Before we begin this morning, I’d like to give just a personal note of thanks to the congregation. I happened to mention a few weeks ago that I had lost my hearing aid, and the deacons immediately picked up on that, and all of you got involved. And I’m told this morning that as of next Sunday, I will be hearing again. So thank you very much for that. It’s moving. It’s very much appreciated. Thank you.
Ephesians chapter 5. The next major section here in Paul’s epistle to the church at Ephesus: Ephesians 5, verses 1 through 21. And for the next few weeks, the plan is, at least, to be working through this passage. So I’d like to take the time to read the entire passage. I won’t be working through the whole thing today, but I would like you to see the passage as it is in whole.
Ephesians 5, verse 1:
Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children. And walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 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 or foolish talk or crude joking which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetous, that is, an idolater, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not associate with them. For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true. And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible. For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, “Awake O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully, then, how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 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 all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Again, our focus this morning will be verses 1 and 2, so let’s see that again. “Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children. Walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. A fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Let’s bow for prayer.
Our Father, we are grateful for Your word. We thank You that You have given us instruction, as in this passage, how we are to live as Christians. Glory in the gospel of Christ, we thank You for what You have done for us through Your Son, and for what You have done in us through Your Son and by Your Spirit. We thank You for this, Your word, to give us instruction as to how we can live in a way that is pleasing and honoring to You, and we pray that You would use Your word to that end in our lives and hearts this morning. In Jesus’ name we ask, amen.
One of the most—I think the word is frightening—one of the most frightening things that we learn as parents is that our children want to be like us. And if that’s not frightening, what really is frightening is when that day dawns and we realize that they really probably will be like us. My dad used to say, “Fred is so much like me, it scares me to death.” And so we have expressions: “Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” “Like father, like son.” It’s very common to see traits of parents showing up in their children, whether those traits are good or bad.
I remember, like it was yesterday, I remember one time walking through the department store, the four of us. Jim and Gina were both very young at the time. I think Jimmy was probably, oh, I’m gonna guess four; certainly couldn’t read yet, couldn’t even read numbers, certainly had no sense yet of value of given items. We’re walking through the department store and he walks through and grabs a price tag and looks at it and says, “Six bucks, they’re nuts.” And Kim gives me this look like, “Busted.” I thought he was acting like his mother.
It’s frightening sometimes. And it’s embarrassing. But something about it, there’s something about it of course that we like. Something about it that’s flattering, that that boy or that girl looks up to me and loves me and wants very much to be like me. Whatever strong points, whatever good points I might have, I would love to see them in my children, of course. We’re like that.
Be Imitators Of God As Beloved Children
The fact is, of course, we learn by example. We learn by imitation. We learn by what is modeled for us. By the time our children enter school, they have already learned very, very much about life, and very little of what they have learned has been by way of formal instruction. They have learned a lot by way of just imitating, watching, seeing how their parents live and act and behave and talk, and they pick it up accordingly. We call those the formative years, those first few years of life when they learn so much like that. And of course that can be a very good thing provided that the model is a good one.
And it’s that kind of an environment that we have now in Ephesians chapter 5. You’ll see how Paul frames it that way at the very outset. “Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children.” So God is our Father and he begins this section of his epistle where he’s going to exhort us in many ways with regard to many specifics. He frames it in this light: be like God, your Father. Like a child imitating his father, be godlike.
In other words, we are to pay careful attention to who and what God is and learn from Him how we are to behave. We are children loved by our Father, and loving our Father in return, we must strive to be like Him. This is not the only place in the Bible where we have this kind of emphasis. In fact, the Lord Jesus Himself preached like this. He tells us in Luke chapter 6, “Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.” We are to be merciful to one another in the way that we have been mercied by God Himself. Or, here in our very context, Ephesians 4 verse 32, the very end of the chapter, that our forgiveness and compassion to one another is to be modeled after God’s compassion and forgiveness of us in Christ.
Now the question then comes up, how is it we can learn to be like God? How can I imitate God? After all, no one has ever seen God. Or have we? And of course, very quickly, your minds are turning and you’re thinking, “Well, if I’m going to be God-like, what I know about God, I learn from Christ.” Who is the image of God? The one who has made God known. And of course that’s the whole point and so very often you find in the New Testament as well the command to imitate Christ.
