Imitating God: Walking in His Love

Ephesians 5:1–2 CSB

Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.

Introduction

Have you ever seen a child imitate their parents? Whether it's the way they talk, walk, or react to situations, children naturally mimic those they look up to. Paul calls us in Ephesians 5:1-2 to “be imitators of God, as dearly beloved children.”

But what does that mean? How do we live in such a way that reflects God’s love to the world around us? Today, we’ll look at three key truths from this passage that call us to live as true imitators of God's love.

I. We Imitate Because We Belong To God (v.1) – “Dearly Beloved Children”

Paul doesn’t begin with a command—he starts with an identity statement. We belong to God. We are His dearly loved children.

This means our identity shapes our actions.

A child doesn’t try to become their parent’s child—they already are. We imitate God because we belong to Him.

Just like a child watches and follows their parent, our lives should reflect the One we belong to.

Application: 🔹 Live confidently as a child of God. You are not trying to earn His love—you already have it. Walk in that assurance.

II. We Imitate Because We Are Loved By God (v.2) – “He Gave Himself For Us”

Paul moves from our identity to our example—Jesus Christ. We imitate God by walking in His love.

Paul says, “Walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave Himself for us.”

Christ’s love is our model—it is sacrificial, selfless, and pleasing to God.

His love is not based on convenience but on commitment.

Application: 🔹 Love others as Christ has loved you. This means choosing to serve, forgive, and give sacrificially—not just when it’s easy, but when it costs you something.

III. We Imitate By Loving God & Others

Because we belong to God and are loved by Him, we are called to imitate Him.

Paul commands us to be imitators of God. This means reflecting His character, love, and mission in the way we live.

Christ gave Himself as an offering. Our lives should be an offering to God as well.

What Does This Look Like?

Seek God’s presence daily – Walk in obedience, prayer, and fellowship with Him.

Prioritize Christ’s mission – Make disciples, share the gospel, and serve others above ourselves.

Live sacrificially – Love others as Christ loved, even when it costs you something, no matter how valuable. Do your words, actions, and attitudes reflect Christ and his love?

Application: 🔹 Offer your life to God. Let your love for Him be seen in how you love others.

Conclusion

Paul’s call to imitate God is not just a command—it’s a response to who we are in Christ.

We belong to God as His beloved children.

We are loved by God, shown supremely through Christ’s sacrifice.

We Imitate by loving God & others, reflecting His love to the world, by loving them with His love.

Challenge for the Week:

Ask yourself: Where do I need to grow in imitating God’s love?

Look for one tangible way this week to love someone sacrificially—just as Christ loved you.

Let’s be a church that doesn’t just talk about love—but lives it out.

Closing Prayer: “Father, thank You for calling us Your children and for showing us the depth of Your love through Christ. Help us to walk in love, reflecting Your heart to the world around us. May our lives be an offering, pleasing to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

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WHAT IS THE THEREFORE THERE FOR: Therefore (V1)

pointing back to Paul’s call for Christians to live the life of a new man.

The New Man Is by His very nature recreated in the image of God, modeled after Christ who is the image of the invisible God.

Genesis 1:26–27 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.”

2 Corinthians 4:4 “In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!”

IMITATOR OF GOD (V1)

To Imitate means to copy the words and deeds of another person.

Paul’s call to the Ephesians is similar to other calls in letters he wrote.

1 Corinthians 4:16 “Therefore I urge you to imitate me.”

1 Corinthians 11:1 “Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ.”

As a father to the corinthians in the faith, Paul calls those he poured into and taught to imitate his beliefs, actions, and words, in light of the gospel of Jesus that they held in common with him.

he later calls them to do all things for the glory of God, not to live as an offense but seeking to win many over to the faith by a life marked by humility & selflessness. He desires for people to put the mission of Christ, namely the salvation of sinners, as the first priority of their lives. As they lived in the home, in the church, and in the marketplace Paul desired for them to pursue both the salvation and sanctification of those around them. BE ABOUT THE BUSiNESS OF GOD.

1 Thessalonians 1:6 “and you yourselves became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit.”

1 Thessalonians 2:14 “For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, since you have also suffered the same things from people of your own country, just as they did from the Jews”

For the Thessalonians Paul suggests that their welcoming of the message came alongside a suffering that was common for believers in that day. despite that persecution, they like Paul maintained a joy that comes form the Holy Spirit.

From these we can see that Imitating God is to imitate his character, his passions, his will, his actions, his words.

To Imitate God is to be like Christ, making his mission our own, walking and speaking like he did, being filled by and living according to the Spirit in prayer, seeking to maintain a constant fellowship with God (passionate about the presence of God in my life).

To Imitate Christ is synonymous with following Him in discipleship.

Discipleship/Imitation is Emptying myself of selfishness and pride, letting go of the relationships, resources, and pursuits that I cling to, looking at Christ and following him. It is not giving into worry or fear despite difficult circumstances, and it can feel often like an inconvenience or a disruption in our our normal patterns of life. It is about taking up a new trade (fishing for people), loving not our own life more God and the life of our neighbors.

