May 3, 2018 AN IMITATOR OF GOD
Ephesians 5:1-2: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 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.”
The ‘Therefore’ of this verse refers back to all that Paul had written in the first four chapters of Ephesians, and in order to grasp the importance of this ‘therefore’, one must read and meditate on these four chapters. Ephesians is a wonderful book that elaborates on the riches that God has bestowed on those who know Him as Lord and Savior; in verse 3:8 Paul refers to the “unfathomable riches of Christ.” In this book, we learn the powerful truth of what it means to be in Christ and for Christ to be in us and we learn of the awesome benefits of being adopted into the family of God. The truths presented in Ephesians cannot be grasped by the mind alone-it takes the Holy Spirit illuminating the truth of who we are as sons and daughters of God. Apart from the work of God in us, it would be totally impossible for man to be an imitator of God. However, the one who has come to know God has been transformed and made new and is able to imitate God. Ephesians, and all of the New Testament, was given to us that we might know and learn of our total new identity in Christ, to know the riches of Christ in us. Our spiritual journey begins with knowing Christ as Savior, but as we read and study the scriptures and as we seek Him, we discover that His riches are indeed “unfathomable.” We are so use to life in a fallen world, the idea of imitating God may sound unrealistic, but that is exactly what God has in mind and that is what God has made possible for us. Rather than viewing our self as a sinner who must continually struggle with sin, let us view our self as one who has been made new-with a new mind and a heart, able to express the life of Christ in us-to imitate God. To imitate God is the ultimate opportunity and the greatest blessing one could have in this life. Understanding that we can actually imitate God is humbling because we know that we can imitate Him only because He has enabled us to do so; we could never imitate God by our own strength, but only through the Holy Spirit working in us. One of the primary ways, and one of the most powerful ways to imitate God is to walk in love, to express to all we come in contact with, the love that is of God. When our hearts are filled with the love of God, we find that we have a desire to bless others, and to do the things that please God. May the love of God be perfected in us-when it is, we will be imitators of Him.
Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Ephesians 5:1-2: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 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.”
The ‘Therefore’ of this verse refers back to all that Paul had written in the first four chapters of Ephesians, and in order to grasp the importance of this ‘therefore’, one must read and meditate on these four chapters. Ephesians is a wonderful book that elaborates on the riches that God has bestowed on those who know Him as Lord and Savior; in verse 3:8 Paul refers to the “unfathomable riches of Christ.” In this book, we learn the powerful truth of what it means to be in Christ and for Christ to be in us and we learn of the awesome benefits of being adopted into the family of God. The truths presented in Ephesians cannot be grasped by the mind alone-it takes the Holy Spirit illuminating the truth of who we are as sons and daughters of God. Apart from the work of God in us, it would be totally impossible for man to be an imitator of God. However, the one who has come to know God has been transformed and made new and is able to imitate God. Ephesians, and all of the New Testament, was given to us that we might know and learn of our total new identity in Christ, to know the riches of Christ in us. Our spiritual journey begins with knowing Christ as Savior, but as we read and study the scriptures and as we seek Him, we discover that His riches are indeed “unfathomable.” We are so use to life in a fallen world, the idea of imitating God may sound unrealistic, but that is exactly what God has in mind and that is what God has made possible for us. Rather than viewing our self as a sinner who must continually struggle with sin, let us view our self as one who has been made new-with a new mind and a heart, able to express the life of Christ in us-to imitate God. To imitate God is the ultimate opportunity and the greatest blessing one could have in this life. Understanding that we can actually imitate God is humbling because we know that we can imitate Him only because He has enabled us to do so; we could never imitate God by our own strength, but only through the Holy Spirit working in us. One of the primary ways, and one of the most powerful ways to imitate God is to walk in love, to express to all we come in contact with, the love that is of God. When our hearts are filled with the love of God, we find that we have a desire to bless others, and to do the things that please God. May the love of God be perfected in us-when it is, we will be imitators of Him.
Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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