Sermon: Be Imitators of God - Living in the Light, Living by the Spirit’s Power, and living In Spirit-Guided Relationships!
Scripture Ephesians 5:1-2 “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.
3-9 “Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.
10-14 “Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
15-20 “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
21-32 “And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body. As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
Introduction: Ephesians 5 emphasizes that we are to be imitators of God and live a life of love because Christ gave himself up for us as a sacrifice to God. We are to put away sexual immorality, impurity, greed, and foolish talk as it is improper for God’s holy people. We are to live as children of light and find out what pleases the Lord. We are to make use of every opportunity, to understand the Lord’s will, follow it and to be filled with the Spirit.
Paul reminds us to give thanks for God in all things, the submit yourselves, your identity, your position in life and then submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Who you are in Christ supersedes and guides your actions in every area of life. The chapter ends with instructions for the Christian Family. The Christian husband and wife relationship illustrates the profound mystery of Christ’s relationship with the Church.
You may remember in the Christian walk and talk, Paul gave a beautiful example of the way Christians should always maintained a balance between doctrine they believe, the faith they confess and the duty they should perform. The first three chapters of Ephesians have dealt primarily with Christian doctrine, exploring the wealth given to believers in Christ and the last three chapters will deal primarily with the Christian duty, how Christians should live out their faith regardless of their former identity, status, or societal norms. Believers are to walk and talk differently, living responsibly as Christ followers because of their love for Christ.
Because of our new identity in Christ, believers should walk in unity; walk in purity; walk in purpose; walk in holiness; walk in kindness; walk in love; walk in the light of Christ’s revelation; walk circumspectly, walk in harmony with Christ, others, and themselves and finally, walk in victory. All these functions must be carried out under the banner of love. The Christian identity supersedes every other identity, understanding and appreciating all that Christ has done and made available as believers submit completely to Him.
The society in Paul’s day, often marginalized the poor, the weak and even women and children. They overlooked the value of women, minimized their gifts, and even suppressed the marginalized. Imitators of Christ must approach relationships differently. Believers must embraced their new God-given identity. Paul wants Christians to understand God’s given roles within the Christian family. In God’s family everyone should be valued and celebrated as gifts from God. Our former identity had no power to save, positions had to be earned, titles had to be achieved. Our former value came from our race, status, gender, and wealth, yet none of those things could save. We became new creatures in Christ, with a new value system, and a new way of life. Now we walk in the light of that new revelation.
God has assigned different roles in His new family, with different levels of responsibility to maximize the family’s potential and increase the effectiveness of the kingdom of God in the world. Many of the people Paul was addressing were married long before they became Christians. Patterns had been set, old opinions formed, and cultural norms were well established. Now each family member was asked to imitate Christ in their respective roles. What does this mean to Christian fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters? How should Christian family members commit to playing their specific roles under the authority of God’s law of love and under the rule of mutual submission? A new family drama begins to unfold as Christians are placed in God’s family by the Holy Spirit as His representatives in the world.
The fifth chapter of Paul's Letter to the Ephesians has two main sections. The first section is about the Christian life as a walk in love, light, and wisdom (5:1-21). First, Paul declares that believers must imitate God by following Christ's example of love and sacrifice (5:1-2).
1. Be Imitators of God’s Love as Demonstrated in Christ. Ephesians 5:1-2 “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.”
Christians may be limited in their giftedness, financial security, and public influence, yet they can be Christlike in their love. John 13:34-35 “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
Be imitators of God’s love. Live a life filled with love. Love can overcome hate and bitterness. Love covers a multitude of sin. Paul knew the difficulty of this assignment, but he also knew the necessity of it. Nothing resembles Christ more than love! God’s command of submission and love is clear and final. Believers are called to walk in His steps.
