The Pattern of the Apostles

Last week, we began to consider the examples or patterns that we are to follow as we live as a disciple of Christ and as we make other disciples. We saw last week that we are to follow the pattern of Israel as a witness and a warning. This morning, we see another pattern that we are to follow: a disciple is to imitate the pattern of the apostles in their walk and their waiting. Let’s read Phil. 3:17-19 together.

First, we see that a disciples should imitate the walk of the apostles. Paul begins this passage by calling the believers at Philippi to “join in imitating me”. This concept of imitation is a common idea with Paul. The word he uses literally means to mimic. When I think of this idea, my mind is drawn to the ways a child cannot help but mimic his or her parents (for better or for worse). One of the favorite pictures I have of Logan is from when he was two-years old. He is standing proudly, chest puffed out, in our kitchen, with my work boots on. The boots swallow almost his entire leg, but there is this look of pride on his face that he is wearing his daddy’s boots. I’m sure you can think of plenty of instances in which your children wore your shoes around the house or picked up a hammer to try to work like you or got out the pots and pans to cook like you. Much of child development happens just in imitating their parents. In a similar way, the disciple is called to imitate the fathers of the faith – the Apostles who saw the resurrected Christ and established the church.

So, how are we to imitate the Apostles? Paul answers, “keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” So, we follow the Apostles by following those who walk after the Apostles. Paul contrasts what this walk looks like by telling us what patterns we should follow and what we shouldn’t. First, he says that we are to walk after his example. So, what is the walk that the Apostles displayed. Consider four ways that the Apostles call us to walk. First, we are to walk in the light. Romans 13:13 says, “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarrelling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provisions for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” So, we are to walk in a way that is good and holy, and we are to shun those things that are of the dark.

Second, we are to walk by faith. 1 Cor. 5:7 says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” As a disciple, we trust that this world is not all there is. We know that there is a greater world coming, and we wait for it with patience. So, we don’t allow the cares of this world to pull us away from our heavenly calling.

Third, we walk in the Spirit. Gal. 6:16 says, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” As a believer, we have been sealed with God’s Holy Spirit. That means we are empowered by him to live in holiness. We cannot use the excuse, “well, the devil made me do it.” The power to resist sin and live in God’s will is ever present with us, so we must walk by that power.

Fourth, we walk in love. Eph. 5:2 says, “Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Because Christ loved us, we are to love others. We are to consider the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ above our own. We are to serve our spouse, raise our children in the Lord, and work for others as though we are working for the Lord. We show the love of Christ through our service to others.

Paul contrasts this walk, in verses 18-19, by warning us to be wary of those who would set a bad example to follow. We can know these bad examples, first, because they walk as “enemies of the cross of Christ.” This is an important phrase that helps us in marking out false teachers. A dead giveaway of a false teacher is whether his teaching magnifies or diminishes the cross of Christ. If a person’s teaching denies that Christ’s death on the cross is sufficient for your salvation, or he teaches that you must add something to it, or he doesn’t even talk about it at all, do not walk after him, but run the other way.

Second, he says that, for these false teachers, their god is their belly. In other words, they are driven by their appetites. Most false teachers can be known by their actions. Are they greedy for money? Is their speech often crude? Do they deal poorly with women (either by domineering over them or objectifying them)? Does scandal seem to follow them? If their appetites seem to matter more than their commitment to Christ, then run from them.

Finally, Paul says that a false teacher has his mind set on earthly things. Oh, so many church leaders today have hearts that are set on earthly things. They are worried about growth, programs, new buildings, and better technology. They can give you a five step plan in a heartbeat and roll out a mission statement without hesitation, but their heart is not set on the Lord. This is a large part of the problem with the American church today. We have left God out of our plans and schemes. Instead of faithfully preaching the Word and praying for God to move, we’ve decided that those things don’t work anymore, and we have to do God’s work for him. Yet if we want to see the power of God at work in our congregation, our community, and our country, we don’t need a mission statement, we need the ministry of prayer and preaching.

This brings me to my second point: a disciple imitates the apostles in their waiting. In verses 20-21, Paul shows us that we are to patiently wait, like the Apostles did, for the return of Christ. There are three points of hope that we find here as we wait. First, Paul says that we hopefully wait because our citizenship is in heaven. We are not fit for destruction, like those false teachers, but we are destined for heaven. Because of that, we can faithfully wait.

Second, we can wait because we know that Christ will transform our lowly bodies to be like him. This is the essential hope of the Christian – that though we may die, though our body will go into the ground, though we may return to the dust, there will be a day when Christ will return, and he will not forsake us. Instead, he will us forth from the grave, no matter how scattered our dust may be, to be made new.

Finally, Paul says that we can wait because the one who will do this has all power, and everything in heaven and on earth is subject to him. Jesus has all authority, and there is nothing that can prevent his purposes. There is nothing that will stand between him and his people.

So, brothers and sisters, today we are called to follow the example of the apostles in our hope. We are called to walk after them in the pattern that they have given us in the New Testament. We are to model our lives after those mature believers who walk after the example of the Apostles. We are to avoid (or run away from) those who contradict the example of the Apostles. And, we are to wait with hope for the return of Christ, as the apostles did. So, may we leave this place and walk in that way.