of Christ,
Jamal Jivanjee
The Word, Jamal!
I found that these particular words, among others, in your article stand out to me. The emphasis comes to me on the word that I put in all caps here: “un-Christian AND un-Christ.” In the sight of my heart, this has much to do with this “I will be LIKE God” misunderstanding and/or hidden deception in the minds of humankind since the its origin.
Very true Kat, thx for reading:)
Spot on, bro! This is an essential reality to grasp to really live as Jesus lived. The best book I’ve read on this is Bone of His Bone by F.J. Huegel. You can read it here, or order it on amazon.
http://www.txbobsc.com/life/fjh_bohb/bohb01.html
From Chapter 2:
God grant us the grace to be clear about one thing: Christ does not come into our lives to patch up the “old man.” Here is where unnumbered multitudes of Christians have been “hung up.” They thought it was Christ’s mission “to make them better.” There is absolutely no Biblical ground for any such idea. Jesus said that He had no intention of pouring His new wine into old pig-skins. He said that He had not come to bring peace, but a sword. He said that unless a man should renounce himself utterly, he could not be His disciple. Christ does not come to us to simply straighten out the “old life.” He has never promised to make us better. His entire redemptive work consummated upon the Cross, rests upon the assumption (it is more than an assumption — God says it is a fact) that man’s condition is such that only a dying and a being born again, can possibly meet the exigencies of the case. So far from attempting to patch man up, and then leaving him to imitate as best he can the pattern given in Judea two thousand years ago, Christ takes him down into the grave where the “old life” is utterly terminated, and then makes him the participant of His resurrection. Christ our Lord fastens us to Himself and imparts to us an entirely “new life.” But we have the new upon the basis of our refusal of the old. Christ is the Vine, we are the branches. He is the Head, we form the body.
Paul’s epistles are punctuated by a momentous “if,” which again and again points us to Calvary, and startles us with an imperative demand — we must consent to co-crucifixion. “We shall live with Christ, if we be dead with Him.” “We shall be with Him in the likeness of His resurrection, if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death.” “We shall reign with Him, if we suffer with Him.”
Mark,
Wow! Thx for sharing the link and the excerpt from this book. This sums up the article perfectly. I appreciate you brother:)
Mark this book looks highly interesting, thanks for your comments and the heads up on this book!
Very few topics stir me as deeply as this one, I have “done time” striving in my flesh to please God, to walk like Jesus, to live like Paul, to be authentic, and to utterly fail. No amount of prayer, fasting, Bible study, sermons, tithing, or anything, and this means every thing will fill the bill. great and moving sermons, worship music, or slick evangelism will do. This is not from the lack of trying. Even when you move from a highly legalistic, to a very libertine perspective it still fails. I could go on and on, the point is we in our flesh fail.
In walks Jesus, by seeing that it is by His indwelling that we move and have our being. In resting in Him, seeing Christ as the fulfillment of the law that I religiously had striven to keep. He is the Sabbath rest, the land of Canaan, the peace, and contentment that we all desire. In Christ is such a powerful statement. In Christ, just as I type these words I take great comfort of resting in Christ.
May we live, may we serve, and may we die daily in and through Him so that other may see, may taste, and may rest in Christ.
Paul said it so well:
“What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work. So I quit being a “law man” so that I could be God’s man. Christ’s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that. Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.”
Jim,
Amen brother, well said! I’m thankful to be on this journey with you:)
What exactly is “the Christian life?” The Person Jesus Christ is the Life-Giving Spirit who lives in us, and who is our Life. There is no such thing as “the Christian life” that I am aware of anyway. I speak only for myself, in that I find no identity in the term. All I know is that Jesus Christ said that He Himself is The Life. And He works in us and through us. He didn’t live what is mostly talked about today as “the Christian life,” but lived by and through Father’s Life. When Christ walked upon the earth in the flesh, the words he spoke were the words that Father was speaking, and Jesus did what Father was doing. Exactly what is the “Christian life” that some akin to Life Himself? I don’t know about abstruse phraseology. I do know: Jesus Christ is Jesus Christ. Simply simple, there is only One Christ. Not Christs, but Christ.
Good stuff Jamal. Thx for keeping the revelation of living by an indwelling Christ flowing.
FANTASTIC, Jamal! I was recently asked to share in an institutional gathering, and I shared THIS VERY SUBJECT MATTER!!!!!! What a revelation of freedom and rest!!!!!! CHRIST IN US….the hope of glory! I may send you my notes on what I shared, in case you get really bored and wanna read….hehehehe! Thanks again, bro! Peace!
DaRon,
Great to hear from you brother, and thanks for commenting. I love the fact that we have the same Spirit that can communicate and validate realities that He is showing us.
Also, I’d love to see your notes!
That was beautiful. Thanks brother!
Thx for reading Josh, I look forward to touching base with you soon. Blessings to you:)
righto brother. And yet part of my mind still warred with it, insisting on the surface value reading of the text you mentioned. I guess its just so much easier to read it that way and pretend like aping Paul and Jesus will automatically bring about blessing and spiritual progress.
We cannot do what Jesus has done. We can be extensions and conduits of his work through feeding on His Life, though. Thanks for channeling that Life in your writings.
