Ephesians 5:1-20

Be Imitators Of God

Ephesians 5:1-20 Delivered by Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF 8-7-10
Verse 5:1,
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children”

Introduction to Ephesians.

For the next few weeks, we will study Ephesians. It is in order to prepare our hearts and our minds for our visit to the U of I Champaign UBF. Afterwards we will be studying the full armor of God (Eph 6). I hope to also have an “Armor of God” Bible School to bring in the new semester. In order to get into Ephesians, it is proper to get a little background. We can get some history of the Ephesian Church from Acts 19-28. Paul came to Ephesus from Corinth. The city was a commercial center of the Roman world. Revelation talks about 7 churches of God. Ephesian church is one of them. (Rev 2) You can go to Turkey and visit Ephesus. There Paul found twelve disciples and helped them to receive the baptism of Spirit. Paul entered the synagogue for three months, arguing persuasively among the Jews about the kingdom of God. He took the disciples and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus for two years. Everyone who touched Paul was healed of their sickness. Many demon worshippers became believers. Converts burned their sorcery books at a cost of over 1 million dollars. Paul’s teaching brought spiritual revival to the city. But not everyone was happy. A silver Smith got really upset because no one wanted to worship Artemus and buy his idols. He incited the crowd and many Ephesian citizens tried to kill Paul. A riot almost broke out. But God saved Paul and he left and set out for Macedonia. Ephesus was the city where Paul gave his heart and raised the disciples of Jesus who went on to pioneer Asia Minor.

One year, Paul was compelled by the Holy Spirit to go to bring a financial offering to Jerusalem from the Gentiles in Asia Minor. This was a dangerous journey but absolutely necessary for the advancement of the church. Paul was not sure whether he would arrive in Jerusalem dead or alive. On the way to Jerusalem, Paul met the elders of Ephesus. They were mutually encouraged by each others’ faith. He told them this would be the last time that they may see him. He gave them some life-giving advice in verses 36-38, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of Lord Jesus himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give then to receive.’" Paul had many things to say to the brothers and sisters at Ephesus, but what grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. They all knelt down and prayed. They all wept as they embraced each other. Then they accompanied him to the ship. The Ephesian Church was full of love. They had true friendship in Jesus.

Chapters 21-28 of the book of Acts is about an exciting story of Paul going to Jerusalem but his plan was modified by God and he went to Rome as a prisoner. Initially he had some freedom to rent a house and have visitors. (Acts 28:30-31) For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the LORD Jesus Christ. Then, one day, he was thrown into a dungeon, a real prison. It was dark and dirty. Paul was all alone.
This was about the year A.D. 60. Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, wrote this letter to his dearly beloved disciples. (Eph 3:1, 4:1, 6:20) In his prison, he knelt before God and prayed for them. (Eph 1 and 3). Paul was not sure that he would come out of prison alive. His future was uncertain. He loved the disciples of Jesus in Ephesus. He knew that they might be discouraged because of his suffering. (3:13). If you knew that your time on this planet was short, what would you say to your beloved disciples and co-workers in the gospel? Well, he wrote the most appropriate things in the Book of Ephesus. Let's study portions of this letter knowing that Paul was in prison and he was pouring our his love and concern for this young church.

In Ephesians 5, Paul encouraged the Ephesian Christians to live a life of love. The phrase, “live a life of love,” might be the best summary of how to live out our new lives in Jesus. What better way to live a life of love than to imitate God. For God so loved the world that he sent his One and Only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (Jn 3:16) It’s not easy to imitate anyone. It requires humility and heart. Let’s learn from Paul what a life of love is and how to live a life of love by imitating the life of our Lord Jesus.

Part l: Live A Life Of Love. (1-7)

First, the best way to live a life of love is to be imitators of God. (1) Look at verse 1. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children….” To “be imitators” means to learn from someone else in order to master something. Sometimes the word “imitation” has a negative connotation because it conjures up images of low quality, counterfeit branded products made overseas. Moreover, our culture places a high premium on originality and creativity. No one wants to be accused of imitating anyone. They feel that it beneath them to imitate anyone. But the truth is, that without imitating, we cannot master anything, be it a field of study or a skill. Nor are we able to be original and creative without first learning to imitate. This lays a foundation in order to be creative. Let’s think about some great people in our culture. Ludwig Von Beethoven is a composer and is universally acknowledged as a creative genius. He was a child prodigy but he knew that to be a great musician, he had to study under a great musician. He wanted to study under Mozart and he eventually studied under Haydn. He practiced for ten hours a day. Only by imitating and learning from Haydn, could Beethoven become the great composer we know today.

