Ephesians 5:1-2: “1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
(The following manuscript was originally preached to my church's pastoral apprenticeship program on Feb. 24, 2023).
Introduction
Everyone has someone in their life they look up to, whether it’s a parent or a favorite athlete, or a movie star. When I was younger, one of my greatest heroes was Bear Grylls. Bear Grylls was the star of the tv show, “Man vs. Wild,” and is a world-renowned British survivalist. I watched every episode of his show. I got a Bear Grylls knife, a Bear Grylls fire starter, a Bear Grylls survival kit, and even a Bear Grylls bandana. I wanted to be just like Bear Grylls. I hiked through the woods. I slept in a tent once or twice. I tried to start a fire in our backyard. I even tried to copy his cool British accent. I had the grit to survive, just like him. Or so I thought.
In Ephesians 5, the word for “imitate” can also be translated as “mimic.” It’s often said that imitation is the highest form of flattery, but this passage makes it clear that mimicking God is the highest form of love. Much more than merely mimicking a famous British survivalist, Christians get to imitate the Lord of all creation.
Today, I want to show you from this passage that you as a Christian can and must imitate God.
I’ll begin by expounding on one of the foundational identities of the Christian, and I’ll conclude by showing how that identity flows into imitating God by walking in love.
First, Christians can imitate God because we are beloved children.
The second half of verse one is the explanation of how the command in the first half of the verse is to be accomplished. But in order to grasp the magnitude of the first half of verse one, we must understand the second half.
Christians are beloved children.
Throughout Ephesians, Paul has been writing this letter to Christians. This is evident in the very first verse of the book, where Paul addresses the letter “to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 1:1) Paul continues this theme throughout Ephesians, and he explicitly identifies Christians as the main subject in nearly all of his imperatives. Thus, when we arrive at chapter 5, we know that he is talking to believers. Christians are the beloved children of verse 1.
What does that mean?
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, if you have repented of your sins and trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you are a son of the King! You are a child of the God of the universe! Not only are you a child, but you are also a beloved child! You're not the son of a begrudging dad who gets guilt-tripped into taking his kids to Disney World, but you are the child of a loving Father. You’re not just a fan of someone great, but you are loved by the Sovereign Lord of the universe. He takes pleasure in giving you the keys to the kingdom.
Oh weary Christian, bask in this reality. You are loved. Your pain, your striving, your stumbling faith, and your pursuit of righteousness are all under the caring, watchful eye of your Father. You have all of eternity to look forward to, basking in the eternal glory of your caring Father. God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for all His saints.
Even now, the Lord expresses His love for you in little ways. You drove to church this morning in a working car. You are surrounded by men who care about you. You go to a church that unashamedly preaches the Gospel and whose pastors deeply love to shepherd your soul. You have the Scriptures freely available to you. You have the Holy Spirit living inside of you. You have specific spiritual gifts tailor-made to your personality. You have unlimited free access to the throne room of God, to receive mercy in your time of need.
Don’t feel guilty about having these things! Rejoice that all these things are yours, simply because the God of the universe loves you.
Now, Ephesians 5 presupposes that you’ve read the first four chapters. God proved His love for you by sending His beloved firstborn Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Savior of those who trust in Him, and He serves as the perfect example of how to imitate God as the beloved child. Jesus didn’t just forgive the Christian of all his sins, but He made you His brother. You are a beloved child because Jesus is the beloved firstborn. And we all get to have the same rights of the firstborn, because of how much Jesus loves us.
The eternal reality is that Christians are beloved children, and that fact gives incredible magnitude to the beginning of verse one.
The Christian’s identity (beloved child) gives him the ability to imitate God.
Jeremiah Burroughs writes in The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment: “Are you the King’s son, the son, the daughter of the King of Heaven, and yet so disquieted and troubled, and vexed at every little thing that happens? As if a King’s son were to cry out that he is undone for losing a toy; what an unworthy thing would this be! So do you: you cry out as if you were undone and yet are a King’s son, you who stand in such relation to God, as to a father, you dishonour your father in this; as if either He had not wisdom, or power, or mercy enough to provide for you.”
