BE IMITATORS OF GOD
Eph. 5:1-2
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. A man in a limousine saw a family on the side of the road eating grass. He told his chauffer to turn around and pull over next to them.
2. He rolled down his window and said, “What are you doing? Are you people eating grass?” The man answered, “Yes, we’re starving. I lost my job and we’re down on our luck.”
3. The rich man said, “Get into my car. I’ll take you to my house and take care of you.” While the family got their stuff together the chauffer said, “Boss, I would never have believed you would have done something like this!”
4. “Well,” said the rich man, “my house is the right place for them. My grass is a foot tall!”
B. TEXT
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 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” Eph. 5:1-2, NIV 1984.
C. THESIS
1. IMITATE (Definition) --
a. to follow or endeavor to follow as a model or example,
b. to mimic; impersonate,
c. to make a copy of; reproduce closely.
2. It’s interesting that the Greek word rendered “imitators” here is the Greek word “mimetai” from which we get our word “mimic.”
3. Paul in Ephesians 5 commands his followers to do something that, knowing the perfections of God, seems completely out of their reach; he commands us to mimic God!
4. As we study this, we see that everybody mimics somebody, that it should be natural for Christians to be like God, and that God has given us at least 4 aids to being like Him.
5. The title of this message is “Be Imitators of God.”
I. EVERYBODY IS MIMICKING SOMEONE
A. IN THE WORLD OF FASHION
1. In the world of fashion, there are a few who originate the styles and everyone else follows them. These “new” styles have been seen before; they’re just reworked from generations before.
2. A sports star cuts his hair or beard a certain way, and all the trendy crowd mimic him.
3. An actress wears a certain style of clothes, and social media lights up – all the ladies start wearing her color, or her hair style, or her clothes.
4. All modern society is mimicking someone.
B. COOL BUSINESS LEADERS
In our day many young people look to cool business leaders such as Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Elon Musk (SpaceX), Bill Gates (Microsoft), or Larry Page (Google).
C. SCIENTISTS & PHILOSOPHERS
1. Scientists mimic the work of Francis Collins (Human Genome Project), Steve Jobs (Apple), Albert Einstein’s work (physics) or Nikola Tesla.
2. Philosophers still study the thinking of Homer and Aristotle.
D. THE BEST PERSON TO MIMIC = JESUS!
1. But the greatest influence in the history of planet Earth and the most original – is the Lord Jesus Christ. If you want to copy someone, the best choice is Jesus!
2. When the Lord Jesus exhibited the character of God, His life struck people as being the most singular thing they had ever seen.
E. ARE WE MIMICKING JESUS?
1. Wikipedia describes the history of the phrase “What Would Jesus Do?” as arising from Charles Sheldon's 1896 book, In His Steps. In this popular novel (translated into 21 languages by 1935), Rev. Henry Maxwell encounters a homeless man who challenges the pastor to take seriously the imitation of Christ.
3. The homeless man explains his difficulty understanding why so many Christians ignore the poor: "I heard some people singing at a church…the other night and I kept wondering… what they meant by it. It seems to me there's an awful lot of trouble in the world that somehow wouldn't exist if all the people who sing such songs went and lived them out."
4. This leads to many of the novel's characters asking, "What would Jesus do?" when faced with decisions of some importance. The effect was that the characters took more seriously the teachings and example of Jesus. That would help us too! (Michael Mccartney)
II. GOD’S CHILDREN SHOULD BE LIKE HIM
A. BY NATURE
1. Most of the time, children are like their parents. That’s why there’s many quotes like “He’s just a chip off the old block;” or “The nut doesn’t fall far from the tree;” or “Like father, like son.”
2. The genetic disposition of the parent (quiet, easy-going, scrapping, intense, loving, focused, inquisitive, etc.) is usually reproduced in their offspring.
3. Not only do children normally look like their parents, but they usually act like them too.
B. BECAUSE OF LOVE
1. If we love God, love will compel us to imitate Him; if love won’t, then no other force will induce us to be like Him.
2. It’s routinely observed that married persons, even if they begin with great dissimilarity, gradually become much alike. Likeness is the natural product of love, and so if we truly love God, we will grow more and more like Him.
C. BECAUSE WE DON’T WANT TO MISREPRESENT HIM
1. You can’t copy a document without carefully writing down each word. If I have to copy a book, then I must read each line attentively and reproduce them exactly.
2. Think how carefully an artist must look at a landscape in order to represent it on a canvas. She must paint every blade of grass, every tree, the details of the mountains and streams accurately.
3. If a sculptor is producing a replica of an ancient statue, he must keep his eyes open and follow every line and mark.
4. So it is when we are reproducing the image of God in our lives for others to see, that image must be accurate so others can see what God is like.
D. EITHER BE LIKE HIM OR DON’T TAKE HIS NAME
1. It is the natural tendency of children to imitate their parents. The Apostle John noted, “This is how we know who
the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child…” 1 Jn. 3:10. According to John, no other proof was necessary to demonstrate parentage than our lifestyle!