To imitate is not easy. In the ancient world, a young man named Demosthenes, was ridiculed for his weak voice and poor pronunciation. So he went to the best orator of his time. In order to be trained to imitate his teacher’s pronunciation, Demosthenes put small pebbles in his mouth and practiced until he could speak clearly through the pebbles. To imitate his teacher’s volume, Demosthenes practiced on the seashore to train his voice to be louder than the roaring waves. By imitating his teacher, Demosthenes became one of the best orators in history.

We are familiar with imitating. Some people want to be like their favorite athlete. They imitate how they practice and play and even wear the same clothes and shoes. To be successful in their careers and in business, some people imitate Bill Gates or Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart. When we visit the Art Institute of Chicago, or the NIU school of art, we can see art students with paint and canvas, reproducing masterpieces and imitating the styles and techniques of famous artists. Our kids are in a praise band. If they want to grow to new heights in their worship music, they need to imitate great worship bands like Jesus Culture. Without imitation, we forever remain mediocre or worse.

We need to humble ourselves and live a life of imitation and then we can become the creative genius’ that we all want us to be. Why is it in America that we look at good examples around us and we never want to learn from them? We may envy them but we don’t want to imitate them. A lot of people compliment me about my family. They envy what God has given our house church. I think that they can have it too, if they learn to imitate. What did I do? Julie and I married by faith, sharing a common faith and common mission in life. We dedicated our family to serve Jesus and his mission, in our case, it is campus mission. We try to surrender ourselves to Jesus. We go to church every week. We attempt to study the Bible with a scholarly attitude. All of my children have one-to-one Bible study. We have daily bread, family prayer meetings, daily. We try to minister to the lost flock of God. We prepare music for each Sunday worship service from Thursday every week. I am not saying this to brag. I am only saying this to give people some direction. Do you want a family like mine? Well, imitate us as we strive to imitate Jesus. But we are not the ones to imitate actually.

Who or what, then, should we imitate? Let’s read verse 1. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children.” It is one thing to imitate other people to learn some skill or technique, but Paul says that children of God must be imitators of God. To be imitators of God is more than just coming to church. To imitate God is to learn his heart and mind and grow to be like Jesus. To imitate God is to grow in the fullness of God’s love. We can really imitate God when we are sure that we are dearly loved by God. Children, who are sure about their parents’ love, almost instinctively imitate them. They learn not only skills but they especially learn their parents’ heart and mind for them. In this way, they also learn to love others. To be imitators of God we must be sure that God is our Heavenly Father who loves us as his precious children.

Second, live a life of love. (2) How can we be imitators of God? Let’s read verse 2. “… and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” We best imitate God when we live a life of love. The phrase, “live a life of love”, is very beautiful. It inspires us to overcome selfishness and our differences with others to live a noble and meaningful life of devotion. People often think of love as a feeling but according to the Bible, love is expressed as a lifestyle. “Live a life of love.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 say, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” All of these things about love are not so much about how we feel as much as they are about how we live. We live a life of love when patience, kindness, humility, selflessness, hope and perseverance define our relationships with others. There are so many good examples of those who lived a life of love, like Rev. Yang Won Sohn who adopted the North Korean soldier who murdered his sons during the Korean War; Corrie Ten Boom who forgave the Nazis for killing her family members and brought Christ’s forgiveness to countless people after World War II, and Mother Teresa who loved the poorest of the poor and sickest of the sick in India. These are great people who lived great lives of love for the glory of God. But what about ordinary people like me?
“Live a life of love” sounds good but it also sounds too hard. How can we begin to live a life of love? We cannot by ourselves but we can live a life of love, when we accept God’s love for us. Look at verse 2 again. “… and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Jesus loved us so much that he sacrificed himself on the cross, to take up the punishment for all of our sins. Because Jesus loved us, we have an obligation of love to also love. 1 John 3:16 says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” Therefore, to live a life of love begins by accepting Jesus’ love for us. When we accept Jesus’ love and forgiveness for us, we can love and forgive others. Moreover, we see from Jesus that there is no limit to a life of love. Jesus loved us to the point of death and we ought to do the same for our brothers. Knowing Jesus’ love enables us to do that. I am far from living the life of love that Jesus wants me to live. I am not patient. I am not gentle, I am not kind. I keep a record of wrongs. Especially to those who are closest to me. I need to learn of Jesus and be changed in my inner person in order to live a life of love.

