Example
The Biblical Concept of Example
The New Testament uses several Greek words to express the idea of an example. The most common is "tupos" (from which we get "type"), meaning a pattern or model to be followed. Another is "hupodeigma," meaning a copy, representation, or illustration. A third, "hupogrammos," refers specifically to a writing copy — a pattern of letters that students would trace to learn their script. Together, these words convey that the Christian life involves both following positive models and heeding negative warnings.
Christ as the Supreme Example
Jesus presented himself as the example par excellence when he washed his disciples' feet at the Last Supper. "I have given you an example," he told them, "that you also should do just as I have done to you" (John 13:15). Peter later wrote that Christ "left you an example, so that you might follow in his steps" (1 Peter 2:21), using the vivid term "hupogrammos" — a writing pattern to be carefully traced. The context is Christ's patient suffering under injustice, which becomes the model for how believers should respond to persecution. Christ's example encompasses not just his teachings but his entire manner of life, suffering, and self-giving love.
Examples for Imitation
Paul frequently urged believers to follow the example of faithful leaders. He told Timothy to set an example for the believers in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity (1 Timothy 4:12). He told the Thessalonians that he and his companions had worked to provide themselves as "an example to imitate" (2 Thessalonians 3:9). He invited the Philippians to follow the pattern he had set (Philippians 3:17). Peter instructed church elders to shepherd their flocks not by domineering but by being "examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:3). James pointed to the prophets as examples of patience and suffering (James 5:10). These passages establish that Christian leadership operates primarily through example rather than mere instruction.
Examples as Warnings
Not all biblical examples are positive. Paul told the Corinthians that the events of the Exodus — Israel's idolatry, sexual immorality, testing of God, and grumbling — "took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did" (1 Corinthians 10:6, 11). Jude describes Sodom and Gomorrah as serving as "an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire" (Jude 1:7). Peter similarly uses the destruction of these cities as a warning to those who would live ungodly lives (2 Peter 2:6). The author of Hebrews warns against following the example of Israel's disobedience in the wilderness (Hebrews 4:11). These negative examples teach through the consequences of sin rather than through models of virtue.
Old Testament Types and Patterns
The concept of example connects closely to the biblical idea of typology — the understanding that earlier events, persons, and institutions foreshadow later realities. The tabernacle is described as built according to a "pattern" shown to Moses on the mountain (Hebrews 8:5), making it a copy of the heavenly reality. Adam is described as a "type of the one who was to come" (Romans 5:14), meaning Christ. These typological examples reveal the unity of God's plan across redemptive history.
The Power of Living Examples
Scripture repeatedly demonstrates that lived example is more powerful than verbal instruction alone. The Thessalonians became an example to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia through their faith and love (1 Thessalonians 1:7). The faithfulness of ordinary believers, witnessed by those around them, became a more effective witness than any sermon. This principle remains central to Christian ethics: the call to be an example is the call to embody the gospel in daily life.
Biblical Context
The concept of example appears in the Gospels (John 13:15), the Pauline epistles (1 Corinthians 10:6, 11; Philippians 3:17; 1 Timothy 4:12; 2 Thessalonians 3:9), the general epistles (Hebrews 4:11; 8:5; James 5:10; 1 Peter 2:21; 5:3; 2 Peter 2:6; Jude 1:7), and typologically throughout the Old Testament narratives that foreshadow New Testament realities.
Theological Significance
The biblical emphasis on example reveals that faith is not merely intellectual assent but a lived reality that can be observed, imitated, and transmitted. Christ's example establishes the pattern of sacrificial love and humble service that defines the Christian life. The warning examples from the Old Testament demonstrate that God's patience has limits and that repeated disobedience leads to judgment. Together, positive and negative examples form a comprehensive moral pedagogy.
Historical Background
In Greco-Roman education, the use of examples (paradigms) was fundamental to moral instruction. Philosophers like Seneca and Plutarch composed works featuring exemplary lives to inspire virtue. The New Testament writers adopted and transformed this cultural practice, centering their moral teaching on Christ as the supreme paradigm. The use of hupogrammos (writing copy) reflects the ancient educational practice of providing students with letter patterns to trace, a method well attested in papyri from Greco-Roman Egypt.