Walk in love

Over the next three weeks we are going to look at three admonitions that Paul gives us in the next seventeen Vs.

1. What is an admonition you ask?

a. It means “to warn or advise” and, in this sense, “to instruct.” [1]

The three admonitions are:

Walk in Love (Eph. 5:1–2)

Walk As Children of Light (Eph. 5:3–14)

Walk in Wisdom (Eph. 5:15–17)

One of my favorite country songs is by an artist named Rodney Atkins. The name of the song is “Watching you.” If you know the song it is about a little boy watching and imitating everything his dad does.

That’s what Paul does here in these first two verses of Ephesians five; he starts out telling us we should “be imitators of God as dearly loved children.”

The first instruction Paul tells the Ephesians is to “walk in love.”

Walk in love Ephesians 5:1-2

This admonition ties in with the last two verses of the previous chapter where Paul has warned us against bitterness and anger.

Ephesians 4:31–32 (CSB)

31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.

1. It is tragic when these attitudes show up in the family of God.

a. I have seen this in the church of God at different levels of ministry.

i. People coming to funerals and being upset at another believer or family member.

ii. Believers come to worship and being upset at another believer that they feel has wronged them.

b. As children of the Most-High we should not be acting like this.

1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Paul gave several reasons why the Christian ought to walk in love.

Point I

The Christian is God’s child.

Having been born again through faith in Christ, he is therefore one of the “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4)

1. Since “God is love” it is logical that God’s children will walk in love.

2. When Paul encouraged his readers to “walk in love,” he was not asking them to do something that was foreign to the Christian life; for we have received a new nature that wants to express itself in love.

a. The old nature is basically selfish, and for this reason builds walls and declares war.

b. But the new nature is loving, and therefore builds bridges and proclaims peace.

Point II

He is God’s beloved child.

“Be imitators of God as beloved children.” Ephesians 5:1

1. Imagine, God speaks of us the same way He spoke of Jesus Christ: “This is My beloved Son” (Matt. 3:17).

a. In fact, the Father loves us as He loves His Son (John 17:23).

John 17:23 (NIV)

23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

b. We are born into a loving relationship with the Father that ought to result in our showing love to Him by the way we live.

2. What more could the Father do to express His love to us?

a. Is it asking too much for us to “walk in love” to please Him?

Point III

The Christian was purchased with a great price.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

1. But He laid down His life for His enemies.

Romans 5:10 (NIV)

10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

a. Our love for Him is our response to His love for us.

2. Paul compares Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to the Old Testament “sweet-savor” sacrifices that were presented at the altar of the temple (Lev. 1:9, 13, 17; 2:9).

a. The idea behind “sweet-savor” is simply that the sacrifice is well-pleasing to God.

i. This does not suggest that God is pleased that sin demands death, and that His Son had to die to save lost sinners.

ii. Rather, it indicates that the death of Christ satisfies the holy law of God and therefore is acceptable and pleasing to the Father.

b. The sweet-savor offerings are described in Leviticus 1–3; the burnt offering, the meal offering, and the peace offering.

i. The burnt offering pictures Christ’s complete devotion to God;

ii. the meal offering, is His perfection of character.

iii. and the peace offering, is His making peace between sinners and God.

iv. Since the sin offering and the trespass offering (Lev. 4–5) picture Christ taking the place of the sinner, they are not considered “sweet-savor” offerings.

One day a farmer grabbed his shot gun to shoot at a flock of pesky crows. Unfortunately, he didn’t see his sociable parrot that had joined the crows. After firing a few shots, he walked over to the fallen birds and was surprised to find his parrot badly ruffled with a broken wing. When the farmer’s children saw the injured bird, they asked, “Dad, what happened?” The farmer simply replied, “Bad company.”

Scripture often warns us to avoid harmful influences. Regardless of our age or spiritual strength, over time, unwise influences will negatively affect our walk with the Lord. Satan is determined to pull us into sin and wreck our lives, and he often uses wrong influences to accomplish his goal.

There is certainly nothing beautiful about sin!

Conclusion:

Paul begins with “walk in love” because love is the fundamental factor in the Christian life. If we walk in love, we will not disobey God or injure men because “he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law” (Rom. 13:8). The Holy Spirit puts this love in our hearts (Rom. 5:5).

Romans 5:5 (NIV)

5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

[1]Lawrence O. Richards, New International Encyclopedia of Bible Words: Based on the NIV and the NASB, Zondervan’s Understand the Bible Reference Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999), 20.