This is a big point that the New Testament writers want to emphasize: that Christ is Himself the revelation of God. He is the one who makes God known. Perhaps most famously, that’s taught in John chapter 1: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the one and only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. No one has ever seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, he has revealed him.”
It’s a big point, not just for John, but for the New Testament writers generally, to emphasize that here we have God making Himself known. We are intended to see in Jesus, God speaking. Not just in what Jesus says, although that’s the case as well, but in all that Jesus says, in all that he is, and all that he does, we are to see God on display. God making Himself known.
The writer of the Hebrews picks it up in a bit of a different vein, but the same basic emphasis. God at various times and in various ways throughout the centuries has talked to us again and again to our fathers and has made Himself known there now and again and piecemeal here and piecemeal there throughout the centuries. But now, now, He has spoken to us in no less than His own Son. Here is God making Himself known.
And of course, all tied up in this as well, is Christ who is told us—we are told in the New Testament—is the image of God. Paul tells us that in Colossians chapter 1. He is the image of God. He is the reproduction, if you will. He is God on display. Here we see God making Himself known. If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. And in fact, we are created in God’s image. And we are to mirror God and reflect Him in the world. But of course, that image in us has been effaced. It has not been completely erased, but it has been effaced seriously by sin.
And so we have Jesus who has come into the world as the image of God to show us what God is and what He is like. And not only to show us what God is and what He is like, but to redeem us and to restore in us that image of God that has been effaced and that has fallen. Paul makes reference to that here in Ephesians 4 verse 24: “Put on the new self created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” He speaks of it in Colossians 3 and verse 10 as well in terms of regaining knowledge—the knowledge of God and so on. But here is Christ’s redemptive work described in terms of restoring in us the image of God that has been so effaced.
So Christ has come as the revealer of God, God making Himself known. He has come as the Redeemer to restore us to the image of God in which we were created. And so given all of that, Ephesians 5 and verse 1 is really not that vague of a command after all when Paul says, “Be imitators of God as beloved children.” He is saying simply, “Be imitators of Christ.”
Walk In Love As Christ Loved Us
You think that is just a lot of theologizing. Notice verse 2; Paul takes it in that direction exactly: “And walk in love as Christ has loved us and gave himself up for us.” How do we imitate God? We imitate God by imitating Jesus.
And this again is a big theme that we find in the epistles; in Paul in a big way, but also in Peter and some of the others as well. Peter tells us Christ left us an example that we should follow in his steps. And we see some passages in the New Testament that take this idea of imitating Christ and drive one particular aspect of what Jesus was like, one particular attribute or one particular virtue of Jesus. And it drives that to show us we should be like Jesus in that way.
And then again, in this way. And so we have some famous ones, like Philippians chapter 2: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Being the glorious God that he was, made himself nothing, took the form of a servant, came in fashion as a man, and humbled himself, became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Be like that. Be humble like Jesus was humble.
We have the same thing from Jesus Himself in John chapter 13 when he takes that towel, wraps it around himself, and goes around one by one washing the feet of the disciples. “Just as I have washed your feet,” he says, “you ought to wash one another’s feet.” Humble, serving one another as Christ served us. Jesus speaks of it again in Mark chapter 10. “Whoever desires to be great,” he says, “let him be your servant.” Why? Because even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. We are to serve as we have been served.
Romans chapter 15, verses two and three: “Let every one of us please his neighbor to edification, for even Christ did not please himself.” When it comes to the grace of giving, as Paul calls it, to encourage generosity in giving, the Apostle Paul again points us back to the Christ of the Gospel. “You know him”—this is 2 Corinthians 8 verse 9—”you know him who was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich.” Ephesians 4 verse 32, we have pointing to God through Christ and forgiveness. This is the model of forgiving one another. Colossians 3 verse 13: “forbearing one another, forgiving one another as Christ has forgiven you.”
Matthew chapter 18, Peter raises the question to Jesus, “How often must my brother sin against me and I must forgive him?” And the whole point of the parable that follows is to say, just as we have been forgiven—forgiven an insurmountable debt, sin after sin after sin after sin endlessly—so we are to forgive one another. Hebrews chapter 12, Jesus is held out to be the model sufferer. Here is one who was faithful in all things, even in the worst of suffering.
