Eph. 5:1-2 - Imitate God

Chapter 5 Outline

1-2: - Be Imitators
3-6: - No impurity
7-10: - Let no one deceive 11-14: - All will be exposed
15-17: - Do not be foolish
18-21: - Walk in light, not darkness (Be filled with the Spirit)
22-24: - Wives
25-33: - Husband/wife and Christ/church likenesses
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Eph. 5:1-2 - Be Imitators

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;
2 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. 

Christ Is Our Example

Guidelines for Christian living continue in the following verses. (They start in 4:25 and go through 6:20.) There are some major subjects in these verses. They all flow from the fact that you are in Jesus.
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Vs. 1 - “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children” -

“Therefore...” - Go back to Eph. 4:20-24. Let's look at the wherefore of that therefore - Whereas:  

• You have learned about Christ and what He has done for you. 
• You have the truth in Jesus; so now you can lay aside that old sinful nature and live a new life in Christ, 
• because of the new spirit and renewed mind, and new self. 
• Based on those facts, and the fact you have been forgiven in Christ (See: 4:32, above), you can do the following...

“Be imitators of God, as beloved children” - (See: Luk 6:36; Matt 5:48, Eph. 4:32; Rom 15:7; Heb 13:7; 3 John 1:11; 2 Tim 2:2; Phil 4:9; 1 Pet 1:14-15) We are loved by God. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) The opening line from “The Four Spiritual Laws” is ‘God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life’. Return that love by doing as Jesus commands.

Rebellious children do not tend to follow the example or the wishes of their parents. God saved the Israelites from Egypt. Were they thankful and obedient? For maybe thirty minutes! (See: Deut 9:6; Judg 2:19; Neh 9:16; Jer 5::23; Acts 7:51)

Some of the saddest words uttered, “If only...” (Isa 48:18) applies to the Israelites and to us when we refuse to follow Jesus’ commands.

Vs. 2 - “and walk in love, just as Christ al6so loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma”

“Walk in love” - Let’s start with "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Jesus’ commands to us, his followers, believers were to love.

"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” (John15:12) "This I command you, that you love one another.” (John 15:17)

This was emphasized in one of the last conversations Jesus had with His apostles. ‘So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?"
He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You."
He said to him, "Tend My lambs."
He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?"
He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You."
He said to him, "Shepherd My sheep."
He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?"
Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You."
Jesus said to him, "Tend My sheep.” ‘ (John 21:15-17 )

Love is emphasized throughout the letters to the churches. See for example: 1 Cor 13; 1 John 3:11-24.

“Gave Himself for us... an offering and a sacrifice” - Jesus demonstrated love. It is not just an emotion, an infatuation. Love is an action. Jesus loves me and wants me to have a permanent loving relationship. I, a human, am sinful and that sin prevents me from have the relationship. Nothing I can do will overcome that sin. Jesus loves me, loves me enough to substitute Himself for me. A popular recent book and movie, “The Hunger Games” starts with this theme. The heroine offers herself for the gladiator-type games in order to save her sister from being forced to participate. Jesus took the penalty of sin, my sin and yours, upon Himself so that I may experience that love.

The sacrifices the Israelites offered on the altar of the tabernacle, were to cover their sins committed. I don’t quite understand the idea of the “aroma” from the burning sacrifice. (See: Gen 8:21; Exo 29:18, 25) God is a Spirit, and we worship Him in Spirit and Truth. (John 4:23-24) So, that makes me think the idea of an aroma is for us to know that God has us on His mind. Just as when you walk into the house, and the aroma of dinner or baked cookies brings good images and memories to your mind.

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Eph 4:30-32 - Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit

30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Be Kind to One Another

V. 30 - “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” - You cannot come to the Father without believing and accepting Christ as Lord and Savior. This is not a mental acquiescence only, but a full surrender of your life, your mind, your heart to Him. Likewise, you cannot live the Christian life fully unless you surrender to the Holy Spirit and let Him live in and through you.
If you tend to try to do it yourself, there will be failure. The failure to live in the power of the Holy Spirit leads to an life that is not abundant. Trying to live by your old nature is what grieves the Holy Spirit. He has been given to you to lead and teach you. (See: John 14:16, 26) We can rest in Him.

The Holy Spirit is God, and as such you can blaspheme the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29; Luk 12:10). The debate about what constitutes ‘blaspheming the Holy Spirit’ has been discussed almost forever. I think the Holy Spirit is blasphemed the same way that God the Father is blasphemed, or that Jesus is blasphemed. Blasphemy is always against a person, especially the person of God.
Generally it means to ascribe to evil or evil forces acts that are clearly from the Holy Spirit or God. It can also be when a person claims to be God but is not. (Jesus was accused of blasphemy when He claimed to be the Son of God. Their thought was no man could be God, therefore Jesus was sinning.)

“By who you were sealed” - (See: Eph 1:13; John 7:39, 14:17, 15:26, 16:7, 13, 14:23, 26; 2 Cor 1:22, 5:5; Matt 28:19; Luk 11:13, 12:12) The Holy Spirit was promised and is given to us when we believe. He is the guarantee that Jesus’ death paid the full price for our sin. The Holy Spirit is not something that is to be put away somewhere safe like you would a legal document - a deed or a license. The Holy Spirit is a person, fully God, and given to us for our benefit. We have the Holy Spirit and are to be filled with Him. The Holy Spirit is not an essence or a feeling, but a real person - God Himself living in us. We are to be filled (Acts 1:8, 2:4, 4:33, 38, 9:17; Rom 5:5, 8:2, 9, 16, 26-27) by the Holy Spirit.

V. 31 - “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”

“Let all bitterness... wrath... anger... clamor... slander... malice” - Let's look at these characteristics:
Bitterness - hard feelings because of a perceived or real insult.
Wrath - getting revenge because of the bitterness and anger.
Anger - harboring bitterness and hurt feelings. The end result is hating the person and seeking ways to harm them.  
Clamor - Loud and boisterous demanding that you get your way in circumstances.
Slander - making false accusations, spreading lies about another person.
Malice - Letting your anger build to the point you seek to do harm to another. This is letting anger take over your life. Decisions made in anger or fear will almost always lead to personal disaster.

V. 32 - “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other” - These are the opposites of the behaviors and attitudes in verse 31. No bitterness, replaced with kindness. No anger or wrath, replaced with love and compassion. No slander or malice, replaced with forgiveness.

“Just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” - These are not changes you can will yourself into. That is why this list follows the verse 31 list: kindness, tender-heartedness, and forgiveness all coming from the Holy Spirit working in you. God’s kindness and grace is demonstrated by Jesus coming to earth and sacrificing Himself for us. God’s tender heart is demonstrated by Him taking your burden away in Christ. You do not need to prove yourself to God. You cannot pay the price for your sin. Only a perfect sacrifice - that is Jesus Christ - can satisfy God’s justice without sacrifice of His love and compassion. We are not worthy to be forgiven. God did it anyway. God loves you and wants you to be with Him. He wants that for you.

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