EPHESIANS 5:1-2

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

a. Therefore: Here, Paul concludes the thought from Ephesians 4, where he described how Christians should relate to one another.

b. Be imitators of God: The idea is simple – that we are to make God our example and model. We can’t content ourselves comparing us among men. We must heed the idea of 1 Peter 1:15-16: as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

i. It does not say, “Think about God” or “Admire God” or “Adore God,” though those are all important Christian duties. This is a call to practical action, going beyond our inner life with God.

ii. We could say this is a continuation of the same idea Paul mentioned in Ephesians 4:13 regarding the extent of Christian growth: to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. We could also say that this is a continuation of the idea from Ephesians 4:32, where we were commanded to be forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you. God’s behavior towards us becomes our measure for our behavior towards one another.

iii. It is important to see that God is far more than our example. Many errors come into the church when Jesus is presented only as an example of behavior. We are not saved by the example of Jesus, but once saved His example is meaningful to us. God is more than our example, but He is also our example.

c. As dear children: Children are natural imitators. They often do just what they see their parents or other adults do. When we act according to our nature as children of God, we will imitate Him.

i. As we do imitate God, we become representatives of God, especially before those who have shut God out of their life. “What are we sent into the world for? Is it not that we may keep men in mind of God, whom they are most anxious to forget? If we are imitators of God, as dear children, they will be compelled to recollect that there is a God, for they will see his character reflected in ours. I have heard of an atheist who said he could get over every argument except the example of his godly mother: he could never answer that.” (Spurgeon)

d. Walk in love, as Christ also has loved us: As in all things, Jesus is our example. As He has loved us andhas given Himself for us, we are to display the same kind of self-giving love.

e. An offering and a sacrifice: Jesus’ giving of Himself was obviously a sacrifice pleasing to the Father. We can also offer a pleasing sacrifice (a sweet-smelling aroma) as we give ourselves in love to others.

i. We often think we could lay down our life in a dramatic way to show our love for others. But God often calls us to lay down our life little by little – in small coins (as it were) instead of one large payment – but it is laying down our lives nonetheless.

ii. Adam Clarke on an offering: “An oblation, an eucharistic offering; the same as minchah, Leviticus 2:1 and following, which is explained to be an offering made unto the Lord, of fine flour, with oil and frankincense. It means, any offering by which gratitude was expressed for temporal blessings received from the bounty of God.”

iii. Adam Clarke on a sacrifice: “A sin-offering, a victim for sin; the same as zebach, which almost universally means that sacrificial act in which the blood of an animal was poured out as an atonement for sin. These terms may be justly considered as including every kind of sacrifice, offering, and oblation made to God on any account.”