2. Be imitators of God By Walking in the Light. Ephesians 5:3-9 “Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.”
Paul reminds believers that they once were full of darkness, like the blind following the blind, but now they have light from the Lord. So, we now live as people of light! For this light within produces only what is good and right and true. The light also exposes the darkness for what it really is. The dark world around the believer is filled with sexual immorality, impurity, and greed. darkness can be seen in their actions and deeds. It can be heard in their conversation. The dark culture around us maybe filled with obscenity, foolish talking and coarse jokes because many of the people are walking in darkness. Believers are children of light. Be imitators of Christ by following the things that are good, right, and true. So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Then spend your time and effort doing it. So walk in love and walk in light.
3. Be Imitators of God By Living In Spirit-Guided Relationships. Ephesians 5:21-32 “And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body. As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
Paul identifies Spirit-guided relationships as a beautiful demonstration of God’s love for the world and Christ’s love for the Church. This beautiful demonstration is held together by mutual submission. My working definition of submission is an attitude of love that wants to obey. Submission is the act of willingly placing oneself under the authority of another. It cannot be forced or enforced. The moment force is applied, the act ceases to be submission. Submission means to adapt oneself to the will of the higher authority to achieve a greater purpose. It means to adjust oneself to the will of the higher authority to increase effectiveness.
Fully understanding the culture, Paul carefully lays out the roles in the Christian family. God’s role for the Christian wife mirrors the role of the Church, the bride of Christ. The benefits of godly submission increases the credibility of the Christian wife’s witness, give divine access to God, increases protection and contentment from God. Paul clearly establishes what Godly submission looks like by saying, “as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives also be to their husbands in everything.
At a time when families were in crisis and abuse was rampant, Paul wanted the Christian family to be filled with love, respect and led by the Holy Spirit. God’s principle of love and submission should be honored and shown as a good example to those who tended to be too aggressive or too passive; too assertive or too lenient. Because without the leadership of the Holy Spirit, selfishness will prevail and believers might be influenced by the culture.
Then Paul lays out the role of the Christian Husband as modeled by Christ’s love towards His Church. The Christian headship is not rulership or domination, it leadership with great responsibility. Just as Christ leads, loves, and exercises lordship over His church, the Christian husband must provide for his family. What does it mean to love your family as Christ loved the Church? It means to willingly sacrifice oneself for the family, to provide leadership and direction for the family, and being considerate of each member, showing understanding, respect, and honor. Paul gives a detail description of God’s love in 1Corinthians 13:4-8, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!”
God invites the Christian family to be a different example and possibly a remedy for the family crisis in the culture. Paul presents submission and love as different sides of the same coin. He set forth a supreme example to be embraced by those in authority and those under authority in all relationships. There is advice for husband and wives, parents and children, masters, and slaves, rich and poor and the haves and have nots. Be Imitators of God by Living in the Light, Living by the Spirit’s Power, and living In Spirit-Guided Relationships! Live as lights in a dark world, believers are the only ones equipped to do it. God is counting on us to be imitators of Christ in this present world.
Our world today is just as dark and confused as the world in Paul’s day, believers may find themselves, at times aligning with the darkness of this world. Even fighting for issues against their beliefs. Yet, believers are called to be lights and to walk in the light of our new identity in Christ. People may see me as a man, black, educated, rich, poor, weak, strong, Methodist, Protestant, husband, father, but all those are adjectives. Adjectives describe the noun. An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. Nouns are words that name a place, a person, a thing, or an idea. An adjective is a word that gives more information about the noun that goes with it. It is a part of speech. The noun that fully describes my identity is Christian, first and foremost. I am a Christian black man, educated in some ways, rich in some ways, poor in some ways, weak in some ways, strong in some ways, Protestant, Methodist, a husband, and father, but at the foundation I am a Christian, a Christ follower and an imitator of God. Paul challenges believers to be Imitators of God, living in the light of our new identity in Christ, living obedient to the Holy Spirit’s Power, and Allowing that same Holy Spirit to Guide us in all our Relationships! AMEN
