Sermon: Imitate God and Walk in Love
Bible Passage: Ephesians 4:32–5:2
Verse 4:32: “become … gracious to one another just as God was gracious to you”
Verse 5:1: Therefore, become imitators of God, as beloved children
Verse 5:2: “Walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God, for a fragrant aroma”
Initial Comments (“therefore” connecting to chs. 1–3):
1. Christians in Ephesus have gone through identity change
a. Saint from a sinner
b. Elected to be holy and blameless
c. Adopted as God’s children
d. Redeemed through Christ
e. Have become God’s inheritance with a seal of ownership—the Holy Spirit
f. Turned into God’s masterpiece from a messed-up background
g. Have become part of one new humanity from Jewish and non-Jewish background
2. Become imitators of God (5:1a)
a. Imitator
i. Impersonator
ii. Imposter (negative one)
iii. Counterfeit (negative one), copy, resemblance, etc.
iv. Imitation of a good model (exemplary people) like joseph, Esther, Daniel, etc.
b. The sentence construction “become + imitators” points to ethical aspects of imitation, not necessarily external or physical
i. With the verb “become” Paul seems to say that the Ephesian believers were not imitating at the time of writing this epistle!
ii. In other words, their actions were not in consistent with God
c. The genitive “of God” (“imitators of God”) is an objective genitive—i.e., believers are to become what God is in an ethical sense
i. Eph 4:32 says that the believers are to “become gracious to one another just as God was gracious to you”
ii. Most translations have: “forgiving one another just as God forgave you”
iii. When God forgave believers when they trusted in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, God dealt graciously with them in Christ—forgave them
iv. The exhortation “become imitators” refers to copying God’s example and imitate God with one another graciously
d. “As” is a comparative conjunction—“as God’s beloved children” not the children of the world
e. The Greek word “beloved” refers to the only child
i. When parents have just one child, they devote all their love and attention to
ii. “Beloved children” receive so much love from the parents—grace, kindness, forgiveness, restoration, attention, etc.
iii. You and I are God’s “beloved children”
f. The Greek word “child” refers to a child that needs parents for all its survival
3. Verse 1-2 how does a believer imitate God? or how does a community imitate God?
a. A person imitates God in two ways
i. When he becomes gracious like the Father, who is gracious (4:32)
– “become gracious to one another, just as God is gracious to you in Christ” (4:32)
– Most translations have the word “forgiveness” because “forgiveness” is part of being gracious
– The word “charitzomai” refers:
– To give or to forgive—to give something to someone who cannot reciprocate or even deserve
– Luke 7:21: In that hour he [Jesus] healed many people of diseases and suffering and evil spirits, and he granted sight to many blind people
– Rom 8:32 Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, together with him, freely give us all things?
– Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance is from the law, it is no longer from the promise, but God graciously gave it to Abraham through the promise
– Col 2:13 And although you were dead in the trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses
ii. God’s gracious act in Jesus toward believers is a prototype to imitate
iii. When he loves others like Jesus Christ
– Christ is the prototype
– Jesus loved and gave Himself for believers (5:2)
– “Sacrifice and offering” refer to love in action (5:2)
– Slaughtering of an animal or offering of grain or agricultural products
– The sacrifice provided a way for the people to atone for their sin (cf. John 1:29)
– It was the means for a community to be in relationship with God
iv. Apostle Paul emphasizes self-giving for the benefit of others
v. The fragrance of the sacrifice and offering refers to pleasing to God
vi. Jesus’ love for the believers should spur one another to love and give that benefit others
4. Summary:
a. A believer or community imitates God in two ways
i. Being gracious to others
ii. Live a life of love
b. God is the prototype for believers to be gracious to others
c. Jesus is the prototype for self-giving life that is lived in love (love in action)
Take Away:
Give grace to others and lead a life that is characterized by love which benefits others