December 2, 2016 BE IMITATORS OF GOD
Ephesians 5:1: “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.”
Is he serious? We are to imitate God? For us to imitate God may sound like a real stretch, or even impossible; yet, the scripture is clear, and we know that God does not give commands and instructions that are impossible. The over-riding theme of the New Testament is that those who have placed their faith in Christ as Savior, have been made new; and as new creations, they have the ability to reflect God-to imitate God. At the moment one is converted, he is transformed and taken from the kingdom of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of light. Obviously, when one is born again, he or she is not immediately mature in the faith, but there is a maturing process that begins. As you read the New Testament, it becomes evident that at times the writers are addressing those new in the faith, and at other times, they are addressing those that are mature. The passion of the writers of the New Testament was for the believers to come to know and understand the implications of what it meant to be in Christ, as seen in Eph.4:24: “and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” In belonging to Christ, there is no room for mixing the old-who we use to be- with the new person that we are in Christ. Being in Christ is not just an “improvement” to who we are, but a total transformation. Because we have been made new and because we have been transformed, we can indeed think like God; we can act like God; and we can be imitators of God. As His beloved children, it should be our natural desire to be imitators of our Father. If it sounds difficult or impossible for us to imitate God, then we do not yet understand our transformation. In the fourth chapter of Ephesians we find many admonitions and instructions that are practical ways of imitating God. We can be thankful that God has chosen not to make His ways burdensome or complicated for us. At the heart of God is love-He is love, and all that He does can be tied to His love. In Galatians 5:13-14 we read: “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement. ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’” When we love with the love of God, we are expressing His nature and we do the things that please Him. As an example; we are told to “lay aside falsehood” in Eph. 4:25; if we love, we will speak truth-so we don’t have to focus on not lying because love speaks truth. Love trumps everything. The commands and instructions we have in scripture originate out of God’s love-and because He loves us, He speaks truth to us with our best interest in mind. God knows exactly what we need in order for us to be and to feel complete, and that is Christ Himself; and by us being in Him, and He in us, we can freely express, or imitate His love and we can live according to the truth revealed in scripture. The challenge for us today is to examine ourselves and see if we are imitating God as we relate to others, and see if our thought life is pleasing to our Father. May we today, be imitators of God.
Ephesians 4:1-3: “Therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Ephesians 4:31-32: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
Ephesians 5:8-9: “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consist in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.”
Blessings,
Buddy
Ephesians 5:1: “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.”
Is he serious? We are to imitate God? For us to imitate God may sound like a real stretch, or even impossible; yet, the scripture is clear, and we know that God does not give commands and instructions that are impossible. The over-riding theme of the New Testament is that those who have placed their faith in Christ as Savior, have been made new; and as new creations, they have the ability to reflect God-to imitate God. At the moment one is converted, he is transformed and taken from the kingdom of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of light. Obviously, when one is born again, he or she is not immediately mature in the faith, but there is a maturing process that begins. As you read the New Testament, it becomes evident that at times the writers are addressing those new in the faith, and at other times, they are addressing those that are mature. The passion of the writers of the New Testament was for the believers to come to know and understand the implications of what it meant to be in Christ, as seen in Eph.4:24: “and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” In belonging to Christ, there is no room for mixing the old-who we use to be- with the new person that we are in Christ. Being in Christ is not just an “improvement” to who we are, but a total transformation. Because we have been made new and because we have been transformed, we can indeed think like God; we can act like God; and we can be imitators of God. As His beloved children, it should be our natural desire to be imitators of our Father. If it sounds difficult or impossible for us to imitate God, then we do not yet understand our transformation. In the fourth chapter of Ephesians we find many admonitions and instructions that are practical ways of imitating God. We can be thankful that God has chosen not to make His ways burdensome or complicated for us. At the heart of God is love-He is love, and all that He does can be tied to His love. In Galatians 5:13-14 we read: “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement. ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’” When we love with the love of God, we are expressing His nature and we do the things that please Him. As an example; we are told to “lay aside falsehood” in Eph. 4:25; if we love, we will speak truth-so we don’t have to focus on not lying because love speaks truth. Love trumps everything. The commands and instructions we have in scripture originate out of God’s love-and because He loves us, He speaks truth to us with our best interest in mind. God knows exactly what we need in order for us to be and to feel complete, and that is Christ Himself; and by us being in Him, and He in us, we can freely express, or imitate His love and we can live according to the truth revealed in scripture. The challenge for us today is to examine ourselves and see if we are imitating God as we relate to others, and see if our thought life is pleasing to our Father. May we today, be imitators of God.
Ephesians 4:1-3: “Therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Ephesians 4:31-32: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
Ephesians 5:8-9: “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consist in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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