Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”
The other week, Pastor Herk continued in his sermon series through the Pauline Epistle of Ephesians and he asked: What is the difference about Christ’s love? Christians are called to imitate the love of God as demonstrated by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christ-like love is uncompromising and unconditional. As fallen Sinners, we do not deserve his love, but the Lord gives it freely to us. Romans 5:8 tells us: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” A disciple of Christ is defined as: [1] A student or learner; a scholar; one who receives or professes to receive instruction from Jesus. [2] A follower; an adherent to the doctrines of Jesus. Hence all Christians are called his disciples, as they profess to learn and receive his doctrines and precepts in the Bible. They follow in Christ’s footsteps. The disciple learns from what the Lord says and imitates what the Lord does as a follower. As child of God we are instructed to be imitators learning from the Word of God and doing what the Word of God says.
The King James version uses the word “follower” instead of “imitator”, as the Greek word is “mimētēs” from which we get the English word mimic. As a child learns from and imitates their earthly father, likewise the child of God learns from and imitates their heavenly Father; of God and godly. We want to grow up to be just like of father. Yet, trying to imitate our heavenly Father God is on a entirely different scale than trying to imitate our earthly father. Almighty Creator God is infinite and creatures are finite (having a limit; limited; bounded; a finite existence; applied to this life, we say, a finite being, finite duration). We learn and know from what is revealed to us physically and what is spiritually discerned. Though it is impossible to know everything that omniscient God knows, we work on what is revealed by the Lord and imitate Him by what we do know so that we have godly growth.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world.” The Apostle Paul exhorts us to be imitators of God as dear children and walk in love. As God is love, we are to live a life of love. We are supposed to live a life through the demonstration of His love for us through Jesus. If this “dog eat dog” world would start living on godly love, what a different world we would be living in. Christ followers are supposed to love others in the same way that Jesus loves us and gave himself up for us. Jesus decreed in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” As His disciples, Christians are to love others and each other. It is easy for us to love others that love us.
1 John 2:4-6 states, “The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked.” Be imitators of God and walk the walk.
Let's continue Pastor Herk's message on Christ-like love in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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