Ephesians 5:1-2 1Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children 2and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
These verses reach a high point in the letter to the Ephesians. The therefore marks a significant synthesis of Paul’s thought stretching back to 4:1 when he charges the Ephesians to live a life worthy of the calling they had received. This calling was to put away the old self and in faith put on a new self created to be in God’s likeness of holiness and righteousness. Now, Paul adds the important idea that this image is one of love. The Father gives his love to those consecrated and in relationship with Jesus Christ through the presence of the Holy Spirit (3:14-21). The Spirit grows this love (Galatians 5:22) within those who are sanctified fully to God.
This all comes as a result of God’s grace but requires the human responses of faith and obedience. That is why Paul gives two imperative verbs in this sentence. First, he calls the readers to imitate (mimētai) or “mimic” God because God has first loved us (1 John 4:19). We are his children and his love is flowing through us. The father-child relationship between God and believers can be thought of with the image of genetics. The “genes” we share with God are not physical but spiritual. We take on God’s “genes” of love when we are adopted in his family when we believe in Jesus Christ. It should be clear to other people that we are part of God’s family because of the love we have and show. This first imperative focuses especially upon the need for transformation through faith.
The second imperative focuses especially upon transformation through obedience. Paul calls the readers to walk (peripateite) in love (agapē). “Walk” is often used in the Bible for lifestyle and the choices we make about behavior. This has a strong relational sense in this verse because of its connection to “love.” We also get a good definition of what Paul means by this Greek word in the last phrase of verse 2. Christ is the supreme example of love because he willingly went to the cross gave himself for us. The prepositional phrase, “for us,” is significant in Christian theology because it shows how Jesus died the death we deserve. His death brought righteousness to us (Romans 4:25) and means of eternal life as God’s gift of grace to us. Instead of walking away in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus embraced the Father’s will and walked the path of suffering. He fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53 so that we might have eternal life. His sacrificial death became a fragrant offering that fulfilled all the sacrifices and offerings of Israel’s law. He became the sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).
Jesus shows the greatest love by laying down his life for us (John 15:13-14). This is the type of love we should show one another. With the love of Christ flowing in us and with the presence of the Holy Spirit filling us, we can then love others with God’s love. This is the one sure ingredient for unity in the church and for effective mission to the world.
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