And of course the matter of love is huge in the New Testament pointing to Jesus as the epitome of what love is and ought to be. John 13 verse 34, Jesus Himself makes that standard: “Love one another as I have loved you.” We are to love as we have been loved. 1 John 3:16: “Hereby we know the love of Christ because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.”
That is what Paul is getting at here in this passage specifically. “Be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” So, verse 1: be imitators of God. Verses 2 through 21: how are we to be godlike? Imitate Him in this way, and in command after command and exhortation after exhortation, He shows us how to be obedient, faithful disciples that look like Jesus.
Now you’ll see three times in this passage the Apostle Paul uses the same metaphor and then takes it in a particular direction. And that metaphor is “walk.” Verse 2: “walk in love as Christ loved us.” That’s a familiar metaphor. We’ve seen it before. It’s a metaphor for behavior. He’s not talking about the gait that you have when you put one foot in front of the other. It’s obviously a metaphor for how you live, how you behave. And you’ll notice verse 2: walk in love. Verse 8: walk in the light or walk as children of light. And then verse 15: notice how you walk, not as unwise, but wise. So walk in love. Walk in light. Walk in wisdom. And so Paul’s telling us throughout this passage how then we are to live and behave in a way that is imitating God and like Christ.
We said when we got to Ephesians chapter 4, verse 1, that we’d come to what’s often called the practical section of the letter. I really don’t like that. That kind of terminology forces a false disjunction in our thinking. I rather think of it as the hortatory section. The exhortations are being given now. He’s told us of what salvation we’ve been given in Christ, how it’s been richly provided by God’s grace, and now how do we live that out? In this passage, dominant is this idea of imitating God and walking or living in this and that way.
So this morning, verse 2: “Walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” We are dearly loved children, he says, in verse one, and we should walk in love with the kind of love with which we have been loved.
Now, what does it mean to live a life of love? Walk in love. Clearly what he means here at the very least is that love is to be one noticeable characteristic or trait of our lives. So that those who know us, whatever else they know, know that we are a people who love. And whatever else is involved, love, by very definition, is something that is focused on others. So to walk in love is to have a life that is focused on others, a life that is given to helping others, a life that is given to doing good for others. If love is anything, it is giving, reaching out to others—others focused. Love, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13, does not seek its own. That’s just the nature of love. Love seeks the well-being and the good of others. Love is not selfishness. Love is not self-centeredness. Love is others-focused. And when you consider all that, you see the wisdom in the King James translators when very often they would translate this word “charity.” Love, by definition, is focused on the well-being and the good of others.
A Fragrant Offering And Sacrifice To God
And the model, the example par excellence of love, is Jesus. Verse 2: “Walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” What’s most outstanding about this, I think, is that he describes Jesus’ love in the categories of sacrifice. And of course, if you’ve read your Old Testament at all, this just shouts of all kinds of scenes that you remember from the Old Testament, from the Old Covenant worship.
God had assigned that. How is it that these people are going to be God’s people? How is it God will dwell in the midst of His people who are sinful? And the structure that was established for them in order for God to dwell in the midst of a sinful people was sacrifice. And so the offerer comes to God, comes to the place of worship, and he places his hands on the animal, confessing his sins over him. That animal is taken then and his throat is cut and he’s slaughtered. And that sacrifice is offered then to God in worship.
And here we have the structure established that a substitute may be offered in place of the sinner. Sin demands punishment. God cannot dwell in the midst of a sinful people. That sin must be judged. Now, of course, no animal could ever take the place of a human being. The difference is too great. The difference of value is too great. We are after all created in God’s image and no animal is sufficient to take our place in standing before God. But you see the structure was established. The categories are established and century after century after century, we have this repeated over and over and over again through every sacrifice, reminding us, yes, of sin, and yes, there must be some kind of substitution. Our only hope is to have someone stand in for us.
And the structure is established until finally we come to Jesus, who offers Himself as the Lamb of God in place of His people, and offers Himself in sacrifice, bearing the curse of our sin. The language Paul uses here is that of a “fragrant offering.” You remember that expression in the Old Testament? They offered a sacrifice of “sweet-smelling savor.” What’s that all about? It’s not that God likes the smell of barbecue. The point is here is a substitute that is offered in place of the sinner and it was accepted before God. Acceptable, and in that sense it’s a sweet-smelling aroma to God.
