The Imitation of Christ

John's Gospel, New Testament, Sermons

Sermon video (10/19/25): The Imitation of Christ.

“‘Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness,’ says the Lord. These are Christ’s own words by which He exhorts us to imitate His life and His ways, if we truly desire to be enlightened and free of all blindness of heart. Let it then be our main concern to meditate on the life of Jesus Christ. … If you want to understand Christ’s words and relish them fully, you must strive to conform your entire life to His.” Thomas Kempis. The Imitation of Christ.

  1. Keep this proverb in mind: “The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing” (Eccl 1:8). Therefore, withdraw your heart from the love of things visible and turn yourself to things invisible (2 Cor 4:18). Those who yield to their sensual nature dishonor their conscience and forfeit God’s grace.
  2. If I truly knew myself I would look upon myself as insignificant and would not find joy in hearing others praise me.
  3. Curb all undue desire for knowledge, for in it you will find many distractions and much delusion. …there is much knowledge that is of little to no benefit to the soul (1 Cor 8:1, 2).
  4. …a good life gladdens the mind and a pure conscience generates a boutiful confidence in God (Ac 24:16).
  5. The more things you know and the better you know them, the more severe will your judgment be (Jas 3:1), unless you also lived a holier life.
  6. …love to be unknown and be esteemed as nothing (Gen 18:27; 1 Cor 15:9; Eph 3:8; 1 Tim 1:15).
  7. This is the most important and most salutary lesson: to know and to despise ourselves (Rom 12:3). It is great wisdom and perfection to consider ourselves as nothing and always to judge well and highly of others (Phil 2:3). If you should see someone commit a sin or some grievous wrong, do not think of yourself as someone better, for you know not how long you will remain in your good state (Gal 6:1, 4).
  8. We are all frail; but think of yourself as one who is more trail than others.
  9. He who has a pure, simple, and constant spirit is not distracted by the many things he does…
  10. This should be our chief employment: strive to overcome ourselves and gain such a mastery that we daily grow stronger and better (Col 2:6-7).
  11. All perfection in this life has some imperfection mixed with it, and all speculative thought involves a certain amount of fuzziness. A humble knowledge of yourself is a surer way to God than any deep scientific inquiry (1 Pet 5:6).
  12. If we were as diligent in uprooting vices and planting virtues (Col 3:5; Rom 8:13) as we are in debating abstruse [obscure, difficult to understand] questions, there would not be so many evils or scandals among us nor such laxity in monastic communities.
  13. He is truly great who has abundant charity. He is truly great who is unimportant in his own eyes and considers the greatest of honors a mere nothing. He is truly wise who esteems all earthly things as dung [rubbish] so that he may gain Christ (Phil 3:8). Finally, he who does God’s will and abandons his own is truly the most learned.
  14. Whenever you desire anything inordinately, you immediagely find that you grow dissatisfied with yourself. Those who are proud and avaricious never arrive at contentment (Phil 4:11, 12); it is the poor and the humble in spirit who live in great peace (Mt 5:3).
  15. Anyone who is not totally dead to himself will soon find that he is tempted and overcome by piddling and frivolous things. Whoever is weak in spirit, given to the flesh, and inflined to sensual things can, but only with great difficulty, drag himself away from his earthly desires. Therefore, he is often gloomy and sad when he is trying to pull himself from them and easily gives in to anger should someone attempt to oppose him.
  16. If he has given in to his inclinations and has yielded to his passions, he is then immediately afflicted with a guilty conscience. … It is by resisting our passions and not by being slaves to them that true peae of heart is to be found.
  17. There is no peace, therefore, in the heart of the man who is given to the flesh, nor in the man who is attached to worldly things. Peace is found only in one who is fervent and spiritual.
    1. riches (Eccl 5:10; 1 Tim 6:10).
    2. honors (Jn 12:43; Mt 6:1; Phil 2:3; Rom 12:10).
    3. the desires of the flesh (Gal 5:16).
    4. to give thought only to this present life and not to think of the one to come (Mt 16:25; Mk 8:35; Lk 9:24; Jn 12:25; 17:3).
    5. what is transitory and not to hasten where everlasting joy abides (2 Cor 4:18).* “Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless” [Vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (Eccl 1:2). This is the hightest wisdom: to despise the world (1 Jn 2:15) and seek the kingdom of heaven (Mt 6:33). It is meaningless [vanity] to seek (follow/love)…

Jesus is the illuminator of all reality. By His light, we see God, ourselves, sin, salvation, and the world.When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

  • 5 parts:
  1. I am
  2. the light of the world.
  3. Whoever follows me
  4. will never walk in darkness,
  5. but will have the light of life

1. I am is God’s name. Exo 3:14. Col 1:15. Heb 1:3. Jn 1:1-3, 14.

2. The light of the world is God. Jn 8:12; 1:4-5; 1 Jn 1:5; Gen 1:3.

3. To follow Jesus requires the trinity of your head, hands and heart; your thinking, doing and feeling; your congition, volition and emotion, and revelation. Mt 16:18. Listen to the word, the Spirit and your circumstances. (Practice the Presence of God. Brother Lawrence.)

