Imitateme, just as I also imitate Christ.
Parallel translations
- WEB Be imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ.
- KJV Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
- BSB You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
- NASB Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
- NLT And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul urges the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitates Christ. Christlike self-denial for others is the standard to follow.
Overview
Concluding his teaching on liberty, Paul holds up his own example, which is itself patterned on Christ. Imitation flows down a chain: from Christ to Paul to the church. The verse roots Christian ethics in the example of Jesus, whose self-sacrificing love for others is the ultimate norm believers are called to reflect.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Phil 3:17Brothers, be imitators together of me, and note those who walk this way, even as you have us for an example.
- 1 Th 1:6You became imitators of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,
- Eph 5:1–2Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children.
- 1 Cor 4:16I beg you therefore, be imitators of me.
- Heb 6:12that you won’t be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherited the promises.
- Phil 2:4–5each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
- 2 Th 3:9not because we don’t have the right, but to make ourselves an example to you, that you should imitate us.
- Rom 15:2–3Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, to be building him up.
- 1 Cor 10:33even as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 11:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.