Thx very much for such an honest comment Lindsy. Although many may feel the way that you do, few are willing to admit it. May your kind increase! Thanks for reading and sharing:)
You replied to a tweet I did. But I read this blog. And I agree with a lot of the things you are saying. I agree with your main point which is that we aren’t to “imitate” Christ outwardly. We should imitate Him inwardly. But here is the deal. Christ is IN you. You aren’t separated from Him. You spoke of how it is impossible to love because of the flesh and you will be tired after a little while of “loving people” because people are hard to love.. well that’s totally true, IF you are loving through your flesh and not through Christ in you. Jesus NEVER got tired of loving people. Ever. And to say that we are not like Jesus gives us less authority. Scripture CLEARLY states that we have all the authority Christ has. When a Christian is crucified with Christ it’s not you living any longer it’s Christ in you. You are DEAD in your flesh.. so you cannot become tired of loving people. So no it’s not about an outward imitation of Christ.. it is about realizing your identity in Christ through the Holy Spirit, which is Christ in you. That is what a Christian is. In the mirror you should see Christ.
I live it. I don’t get tired of loving people. People don’t wear me out. They don’t make me mad. Because if someone is not nice to me it’s because they don’t see how much I am loved and Jesus in me.
My caution is, don’t separate yourself -your identity from Christ. You are Christ.. because the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead lives in you.
Aubrianna,
Welcome to the blog, and thx for sharing your comment. What you said is well stated. That is my point exactly! Blessings to you:)
Good stuff bro! Thanks for sharing.
Thx for reading Milt:)
Jamal:
I happened upon your blog site while I was gathering information to share with my leadership team about the pastors appearing in “The Elephant Room” DVD. Since my leadership team is unfamiliar with most of these pastors I was trying to provide them with background information on each pastor so they would have a better feel from whence each pastor was coming from. Some where along the way I stumbled upon your “Stop Trying to Imitate Jesus” link. Since I had written a book about this very thing I was intrigued. The book is entitled “Can You Do What Jesus Would Do? and the premise is simply this….only Jesus can do what Jesus would do. He cannot be imitated separate from imparting His life to us, and He will not be imitated unless we rely completely upon Him to express that imparted life through us.Our focus is misplaced when we try to be like Jesus for no matter how hard we try we will never be able to live our lives like Jesus. It is an exercise in futility that causes constant frustration and always winds up with the same result-failure. By way of contrast, Jesus has no problem living His life, and He has offered to live His life through us, but we will never afford Him the chance so long as we insist on trying to live it on our own. If only Jesus can do what Jesus would do, I must trust Jesus to express Himself through me. The bottom line is that Jesus will never become the expression of His life through me if I continue to rely on my impression of His life. Anyway it was refreshing to see someone else reaching the same conclusion.
GNP2U (Grace and Peace to You)
Jeff
Jeff,
Welcome to the blog, and thx so much for commenting here. I love how the internet makes the world much smaller:) It’s great to hear that you have written about this as well. Is there a link to a site where I can read more about your book?
Also, if you’d like, feel free to subscribe to the blog by email so we can continue to dialogue in the future regarding future articles posted here. Blessings to you Jeff.
Makes sense. Does make the ‘christian living’ at the bookstore seem a little irrelevant.
When I read the passage, what came to my mind was imitating Paul by being in (the body of) Christ. Similar to your post I guess.
Bruce, Thx for reading:)
Awesome!!! Thanks Jamal!! Third reminder today from very different sources of this exact truth and it’s only 9:30 am
xo
Gioia,
I’m so glad this post spoke to your spirit. Thanks for reading sister:)
Great thoughts and article. I think your hypothesis was spot-on with the problem of believers trying to imitate Christ. I’m reminded of the story of the rich young ruler that Platt and others talk about. “Go and sell all…” This is essentially and extension of the command to love others. However, and perhaps you could shed some light on this, I am confused by one of your statements: ”
He wasn’t laying a burden on our shoulders that would weigh us down through our own attempts to love by our own life and strength. Remember, He is the one who told us to come to Him if we are carrying a heavy burden, and He would replace our heavy burden with a light one. When Jesus told His disciples to love, He was simply illustrating the fact that our own life and efforts are powerless to love like this. In order for His disciples to love, they would need another life source altogether.”
I feel the biggest disservice books like “Radical” and others do is mingle the law and the gospel. It seems to me that Jesus WAS and DOES command us to love perfectly. Your absolutely correct in that we cannot, thus fulfilling the purpose of the law. Enter the gospel which declares Christ’s perfect love. Make sense?
I could have misread what you were saying but wanted to get clarification before I recommend this to fellow believers
David,
Thanks for reading, and for your question. The mystery of the New Covenant is ‘Christ in you’ (Col. 1:27). We were awakened to the ancient mystery of ‘Christ in us’ after Pentecost. We now have the ability to live by the divine life of Jesus Christ who lives within us. When Jesus gave His disciples the NEW commandment to love in the same way He had loved them, He was not appealing to law. He knew they were powerless to love with their own life. Rather, He was pointing to the New Covenant reality of living by the indwelling life of God that would become their new reality. God is love, and true love is personified in the person of Jesus Christ. This Christ, (who is love personified) now lives in us. The call to love is really an appeal to express His life that is dwelling within us.
The religious system has no concept of this. As a result, they interpret the words of Jesus through an Old Covenant, law based, grid. I hope that makes sense.