4. Never walk in darkness. 1 Jn 2:15-17. “Do not love the world” (1 Jn 2:15), yet “For God so loved the world…” (Jn 3:16)…

5. Have light in yourself. Dan 12:3. How? Phil 2:12-16. How? Ps 34:4-7.

  • “Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you. And see, you were within and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you. I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours.” Augustine, Confessions.
  • “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” Augustine, Confessions.

 

John 8:12 is a foundational and richly theological verse, where Jesus makes one of his great “I Am” declarations. Theologians throughout history have drawn out profound meanings from this statement, focusing on its Christological, soteriological (salvation), and moral implications. Quotes and explanations from notable theologians:

1. St. Augustine (354-430 AD)

contrasts the light of Christ with the darkness of sin and error.

“He alone is the light, which shines in the darkness, and the darkness comprehends it not. For the darkness of sin is not able to overcome the light of righteousness.” Augustine emphasizes that the “darkness” is not just ignorance but a moral and spiritual condition (sin) that actively resists the light. The light of Christ is the “light of righteousness” that sin cannot extinguish. For Augustine, to “follow” this light is to be transformed by grace and freed from the dominion of sin.

2. John Calvin (1509-1564)

focuses on the exclusivity and sufficiency of Christ as the light.

“When He calls Himself the light of the world, He means that without Him we are all like people blind and lost in darkness, and that it is He alone who guides us to the life of heaven… We are all blind by nature, but He is the light which can restore our sight; we are all wandering in darkness, but He is the guide who can lead us back to the right path.” Calvin highlights total human dependence on Christ. The “light” is not an optional supplement but an absolute necessity for salvation and true understanding. It is a sovereign act of grace that illuminates our native blindness and guides us to eternal life.

3. F.F. Bruce (1910-1990)

connects this declaration to its historical and Jewish context.

“The setting of the utterance is the Feast of Tabernacles, with its ceremony of the lighting of the great golden lamps in the Court of the Women. Against that background, Jesus’ proclamation ‘I am the light of the world’ would have been dramatically apposite. He is the true reality to which the ceremonial light pointed.” Bruce reminds us that Jesus was speaking during the Feast of Tabernacles, which featured a ritual lighting of massive menorahs to commemorate the pillar of fire that guided Israel in the wilderness. Jesus is claiming to be the ultimate fulfillment of that symbol—the true, divine guide for God’s people.

4. C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

had a profound ability to communicate theological truths. His words on light capture the essence of John 8:12.

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” This quote, while not a direct commentary on John 8:12, perfectly captures the function of Christ as the “light of the world.” He is not just one more object we see; He is the illuminator of all reality. By His light, we see God, ourselves, sin, salvation, and the world in their true colors.

5. D.A. Carson (1946-Present)

emphasizes the personal and relational aspect of the light.

“The one who follows me…’ To follow Jesus is not merely to adhere to his teaching, but to be in a living, dependent relationship with him. The result is that such a person ‘will never walk in darkness.’ That is, he will not be in the realm of spiritual darkness, of lostness, of sin and death.” Carson clarifies that “following” is discipleship—a committed relationship with Jesus, not just intellectual agreement. The promise of “not walking in darkness” is a promise of being transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, with all its implications for safety, guidance, and eternal life.

6. Leon Morris (1914-2006)

highlights the universality and life-giving nature of Christ’s light.

“The light is not for a small group only, but for the world. And it is not an illumination merely, but a light that brings life. ‘The light of life’ means the light which is life, or which gives life. There is a quickening quality about this light.” Morris draws out two crucial points: first, Christ’s mission is universal (“the world”), and second, the light is inherently life-giving. It doesn’t just show the way; it empowers the spiritual life within the believer. It is the very opposite of the spiritual death that darkness represents.

Theological Themes:

  • Christ’s Deity: The “I Am” statement echoes God’s self-revelation to Moses (Exo 3:14) and identifies Jesus with the God of Israel.

  • Universal Need: Humanity is in a state of spiritual “darkness”—blind, lost, and sinful.

  • Exclusive Salvation: Jesus is the sole source of illumination, truth, and salvation.

  • Discipleship as Following: The appropriate response is to “follow” Him in a life of faith and obedience.

  • The Gift of Life: The ultimate result of following the Light is receiving “the light of life”—eternal life and a transformed existence.

Across centuries, Jn 8:12 has been understood as a powerful declaration of Jesus’ unique identity and his singular ability to save and guide humanity.

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