Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. (Eph 5:1)"Wait ... what? Be ... imitators of God?" That's the command. What does it mean?
The verse begins, "Therefore." What for? Well, chapter 4 ends with, "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you" (Eph 4:32). We are to forgive as God in Christ has forgiven us. That's what the "therefore" is there for. That word, "forgive," is interesting. It's not the word Jesus used when He taught His disciples to pray. Remember? "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Mat 6:12). That "forgive" is aphiēmi. It means "to send away," as in "send away their transgressions." But in Ephesians 4, Paul uses charizomai -- "grace." Isn't that interesting? So we're supposed to "give grace to each other just as God in Christ also has given grace to us." Be imitators of God.
Paul, of course, clarifies further. "And walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma" (Eph 5:2). That's an "and." "In addition." So, we are to be imitators of God by giving grace generously and by loving as Christ loved. How? "Gave ... self ... up." Wow! We are to imitate God by giving self up for others. Paul told the Philippians, "With humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves" (Php 2:3). Yeah ... like that. It's not natural and it's not easy, but ... it's commanded. Will we ... be imitators of God? I wouldn't recommend the alternative.
We should be marked by our grace given to others because he who is forgiven much must forgive much. If we are unwilling to give grace, what does that say about our attitude toward the grace shown to us by God?
ReplyDeleteEph. 5:1 (“be imitators of God”) makes perfect sense when read in context, as it comes in the middle of a long passage in which Paul contrasts the behavior of the new man/woman in Christ with that of our former selves. Whereas I formerly walked in the flesh--as a child of the devil--now I am led to live in a manner that reflects my new nature--demonstrating that I now have the mind of Christ as a child of God. In that pursuit, I can’t imagine any higher goal in life than to imitate God in my treatment of others in response to His treatment of me. Many a woman strives to be kind, tenderhearted, gracious--a “sweet person.” But to follow Christ’s example to the point of offering His life to God--that truly is a sweet aroma in God’s “nostrils.” May I be that way, for I am His beloved child, afterall.
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