Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

We have now arrived at Ephesians 5. Verse 1 begins with “Therefore.” Because of all that has been said, there are some resulting behaviors and admonitions that are the natural consequences of what has already been said.

The first is, be imitators of God. There are a lot of things and people that we tend to imitate. Someone said that imitation is the best form of flattery. Much of what we imitate is for the purpose of gaining prestige or favor with a certain group or to be seen as sophisticated and “with it.” But here, we are told to imitate God. Copy God. Have attitudes like God has. Obviously, this is quite the challenge because God is so much higher, more powerful, and perfect than we are. But that is to be our goal. That what is meant when the Bible calls us to be godly.

And then in verse 2, we are to walk in love. To walk in love means to live a life where love is the central attitude and motivation. God says that we are to love God first of all, and then love our neighbors as ourselves.

Since we are to be imitating God, this verse says that we should walk in love as Christ loved us. He is our example. How did He love us? He gave Himself up for us as a sacrifice to God — a fragrant sacrifice that was acceptable to God as the payment for the sins of the world.

This kind of love should make us thankful, certainly, but it should also be an encouragement to love others, forgive others, and in as many ways as possible, model Christ for them.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:43 AM April 3, 2021.