Luke 14:25–27, Luke 14:33, Matthew 4:19, Matthew 8:18–22, Matthew 16:24–26

AS DEARLY LOVED CHILDREN, WALK IN LOVE (V1-2)

Imitation is directly connected to who we are. Our identity in Christ has brought us from stranger to beloved child. As children we are born again, remade in the fathers image, purposely reflecting Him to all people. We cannot imitate God if we have not been born again.

Paul specifically says, that the way people know that we belong to God is by walking in love. as imitators we dont walk in the love defined by the world, but by the love defined by the Words and actions of Christ.

Improper Love:

From these verses love that is not of God is reflected in the actions of those who seek the love of the world but do not show love to others. They receive worldly love and glory but give no attention to loving God & their neighbors. They serve God with their lips, but their heart serves another master. The pray to God, but th only one who hears their prayers are those close enough to hear them. The love being first, but Godly love is last for the sake of others. They give what is required but they neglect the needs of their brothers. They love themselves more than anything else.

Matthew 6:5, Matthew 6:24, Matthew 23:6, Luke 11:42, Luke 20:46

God’s love has been defined by the Word of Christ:

Love, is not something we show in half-measure but with all of our fullness we love God, just as he loved us. We love him by obeying his commands/keeping his word. His word is a direct reflection of his character and actions; As God is so he calls us to reflect his image. To Love Jesus is to love the way of Jesus.

When we love the way of Jesus, we also reap the benefit of the presence of God in our lives. As we Live according to the love we have, we also experience God’s love for us, resulting in him taking up residence in our lives; through his Spirit, God is always present in our lives.

Love as defined by Gods word is a love without boundaries, or limits. As Christ loved his enemies, we to love those who hate and persecute us. We pray for their salvation and ask God to vindicate us from their hands. Our love differs from that of the world, because we love not to be loved, but because we have been love we extend his love to all.

Beyond our love for our enemies, we are commanded to love also our fellow brothers in the faith. Thicker than our own blood, is the blood of Jesus that was spilled on our behalf; Jesus laid down his life so that we might be untied as family willing to give our own lives for the sake of one another. Sacrifice of self is the key to true love, because it seeks the greater good for the other, loving others with the same love we have been shown.

This kind of love is not only sacrificial but is also rooted in truth. Our actions towards one another are not covers for our own selfishness, hypocritical, but come from the depths of Christ’s love for us. True love is a deep and honoring, elevating the receiver of love. It is patient and compassionate, willing to give without worry of return or reward. In Christ, and his body, love accomplished the perfect will of God.

Matthew 5:43–48 , Matthew 22:37–39 , John 14:23–24 , John 15:12–13, John 21:16–17 ,Romans 12:9 , Romans 12:10 , Romans 14:15, 1 Corinthians 13:4–8 , 1 John 3:18 , 1 John 4:20

God’s love has been defined by the Actions of Christ:

As he spoke about love, Jesus also lived out this Godly love throughout the gospels. He loved sinners, especially those who knew their distance from God, and those who sought out a relationship with God. His response was always a call to follow him.

As Christ defined it in john 3, God’s love for the world was seen in Christ and his willingness to become the ultimate sacrifice on the behalf of those who could not repay their debt of sin.

He died for those who were already perishing, not for the righteous but for the sinners. Instead of condemning them he came down from his place and position in heaven, suffered at the hands of his creation, died the death all sinners deserve and rescued them from eternal death; he forgave the great debt all of mankind owed.

Christ death was also a fragrant offering to God, meaning it was pleasing to God. Unlike any other offering in the old testament, Christ was not just temporary, he was a permanent solution to mankind's rebellion and sin. While the blood of bulls and goats were just covering for the sin of the Jews, Christ death was the

At his resurrection he made them alive, filling all who believe with his presence, through the Spirit, and extended them new and eternal life. He gave us the right to become children of God, beloved ones who have no need to earn the love already been given.

In turn, as he has modeled love for us, everything we do with the life we’ve been given ought to stem from that love. We must ask the question, if he loved us with his life how can give our lives as living sacrifices, constantly sign to ourselves and bearing our cross according to God’s plan and for the sake of our neighbor. As 1 john 4:11 says, “if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another.”

Considering our love, The question is not, does our blessings, circumstances, resources, etc. show how much God loves us, but does how we live our life, show the world God’s Love? The call of Christ is clear, Do not let your love grow cold. We cannot remain in God’s love and presence, walking with Christ and have a cold heart of love.

Do We Love God & Others as Christ has loved us? This is how people will know that 1) We Belong to God 2) We Are Loved By God 3) We Love God

Mark 10:21, Luke 7:47, John 3:16–17, John 10:17, Romans 5:5, Romans 5:8, Romans 8:35–39, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 2:4–5, Colossians 1:13, 1 John 3:1, 1 John 3:16, 1 John 4:9–11, 1 John 4:19, Matthew 24:12