Imitators of God

Imitators

All throughout movies we watch people change. they have one or a few monumental moments in their life that shape them. We see them after some time and it almost seems like they are a brand new person

Iron Man

Maui

Grue

Megamind

The Old Life

English Standard Version (Chapter 4)

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

Paul reminds believers of where they have come from. He highlights the difference of the life they are no longer in as followers of Christ. Paul goes on to describe what life before Jesus looks like:

Futility of their minds:

Emptiness and pointlessness

Where their mind and focus is, is leading them to nothing

Darkened in their understanding

Alienated from the life that God has for them

They are alienated based of their decisions to pursue ungodliness

Examples:

Excited to disobey their parents

Want nothing to do with Church

Will disrespect anyone to make themselves feel better

But Paul reminds the church that we are different for ONE REASON (Read Verse)

The Difference

20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Old Self - Corrupted through deceitful desires

New Self - Created after the likeness of God

The New Life

English Standard Version (Chapter 4)

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Walk in Love

5 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Paul then gives us practical ways to which we can learn how to walk in this new life of Christ. It starts in verse 25 which are very helpful, but we are going to start in verse 31. He shows first the things that we need to lay down from our life

Put away: Bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, malice

As Christians, the way we act according to our situation doesn’t always determine if we believe in Jesus or not, but it does determine if we are operating in our new life or our old life. The way we dress is in some ways the same. When we chose an outfit it fits the occasion and tells everyone a little bit about who we are. The way we act has the same effect.

- Someone at school makes fun of you

- Your parents are mad at you

- Someone at school has a physical limitation or something about them that others make fun of

You see Christ doesn’t just tell us to take off the old way, but to put on the new life that he has given us before. You see before you only had one wardrobe, but with Christ you have new options.

Put on: kindness, tenderheartedness, forgiveness

Use same one’s above

Paul gives us our next steps

Paul says that as we are trying to navigate this new life that we have, we don’t have to try and figure out how to live this life on our own. He says two things to run after:

Imitators of God

WWJD, but do you actually do that in all that you do? Are you waking up everyday choosing to put on this new life by imitating God, or are you trying to wing it and end up putting on the old self?

Walk in Love

English Standard Version Chapter 13

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.