Philippians 3:17

‘Brothers, be you imitators together of me, and mark them that so walk even as you have us for an example.'

Having sought to establish a proper mindset, Paul points out that a further aid in godly living is the example of mature Christians of repute, whose example they are to follow. Here Paul calls on the Philippians as a whole to be imitators of him, and to note those who walk as he walked. It is such people who should be taken as their example. Note the important twofold step towards Christian living. First the mindset must be firmly and properly established, and then it must affect the practise.

It is possibly significant that he does not point to Christ as the example, which might militate against Philippians 2:5 being set up simply as an example. It would be strange, if his intention in Philippians 2:5 had been to give an example to follow, that he did not mention it here.

They would know something of Paul's behaviour from the time when he had been with them, and that would have been expanded on by visiting teachers and Christians, and especially by Epaphroditus. Furthermore previously in this letter he has already indicated different aspects of his walk e.g. Philippians 3:4. By this we are assured that what was true of Paul in 8-14, is to be equally as true of us in our walk with Christ. We must be sharers together, along with Paul, of a similar experience. We should note therefore that Paul is not calling them to a slavish imitation of himself as though he was some great one whose way of life was to be copied, but to a following of him in his wholehearted commitment to participation in Christ's death and resurrection, and in his total dedication to single-heartedness in the Christian race, as described above.