VERSE OF THE DAY
Ephesians 5:1 (New Living Translation)
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Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
As a father to a child we as parents want the best for them and we show that example be being that example and as the child we mimic what is the parent has shown leaving us to imitate what we know
It’s the same way with God
God just wants the best for us as his children he wants us to imitate what he teaches us and remember his laws he wants us to teach what he has taught us and mimic and imitate him in everything we do like father and child we are his example we are his child we are his example
1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
What is the meaning of Ephesians 5 1?
Imitate God (5:1)
It is natural for children to be like their parents. We are to act as children imitating our father. We want to imitate God the Father because we have experienced extraordinary love as his children. Now obviously we cannot be like God for there are many attributes he possesses that we cannot possess.Mar 2, 2014
What Does Ephesians 5:1 Mean? ►
Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children.
Ephesians 5:1(HCSB)
Verse of the Day
Having detailed our unity in the Spirit, our union with Christ, and the unsearchable riches of God that have been freely bestowed on us by grace, Paul contrasts the corrupt lives of unregenerate man with the normal Christian walk, which should exhibit the tenderness, forgiveness, and grace that we see in the character of God and the life of Christ.
Having built up this worthy argument, Paul then exhorts us, “Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children.” We are being called here to live as sons and daughters of God, whereby our lives reflect the kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness of the Father in the same way that God in Christ has forgiven us.
These are beautiful qualities that are exhibited in a life that is living in spirit and truth, under the guidance of the Spirit, in union with Christ, and in fellowship with the Father. We have been freely forgiven and have received the unsearchable riches of God’s grace. We receive all of this because of Christ, Who gave Himself for us.
Because we are in union with Christ and identified with Him, we are exhorted to follow Him in our attitudes and actions, and even the motives of our hearts that are known only to God. We are called to be like Christ; to follow His example, to imitate His life and character, to grow in grace, and to be conformed into His likeness.
The only way to grow in grace and mature in the Christian faith is to put away all the influences and characteristics of the old sin nature that are exhibited in a wide range of outward actions, inward attitudes, and secret motives that are acceptable to God.
We are not to take part in actions, attitudes, and motives that are unacceptable to God. Rather, we are to imitate the beautiful life that Christ lived by living our life in the same way that Christ did – by walking in spirit, sharing the truth in love, growing in grace, and learning obedience through the things that we suffer.
My Prayer
Loving Father, I want to be more and more like Christ, to walk in newness of life, and to truly be a life where Christ can be seen in me. In His name I pray, AMEN.
Source: https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/ephesians-5-1
QUESTION
What does it mean to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1)?
ANSWER
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul instructs the believers, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1). We are to imitate Christ and model our lives after Him.
This word translated as “imitators” or “followers” in English versions of the Bible is mimētai in the Greek, the root of our word mimic. It has the positive connotation of emulating a pattern set by an admired mentor, and it is used seven times in the New Testament to advocate following or emulating certain early church leaders, Christ, and, ultimately, God.
A child imitating his or her parent is the most natural thing in the world. It’s how children learn everything from brushing their teeth to putting away toys to treating others with respect. Young children want to grow up to be like their parents, and they will often pretend to be their parents—trying on their parents’ shoes, wearing their hats, etc. It’s an important part of childhood play as they imitate what they see in their parents. This is the type of mimicry that Paul alludes to in Ephesians 5.
In Ephesians 5:1–21, Paul discusses what behavior is and is not a worthy imitation of God and befitting of God’s children. “For at one time you were darkness,” he says, “but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).
When Paul instructed the believers to be imitators of God, he did not indicate that this meant they should act as if they were also divine, omniscient, or possessed of any God-like powers. Instead, he specified “be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1, emphasis added). Perhaps this is why some translations use the word followers instead, to emphasize that Christians must imitate God in such a way that follows His example. Beloved children do not presume to become their parents; however, children may be seen imitating the behaviors and actions of their parents.
To properly imitate God, we must first be His children. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12–13). If we receive Christ and believe in His name, we become God’s beloved children.
We must also know God’s ways so we might know what to imitate. Ephesians 5:1–21 gives several examples. “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. . . . And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:3–4, 18–21). We can learn of the Lord and His ways through prayerful study of biblical passages like this one.
God gave us the ultimate example to follow in Christ. Discerning how to live based on our God who supersedes the universe can be difficult, but, in the life of Christ, we see a practical example of how a person should live on this earth. “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). As we look to Christ, we learn we are to walk in love, giving sacrificially to others and offering ourselves fully as a sacrifice to God.
Imitators of God will be imitators of Christ, striving to walk in love and submission to God as beloved children walk in obedience to and imitation of a father.