And now all of that symbolism finds its realization in Jesus, who offers Himself on the cross in place of His people, bearing their sin, and in sacrifice pays the penalty of our sin. And God looks at the sacrifice of Jesus in place of His people, offered as a substitute for His people, and it is to God a fragrant offering. God says, “I accept that.” Sweet smelling aroma, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
And so Paul brings us here to the very heart of the gospel. Here the Lord of glory Himself condescended, became one of us, went to the cross, offered Himself in sacrifice on behalf of sinners, and this is our whole ground of acceptance before God. Our whole standing before God is that Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice that was well-pleasing to God. He gave what we could not. The point of emphasis here then in verse 2 is the cost or the extent to which Jesus went for us.
What kind of love did Jesus have? I don’t know how to explain it all. We have a few words that we use, but how do you fathom the depths of a love that comes from the glories of heaven to the dereliction of that accursed cross, bearing the sin of people who hated him? How do you measure that kind of love? And the really amazing thing about it all is that all he got out of it was us. It’s not like that he was lacking something that we could give him. It’s not like we could provide something he needed. Not that he’s somehow enriched. No, it’s nothing like that at all. The whole point, the whole point is that we were in need and he gave himself up in order to give us what God required of us. Willingly took the initiative, Paul says he gave himself up. A fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
And now Paul says, that is the model. That is what love is. We are not to love others simply because they love us. That’s easy. Anybody can do that. We are not to love others simply because they are lovely. It’s not how Jesus loved. We are not to love others because they have something to offer us, something we can get out of it. That’s not how Jesus loved. We are to love because of what we are as Christians. We are to love as we have been loved.
In other words, our love is to be gospel-shaped. Or can I just say it this way? Our love is to be cross-shaped. That’s the model, Paul says. “Walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” I made the remark last week in our Sunday evening message that when Paul gives an exhortation or even a series of exhortations, it’s never just a naked exhortation, a naked command. Paul is never far from the gospel. We see that here. This is what shapes this message that we have embraced, that gives us our standing before God. This is what shapes our own lives, and in particular here, in the way that we love.
I wonder, I wonder if we have ever sufficiently considered this demand: love as Christ loved and gave himself up a sacrifice for us. It is a staggering standard. Love as Christ has loved us. We are generally content if we just don’t do harm to someone. But that’s not loving as we have been loved. That’s way short. We can turn a blind eye to someone’s need. We may be sure that we are not loving as we have been loved. When we love only in ways that cost us nothing, we may be sure that we are not loving as we have been loved.
You see how deeply this pries. Of course, other New Testament writers pick up on this as well. John picks up on it in 1 John chapter 3: “Let us not love in word only, but in deed and in truth.” James picks up on it. You hear that your brother has a need—he’s hungry, needs clothing—and you say, “Good luck. Pray for you.” It’s a Christian way of saying good luck. Walk away. You don’t give to him out of what you have. Whatever else that is, it is not loving as Christ loved us.
Maybe this is a good chance, good opportunity to give a little advertisement for the little project we have on the back table back there. We have a family in need. The table ought to be very full. We must not think only in terms of money, although it may be that, but think in terms of loving as Christ loved. How can we expend ourselves to help others to serve their needs? Think in terms of the value of time. Think in terms of the value of personal acquaintance, fellowship, deeds of kindness, encouragement, words of support, the way we talk to others—maybe more to the point, the way we talk about others.
I’ve given you a handout. It’s in the bulletin. I meant to point your attention to it earlier. You’ll see it on the inside of the bulletin. This is a bit of what we looked at last Sunday evening in the context of Philippians, but I want you to look on the inside of your bulletin. I have a nice summary here that I’ve gotten from Tim Keller’s book, How to Love One Another. You’ll see he’s categorized it in three different ways: affirming one another, sharing with one another, and serving one another.
Let’s just glance through these quickly. Under affirming one another: affirming one another’s strengths, abilities, and gifts. He has Romans 12, confirming the gifts of one another. James 5, don’t grumble against one another. Romans 12:10, honor one another.
