A comment you made about worshiping man in place of Christ made me wonder what your thoughts were on the following verse:

1 Corinthians 11:1
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.

The trouble with your post, TR, is that it gives the impression you are somehow defending the concept of "worshiping man in place of Christ" using the verse you cite.

I mean, I have an idea what you are driving at, but its going to get lost in the flak you will take unless you are a little clearer.

This should simplify it:

I'm not asking how & why you believe others have it wrong, I am asking what you think Paul meant by this verse.

It's pretty easy to see what he meant. He didn't say be a worshipper of Christ, as I am, but rather a follower of Christ, as I am. The Bible states repeatedly in Revelations,"Worship God." We are not to worship Jesus or the Holy Spirit, but only God.

Do you pray to Jesus? I hope not, but to God through Jesus. Jesus is our pattern and example. He came and walked the way before us to show us how to reach God.

so do you somehow suggest that Paul was suggesting that since he followed Christ that people were supposed to follow him in the same way? Even if this were so, it still isn't worshipping Paul, but following his example.

TR

Did Paul ever start a church and then name it after him?

In fact, I'll even go one step further. Is there a church today named the "Church of God in Christ Paul"?

I think that should answer your question.

"I think that should answer your question. "

It doesn't.

I still don't know what you think that verse means.

TR

The Bible does not speak well of worshiping the creature instead of the creator. It is almost impossible to not get sucked into worshiping the creature when following a man or his teachings.

Mark,



I'm not sure what you were getting at in your last post. Was that your opinion of what Paul meant in that verse, or were you stating your opinion about something else?

TR

Look at the fruit of Paul's life and ministry. It's obvious Paul was not asking people to follow him as a person or he would have used his influence to create a following and a legacy in his name.

That explains my understanding of the verse.

Mark,

You said:

"This explains my understanding"

Not really. I haven't learned anything. You only told me what you thought it didn't mean. I already knew what you thought it didn't mean.

Here is Clarke's commentary on a similar verse, 1 Cor 4:16......

Verse 16. Wherefore, I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
It should rather be translated, Be ye imitators of me; , from which we have our word mimic, which, though now used only in a bad or ludicrous sense, simply signifies an imitator of another person, whether in speech, manner, habit, or otherwise. As children should imitate their parents in preference to all others, he calls on them to imitate him, as he claims them for his children. He lived for God and eternity, seeking not his own glory, emolument, or ease: those sowers of sedition among them were actuated by different motives. Here then the apostle compares himself with them: follow and imitate me, as I follow and imitate Christ: do not imitate them who, from their worldly pursuits, show themselves to be actuated with a worldly spirit.

To me this fits in nicely with the tenor of Scripture. Paul was not so much asking them to follow him and his teachings as a man, he was asking them to imitate him in his devotion to, and following of, Jesus Christ.

What do you think the verse means, TR?