“Self Portrait as the Apostle St. Paul” by Rembrandt See License
Be Imitators of Paul
Paul is the apostle we are to imitate, just as he imitated Christ. The Philippian believers were not present when Christ walked the earth, and they could not, therefore, imitate what they saw Him do. Yet they could imitate the Apostle whom they did know, and they were to do so in every way that Paul imitated Jesus.
Paul had a brilliant mind and a commanding knowledge of philosophy and religion; he could debate with the most educated scholars of his day. At the same time, his understanding of the gospel made his letters to early churches the foundation of Christian theology. OK, maybe we aren't debaters like Paul, but that isn't what Paul was calling the believers to imitate.
In 2 Timothy 4: Paul lists these 4 accomplishments near the end of his life:
- He fought the good fight
- He finished the race
- He kept the faith
- He knew that the crown of righteousness awaited him, which is available to all who love Christ's appearing