Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. (Ephesians 5:1-2)
Paul started this section of his letter to the church in Ephesus with a pretty overwhelming charge, to be imitators of God as dear children. Initially we may think that's an unrealistic thing to ask a person to do. God is God, the Creator of all things, Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnipresent! How can we possibly imitate Him? By beginning where the previous study ended, And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 5:30)
If we are Christians, we are filled with God's Holy Spirit. We who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14) Christ is our example to follow, because He was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)
Well, we may then say Christ was the Perfect Son of God, Lord God in the flesh, of course He did not sin, but we aren't Him. True! My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. (I John 2:1-2) But yet again, if we are Christians, just like when Jesus was baptized, the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:10-11; Matthew 3:16-14; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:33-34)
That same Holy Spirit is inside of us, because Jesus promised, "It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. ... However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you." (John 16:7, 13-15)
We try to make God's Word say, "be happy, for I am happy"; or "I'll give you everything you want because you ask for it"; or "God loves us so much that He wants us to have everything we desire". That's not what God's Word says! Yes, He does want to bless us and give us the "desires of our heart"; but His main purpose it that we be holy, for He is Holy! That we be imitators of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also has loved us. Through God's Holy Spirit, we can become all that God created us to be and do all that He commands us to do, because the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. (Ephesians 5:3-7)
Please, let no one deceive you with empty words! There is so much false teaching in the world today. We watch certain TV shows, listen to the lyrics of certain songs, see the acceptance of all kinds of life styles that people are practicing being accepted in our society and in many churches, and we may be tempted to think that everything is acceptable and okay, that we can do whatever we want and live however we want, and we'll still be saved. DON'T BELIEVE THE LIES OF THE DEVIL!
Paul only mentioned a few things in this letter, but to the church in Galatia, he expounded, the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21) If we are living, actively practicing any of these behaviors and are not convicted that we have to change in order to be holy, for the Lord our God is holy, then more than likely we aren't saved, because those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Let no one deceive you with empty words! As Paul told the church in Rome, Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21) What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? CERTAINLY NOT! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:1-4)
For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:5-14)
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. [Matthew 5:13-16] For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” [Isaiah 60:1] (Ephesians 5:8-14)
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. (Ephesians 5:15-21)
We have to grow in our Christian faith and walk. We have to be imitators of God as dear children. Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God. (I John 3:11) If it's too overwhelming to try an imitate God, or to always try to answer the question "what would Jesus do?", then imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:12) Like Paul or any of the other apostles and disciples, as they said, Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. (I Corinthians 11:1) But don't stop there; study to show yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (II Timothy 2:15) Imitate, study, redeeming the time!
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