But his choice of words is incorrect.
We do not follow Jesus...we invite Him to fill our hearts, bodies, and souls with His and His Father's Spirit.
We do not follow Him...we become One with Him.
Biblical Christians see it differently
- Matthew 4:19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
- Matthew 8:22 But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."
- Matthew 9:9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
- Matthew 10:38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
- Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
- Matthew 19:21 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
- Matthew 19:27 Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?"
- Mark 1:17 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
- Mark 2:14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
“We do not follow Him...we become One with Him.”
No, we follow Him. If you are His sheep, you will know His voice and follow:
“He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out of the fold, and when he has driven all his own flock outside, he goes in front of them himself, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will never follow a stranger—indeed, they will run away from him, for they do not recognise strange voices.”
“Moreover we know that to those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good. God, in his foreknowledge, chose them to bear the family likeness of his Son, that he might be the eldest of a family of many brothers. He chose them long ago; when the time came he called them, he made them righteous in his sight, and then lifted them to the splendour of life as his own sons.”
We do not become Jesus Stew. He calls, and we are to follow. And God will change us, but he does not make us “One with Him”. We are placed IN HIM:
“and has lifted us right out of the old life to take our place with him in Christ in the Heavens.”
“No, there is no us left to follow Him. We die and are transformed into His likeness. / That leaves nothing of us left to follow Him.”
Not in Christianity. To be filled with the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean we are filled like water filling a cup. Instead, it means we give control to him - the analogy is:
“do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit” - ie, be as controlled by the Holy Spirit as a drunk is controlled by the booze.