One of our GCG leaders has a three-year-old son who’s quite energetic. During this past week’s GCG, the three-year-old jumped into his dad’s lap and started doing a lot of the same hand motions and facial expressions as his dad. If this had been anyone else’s kid, we probably would have paused the group and made sure the little guy made it back to the proper parent. But our group leader wasn’t angry about his son jumping in his lap. Instead, as our group leader spoke, he held his son affectionately and made sure he didn’t fall. He didn’t rebuke his son - he welcomed his son.
Likewise, we have free access to our Father’s throne room. We can imitate God, not like robots or chimps mimicking a trainer, but like a child seeking to follow in his father’s footsteps. Like my GCG leader’s son jumping into his dad’s lap, I can be more like God because the Lord wants me as His Son. The Lord wants you to imitate Him. He loves you, as His beloved son.
Christians can imitate God because we are beloved children. Now that we are beloved children, we are called to imitate God our Father. You have been given a divine calling.
2. Christians must imitate God by walking in love.
Our passage today, Ephesians 5, begins with the word “therefore,” meaning that we should look back to see what it’s referring to. A couple of weeks ago, a brother preached on how we can imitate Christ’s forgiveness, and other brothers preached on additional imperatives found in the previous chapter. The commands of chapter 5 are reflections on all of chapter 4. Jesus’ example as the perfect imitator of God shows us that we can imitate God, and as beloved children, we must imitate Him. 1 John 4:8 says, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Therefore, we also must walk in love.
This passage’s focus, however, is specifically on the type of love that Jesus showed toward us. Jesus loved us, and He gave Himself as a sacrifice for us. Obviously, we are not called to sacrifice ourselves to God to pay for our sins or others’ sins. However, this passage does clearly teach that the kind of love we are to show is sacrificial. Just like Jesus gave Himself for us, we also must give ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.
Here are two ways to imitate God by walking in love:
Love Jesus. Pastor John MacArthur says that a Christian's love for Jesus is the core measurement of his or her salvation. Your Father loves His Son. Do you love the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you think about Him throughout the day, wistfully contemplating how wonderful He is, how perfect He is, how just He is, how loving He is, how merciful He is, how powerful He is, how mighty He is, how righteous He is, how good He is, how faithful He is? Take time every day to long for Jesus! Make it a daily part of your routine, and grow in love for your Savior and Lord. And, as you meditate on Him, express your love by doing what He commands.
Beyond that, to physically show that you love Christ, you must love His body: the church. 1 John 4:7 says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” The clearest outward sign to know that you are a beloved child is to love God’s beloved children.
One practical way is to ask others what their needs are, both spiritual and physical. Love others sacrificially. Sign up for Immanuel’s meal train and seek to provide food for those in need. Open your home to single brothers and sisters. Welcome those on Sunday morning who don’t quite seem to fit in.
If you are a beloved child, you will obey what your Father commands. Love your brothers and sisters in the body, and seek to serve them in tangible ways. Encourage them in the word, call them to repentance, and spur them on toward love and good works. Observe the beautiful imitations of God you see in His beloved children, and rejoice in them and with them.
As you strive to do these two things, remember your identity. You have free access to God’s throne room, simply because you are a beloved child.
Conclusion
When I was young, I wanted to be Bear Grylls. The climax of my desire to be Bear Grylls came when I got to meet him in person at an event he was hosting. I got to shake his hand and get his autograph and tell him what an inspiration he was to me. I later joked with my dad that I never wanted to wash my hand again, but then I remembered how many dead animals Bear Grylls’ hand had touched.
One day, we will see God face to face.
How much more glorious will that be than meeting any childhood hero! We will behold our Savior in all of His spotless splendor, and we will worship Him for all eternity. No longer will we have to strive to imitate Him, because we will see Him as He is. We will enjoy eternal life with Him forever. Hope in Him, beloved brothers. He loves you.
Let’s pray.
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