Next, he has affirmed one another’s equal importance in Christ. Romans 15:7: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ has accepted you.” A wonderful command to shape our thinking. How am I to accept you? How are we to accept one another? In the same way that Jesus has accepted us, warts and all. 1 Corinthians 12, verse 25: have equal concern for one another. First Peter 5:5, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another. James 2:1, don’t show favoritism.
And then thirdly, affirm one another through visible affection. We talked about this last week. Greet one another with a holy kiss. Be quick to listen, slow to speak, be kind, compassionate to one another. May your love increase and overflow for each other.
Then next, under sharing: share one another’s space, goods, and time. So Romans 12, be devoted to one another in brotherly love. First Peter 4:9, offer hospitality to one another. A dying grace, isn’t it? It’s something we don’t see as often as we used to. Galatians 6:10, as we have opportunity, let us do good.
Number five, share one another’s needs and problems. So Galatians 6, carry each other’s burdens, encourage one another, encourage one another daily. Share one another’s beliefs, thinking, and spirituality. This whole emphasis on unity that we find. Teach and admonishing one another, speaking to one another in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, living in harmony with one another, agree with one another.
And then finally, serving one another. Serve one another through accountability. Confess your sins to one another and pray for each other. Romans 15, instruct one another. Speak truthfully with one another.
Number eight, serve one another through forgiveness and reconciliation. Be completely humble and gentle. Be patient, bearing with one another in love. Colossians 3, forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Galatians 5, don’t provoke or envy one another. Do not slander one another. Re-establish broken relationships with one another.
Finally, number nine, serve one another’s interests rather than our own. Spur one another on to love and good deeds. Don’t please yourself, but please others. Serve one another.
Isn’t that a wonderful list of commands? It would certainly be worth our time to take the whole hour going through each of these and unpacking them. Let’s take the time to look at one. I mentioned it briefly last week. Look back at Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12, verse 10: “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
Now, I’m sure we have different translations of this here. The NIV—there are several words here in the original that they’re trying to deal with. The NIV kind of takes the easy way out and just flattens it out with a simple, “honor one another.” Notice how the ESV translates it: “outdo one another in showing honor.” Or you might have a version that says “preferring one others over yourself,” something to that effect. I love the way the ESV captures it here. It’s almost like there’s a competition now going on in the church. “Outdo one another in showing honor.” On one level, we don’t want competition in the church and all, but here’s one competition we would all love. “I’ll bet I can show more honor to you than you can to me.” “No, you can’t.” “Yes, I can. Watch this.” I don’t think anyone would mind being on the receiving end of that. Outdo one another in showing honor.
Well, this is how love shows itself. And again, in all of this, Jesus is the model. Gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Imagine how this would completely transform congregational life. Don’t worry, I’m not gunning at somebody and there’s not a particular problem I’m shooting at. I love our fellowship at RBC. But still, just think how if we devoted ourselves to this—trying to outdo one another in showing honor and all of these commands—if we devoted ourselves to this, just think how transforming this would be to congregational life. All of us held in mind always: “Here is how Jesus loved me. I want to love like that.”
We make it our goal to outdo one another in showing honor, to go out of our way to bear one another’s burdens, to absorb the loss and give forgiveness. Be patient with one another, forbearing one another, speaking well of one another always, speaking well to one another, giving a word of kindness, a word of support, a word of encouragement. Someone who’s been a blessing—we’ll tell them. A congregation of people studiously giving themselves to this, aiming at loving more practically, loving more demonstrably, loving more consistently as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.
So here’s the challenge. What can we do this week to flesh out Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 2? “Walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
We might start with some who have been sick. We might start with some who are without work. We might start with some who are alone. No matter where we start, it may be that someone needs just a word of encouragement that you can give honestly, a word of kindness that you can give. Thinking in it all, what shapes our mind: that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, left heaven to take the curse of my sin. He saw me in need and there was no end to what he wouldn’t do to help. I want to love like that. Here’s how I can honor Him in loving others as He has loved me. Loving as we have been loved, “walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Amen.
Let’s pray.
Our Father, the standard is high. And yet, what less could we do? What less could You ask than that we love as we have been loved? So we pray, Father, that You would give us a deepening sense of the great love that has been shown to us, and then give us a deepening affection for one another, a deepening commitment to showing that same love in our relationships here. God, work in each of our hearts to this end. We may honor You. We may make the gospel attractive. We pray in Jesus’ name.