Imitate god. Ephesians 4.29-5.8

Imitate god. Ephesians 4.29-5.8

“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do…” Sure Paul, I will endeavor to imitate God. Now, where do I start? Left to my own devices, I think I would start at the beginning … the beginning of what I know about God … I would endeavor to be creative, because ‘In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.’ (Genesis 1.1) Paul does not leave us guessing about how or why we are to imitate God. Not surprisingly, it’s all about love. When we dearly love our parents, it is a natural thing to want to honor them; similarly, because we are the dearly loved children of God our Father, and we love him in return, it is a natural feeling from our heart to want to honor him. We honor God by imitating him.

What does an imitator of God look like? The surrounding verses give us great insight; take a look:

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.1 We imitate God first and foremost by loving as Christ loved. Christ loved sacrificially. His love cost him everything … for you and me, we are to love and keep on loving, even when it hurts.

How do we love like Jesus, Paul? Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.2 But wait … Jesus forgave those who wronged him even while he was in tortuous pain! So, let me get this right—I am to be an imitator of God by being kind to all, compassionate and easily moved to sensitivity … and as far as the injurious words or actions of another … well, I am to forgive them, no matter what—even if she is not seeking forgiveness, even if he does not acknowledge his wrong. Yikes.

And … I am to imitate God by speaking words that lift others up, not tear them down, right? Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.3

Oh, and the one who wishes to imitate God needs to clean house on a few things--Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.4 Truly, when imitating God, we may need to take stock and refrain from speaking harsh words to folks, and certainly omit slanderous words about another. ‘Besides that? We need to look inside and if we are honest and discover some bitterness or anger, confess and ask God to heal us of either or both.

We remember that this letter was addressed to the Ephesians. The town of Ephesus has been described as a Las Vegas sort of city near the Mediterranean coast in what is present-day Turkey5. It was busy, rich, and sensual—as the ancient world regarded sexual immorality so lightly that is was really no sin at all. (I suppose not unlike much of today’s culture.) And so Paul reminded the brothers that among them, there be “no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.6

In just a few verses then, Paul lays out what it looks like when we imitate God . . . we love, and love well! Indeed, we imitate God when we are kind, tenderhearted to others, and willing to forgive. We imitate God when we are judicious with what we communicate to others—using language to build and encourage, rather than to slander or tear down. We imitate God when we look to God’s heart for our sexuality rather than the culture in which we are immersed. We imitate God when thankfulness forms our character rather than greed, and desire for the things of this world.

Christine Todd DiGiacomo

PastorWoman.com

1 – Ephesians 5.1-2

2 – Ephesians 4.32

3 – Ephesians 4.29

4 – 4.31

5 – Chuck Swindoll, So you want to be Like Christ?

6 – Ephesians 5.5