What Does It Mean When Paul Says, "follow Me as I Follow Christ," and How Does That Relate to Following Jesus Directly?
1) Direct Answer
Paul’s words mean: imitate a true, Word‑led life only as it mirrors Jesus Christ. We follow no man as an absolute. Christ is the Head. When a servant of God stays with the Word and the Spirit of Christ, following that example is following Jesus. If he departs from the Word, we do not follow.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). The condition is clear—only as he follows Christ.
- Paul says, “Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20). So the life to imitate is Christ’s life expressed through a yielded vessel.
- “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample” (Philippians 3:17). The pattern is a Word‑walk, not personality.
- Christ is the Head of the church (Ephesians 5:23). We never trade the Head for a man.
- God set ministers for perfecting the saints (Ephesians 4:11‑13). True ministry points us to Christ, not to themselves.
- We “ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). If any voice clashes with Scripture, we stay with God’s Word.
- “Though we, or an angel… preach any other gospel… let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). No message outranks the Bible.
- “My sheep hear my voice… and they follow me” (John 10:27). We follow Jesus directly by recognizing His Voice in His Word.
- “Try the spirits” (1 John 4:1) and “prove all things” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Everything is tested by Scripture.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- One Head, one Lord—Jesus Christ. He speaks by His Word and Spirit. He also uses servants as signposts. You follow the signpost only because it points to the destination. If it points off the road, you don’t follow the sign—you stay with the road.
- The Spirit and the Word agree. If a minister magnifies the Word and leads you into obedience to Christ, you’re following Jesus through that example. If he adds to or takes from the Word, you stop right there and hold to the Bible.
4) Reinforcing Statement
Now notice: it’s not following a man; it’s following Christ in the man—as long as it is Christ. Stay with the Word. Christ remains the absolute, and every true servant merely points to Him.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
The unfailing realities of the living God
60-0626 §63
...e many come to Me in that day. They'll stand by the tens of millions and say, 'I've belonged to this, and I've did this.'" And He said, "Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. You served creeds." If you was led of the Spirit... All sons and daughters of God are led by the Spirit of God. They move by the Spirit, odd, strange. They stay right, and every action is with the Bible. They stay, all their doctrine stays right with the Bible. They won't vary on one thing. Where the Bible says it, they'll move right on int...
An Absolute
63-0127 §23
The reason he had this Christ-centered life is because he personally, now laying aside his teaching, he personally met Christ. And that's the only way that you're ever going to know Him is to meet Him, see---now, to know Him, is. Not ... even know his Word, as good as it may be; yet you've got to know Him. To know Him is life. And Paul had not had this experience yet. And he said one place here, "The life that I now live..." Showed that he'd lived a different life one time. His life had been changed. And when your...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 3:E-104
Now that we have come this far, let me try to crystallize your thinking on this subject so you can see the necessity of our going into the 'serpent seed doctrine' as I have. We start with the fact that there were TWO trees in the midst of the garden. The Tree of Life was Jesus. The other tree is definitely Satan because of what came forth of the fruit of that tree. Now then, we know that both of those trees had a relationship to man or they would never have been placed there. They must have had a part in the sovere...
Present stage of my ministry
62-0908 §52
Demas, loving this present world, popularity of men. "Hello, Dr. Demas. I know you got your Ph..." Oh, sure, they love that. Jesus said, "How you like to stand in synagogues, and be called 'Rabbi,' and so forth." Said, "You only receive more damnation," see. Now, we know when they seen this doctor following him, or with him, and Paul took Luke, said he said here, "Luke is the only one hadn't forsaken him." And Luke is good to him. But Luke is prosperous to him. He needs Luke for his ministry. And this doctor follow...
Christ
55-0221 §49
You're not using your own thoughts; you're using His thoughts. "Let the mind that was in Christ be in you." See, think His way of thinking; say what He says. Confession means to say the same thing. Say... Confess is to confess the same thing, say the same thing. Then don't confess your own mental conception. Be born again and confess His words, confess what He says. That's confession. Say, "By his stripes, I was healed." By His stripes, I have a right ... by His wounds, right now, I have a right for salvation. I ha...