Ephesians 5:1: Imitators of God

Ephesians 5:1
[1] Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. (ESV)

It is amazing to watch a small child. One of the first ways that they learn how to do anything is by imitating. They hear you say something. They try to repeat it. But, more than that, they will imitate attitudes they see displayed, habits, and all kinds of behaviors. That can be good, or bad, depending on the model that they are imitating.

“The human is indissolubly linked with imitation: a human being only becomes human at all by imitating other human beings.”
- Theodor Adorno

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
- Charles Caleb Colton

Ephesians 5:1
[1] Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

This short verse says so much. We are to imitate God. Nothing else. Where do we fall into impurity? When we are imitating the enemy of our souls. If we are going to be pure we must be imitators of He who is pure. One of the things that we know about our God is that he stands strongly on the truth of what he has said.

John 17:17
[17] Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

1 Peter 1:24-25
[24] for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, [25] but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

God’s word is unchanging. It is forever true. If we imitate God, we will imitate the same trust in the unchanging word of God. But, if we begin to imitate the enemy of our souls, what will our attitude be towards what God has said?

Genesis 3:1
[1] Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

Understand this point. Those that imitate God have the same belief in his Word that he does! If you are falling into constant sin and impurity, I can assure you that you are imitating the father of lies, who from the very beginning has questioned the Word of God. If we are to be pure, we must imitate the one who is pure.

Who are you imitating? If you want to live a life that is pure you must imitate God. To imitate him you must know him from His unchanging Word. Spend some time today reading God's Word. And imitate it.

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