During this summer, there were three Bible conferences in Latin America. God is doing great and fantastic things in faraway places through our missionaries. A missionary’s life is not glamorous but difficult. Many have no security in this world. Many struggle with language, cultural differences and loneliness. Some struggle with their health. Some are in danger because of their missionary activities. Some worry about their children’s future. Why, then, do they remain in the mission field? It is because they love the people. They live a life of love and God has blesses their ministry.

We, too, can live a life of love from exactly where we are. Then we can be instrumental in leading students to faith in Jesus and helping them to grow in that faith. Usually, though, we can not live up to this heavenly standard of living even though we really wanted to do so. It is so easy to live a life of pride, a life of selfishness and a life of indifference but not a life of love. Still Jesus’ love and grace are limitless. Surely he will help us when we decide, by faith. Let us pray to live as Jesus lived by loving as he loved. May God bless each of us to live the most beautiful life – a life of love.

Third, not even a hint…. (3-7) A life of love is also characterized by moral purity. Let’s read verses 3-4. “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or course joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” Sexual immorality, impurity, greed, obscenity, foolish talk and course joking are all antithetical to a life of love. We must not have even a hint of these things in our lives. Why?

Paul gives a strong warning about this in verse 5. “For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person – such a man is an idolater - has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” Immorality, impurity and greed lead to idolatry so we must get rid of these things in our lives. But everywhere we go, whether work, school, the movie theatre or anywhere else, we find immorality, impurity and greed. So we must be careful not to be partners with these things or with people who do these things. The most common conversation topics involve gossip complaining, immoral things or course joking or all of the above. As God’s holy people, we must not participate in those things. Rather, we must be ready to give thanks to God in any situation. The life of love is characterized by thanksgiving to God, thereby being a good influence on others, encouraging them not to go astray.

Part ll: You Are Light In The Lord. (8-20)

A fundamental change in our lives has been occurred since we have been touched by Jesus’ love. Let’s read verse 8a. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Paul says that in the past, we were not only in darkness but we were darkness itself. But Jesus changed is. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus transferred us form the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, his light. After accepting Jesus, we are no longer dark. Rather we became light in the Lord. Our lives and our whole family can be a blessing, to many around us. All true Christians are light in the Lord. Instead of bringing darkness, we shine Jesus’ light wherever we go. Jesus’ light brings forgiveness, love and hope. Jesus’ light gives meaning to our lives. I really enjoy going to Bible conferences. Do you know why? It is because when I go to Bible conferences I am surrounded by people whose faces shine like the sun because of the grace of Jesus poured out on them. This is not a comment about their skin tone – it was a comment about their souls. I thank God that our family could be a blessing to the people of DeKalb Christian Church. I thank God that Sarah could shine the light of Jesus on her friends at her recent birthday party. I pray that we can be light in the Lord to the students of NIU and Kishwaukee College.

Imitating Jesus’ life of love shines Jesus’ light in us, into the world. How can we do so? First, live as children of light. (8-14) Let’s read verses 8b-10. “Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.” In Jesus, we are light. There is no room for darkness. We should not be angels in church and devils at home. Instead we must consistently live out our new identities as children of light and bear good fruit. This requires finding out what pleases the Lord. Children of light must study the Bible, pray and then put God’s word into practice.

Children of light stay away from the fruitless deeds of darkness. Look at verse 11. “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” According to verse 12, they should not even talk about what is done in darkness because those deeds are so shameful. Darkness pervades the world but children of light drive it out by shining Jesus’ light. They do so by living a life of love. Children of light also expose the fruitlessness of darkness so that people may turn from their darkness and live a fruitful life in Jesus. Let’s live as children of light and shine brightly through our lives of love.

Second, be wise. (15-21) Let’s read verse 15 together. “Be very careful, then how you live – not as unwise, but as wise….” It is pure wisdom to decide to live a life imitating God, especially Jesus’ life of love. In particular we need wisdom to make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. When we look at the world, we can become discouraged by the evil things we see. But we must see these things, not as hindrances, but as opportunities to imitate God. In fact, every opportunity is an opportunity to bring glorify God.

Verse 17 says, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” Fools live according to their sinful nature but truly wise people understand what God’s will is and seek to imitate God in their daily lives. God does not want us to be filled with all kinds of immorality and course joking, like we read about in verses 3-5. Nor should we live like party animals, as in verse 16. God’s will is for us is to be filled with his Holy Spirit and speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. God’s will is for us to sing and make music to him that expresses our thanks to him. His will for us is to humble ourselves and imitate Jesus’ life of love and sacrifice. It is his will be live as the light of the world, pointing others to the source of our light, Jesus Christ. It all begins when we accept Jesus’ love for each of us personally, taste that love and decide, by faith to imitate him in living a life of love.