2. Those who live godly in Christ Jesus, believing in Him, are God’s children, and though the godly sin, yet they do not love sin, but will repent of it. Holiness of life is the proof of regeneration. “By their fruits you shall know them.”
3. The copy may be blurred, but it is a copy. But anyone who bears the name of Christian should act like Christ or give up His name.
4. ILLUS. Alexander the Great once had a soldier in his army whose name was Alexander, but when the battle was raging he cried out in fear. Alexander the Great said to him, “How can you bear the name of Alexander? Drop your cowardice, or drop your name.”
5. So if you’re going to live a double life, then don’t pretend to be a Christian! Genuinely attempt to conform to Jesus’ example or don’t call yourself a Christian.
III. HOW CAN WE BE LIKE HIM? (IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE!)
A. BECAUSE OF GOD’S NATURE IN US
1. God has already done the greater work of making us His children, so imitating Him with that implanted nature is much easier.
2. We are “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). We are “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). And by this new birth we are renewed in His image (Col. 3:10).
3. If we let Christ-within-us occupy the throne of our lives and subdue the fallen, old nature, then clean lives and right feelings will result. We must water that nature with our prayers and watchfulness!
B. BECAUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT’S ASSISTANCE
1. Paul said, “Likewise the Spirit also helps [us] in our weaknesses” Rom. 8:26. The Holy Spirit was given because we’re too weak in ourselves to obey God (Rom. 8:3).
2. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will “guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). We need a Guide to go before each of us and lead us like a shepherd leads sheep – to green pastures and still waters. We don’t know the way ourselves.
3. The Holy Spirit also is the Distributor of the grace of God in Christ. Jesus said, “…He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you.” John 16:14 AMPC.
4. He gives us encouragement and support at key moments. He convicts us when we’re making bad choices. He shows us how we ought to act and reminds us of what Jesus said. Thank God for the Holy Spirit!
C. THIRD AID: THE WORD
1. The Word also greatly aids us. It’s so wonderful when we have a plan, when things are mapped out for us – when we know what we’re supposed to do. That’s where God’s Word comes in.
2. It lays out a clear blueprint for us; it is a true compass of how to shape our lives! In it we can see the life of Jesus our example and can search to answer our questions, “What would Jesus do in this situation?”
3. You cannot possibly imitate someone unless you can fix your eyes upon them and know something about them. That’s the beauty of the Word. It reveals a living example of how to
be a child of God so that we’re capable of imitating our Lord.
D. FOURTH AID: COMMUNING WITH GOD
1. Lastly is the surpassing privilege we have of communing with God Himself. When we get in the presence of God, it’s like hitting the reset button on your computer; it reverts to the original programming, and all the superfluous additions are erased.
2. When we can get into our secret closet and are shut in alone with God, His divine nature overshadows ours. His nature resets the Christ image within us to its original clarity, purity, and strength.
3. We become one with His nature. We yield to it and are transformed again to the original image of Christ. Some people think this only happens once, when we’re born again. But Paul knew that we need this resetting regularly; “the inward man is renewed day by day” 2 Cor. 4:16.
4. So let’s hear the voice of God calling us to the secret place (as He did to Moses); “there I will meet with you, and I will commune with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim…of all things which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel” Ex. 25:22.
5. Jesus said something similar to the 12 disciples, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” Mark 6:31. We need that quiet place with Jesus! It will bring a spiritual ‘rest’ to us.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: JUST A SCRAP CAN CHANGE A LIFE
1. Back in the 1500s, people didn't have a Bible they could read. The Catholic Church controlled the translating of Scripture and only offered it in Latin. But when Martin Luther rebelled against the abuses of the Church of his day he worked hard to make a translation available in German (the language of his people).
2. The daughter of the printer Luther used was cleaning in her dad's shop and she picked up a piece of paper off the floor. It read, "For God so loved that He gave..." and that was all. The rest of the verse was not printed yet, but what she saw excited her. The thought that God would give her anything moved her.
3. Her mother noticed a change in her and asked her why she seemed so happy. The girl pulled a crumpled piece of paper out
of her pocket and showed it to her mother. The mother read it and asked, "What did He give?"
4. The girl said, "I don't know but if God loved us enough to give us anything we should not be afraid of Him." What she read on that scrap of paper changed how she looked at God.
5. And what people read in our lives can change how others look at our God as well. One man has wisely said: "We may be the only Bible anyone ever reads." But that will be true ONLY if we learn to imitate the God we say we love. (Jeff Strite)
B. THE CALL
1. To recap our verses, the New Living Translation says, “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God” Eph. 5:1-2, NLT.
2. Can you think of some areas you need to be more like Jesus? What can you do to change that?
3. Maybe some of you have never been “born-again,” that means, have surrendered to Jesus to wash your sins away and to become the Lord of your life. Would you like to do that? Raise your hands and let’s pray.
[This is a rewrite of Charles Spurgeon’s sermon on Ephesians 5:1, “Imitators of God.”]
