Walk In Love Series

His experience parallels that of Jesus centuries earlier. That’s why He warned His disciples, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Cheap lip service can’t fool the Lord of Truth. Only true obedience, only deliberate imitation of God, is worthy of a child of God (Lawson, L. (1987). Galatians, Ephesians: Unlocking the Scriptures for You (pp. 225–226). Cincinnati, OH: Standard.).

2) The Pattern (Ephesians 5:2b)

Ephesians 5:2b [2](And walk in love), as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (ESV)

A young child often learns to draw by tracing. The more carefully he traces, the truer the likeness of his copy is to the original. The pattern for Christian living is Christ Himself, the one by whom every believer is to trace their life. Our part is not so much to pattern our lives ourselves as to allow God’s Spirit to pattern us after His Son (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18).

The ultimate act of Christ that we are to imitate is His love. He loved us and gave Himself up for us. Giving of oneself to others is the epitome of agapē love. Biblical love is not a pleasant emotion or good feeling about someone, but the giving of oneself for another's welfare (cf. 1 John 3:16). Divine love depends entirely on the one who loves and not on the merit, attractiveness, or response of the one loved. Christ did not simply have a deep feeling and emotional concern for humanity. Nor did He sacrifice Himself for us because we were deserving (cf. Rom. 5:8, 10). “While we were yet sinners,” He gave Himself us for us purely out of sovereign, gracious love, taking our sin upon Himself and paying its penalty in our behalf. On the cross Christ gave Himself for us. “For us” means more than “for our benefit.” The preposition (huper) clearly indicates substitution, and thus the vicarious nature of His death is here stated (Kent, H. A., Jr. (1971). Ephesians: The glory of the church (p. 87). Chicago, IL: Moody Press.).

Lovelessness is therefore more than a failure or shortcoming. It is sin, willful disobedience of God’s command and disregard of His example. To love as God loves is to love because God loves, because we are to “be imitators of God, as beloved children” and because Christ also loved [us], and gave Himself up for us...

• The Christian’s walk in love is to extend to every person, believer and unbeliever. If God’s love can reach out even to His enemies, how can we refuse to love our enemies? If He loves His imperfect children with a perfect love, how can we not love fellow believers, whose imperfections we share? And if divine love led Christ to sacrifice Himself for unworthy and ungrateful sinners, how can we not give ourselves to fellow sinful people, unbelievers as well as believers, in His name?

Please turn to Hebrews 13 (p.1019)