Ephesians - Rooted wk 11

Imitating the Father

The theme for this section this morning is Be ye imitators of God.

Paul is simply arguing that children are like their parents, a fact that can be both encouraging and embarrassing to those of us who have children.

Have you ever seen a child sitting in the front seat of an automobile, trying to drive like his father!

Or walking behind him, pretending to mow the lawn?

Or, sad to say, imitating Dad smoking a cigarette or taking a drink of alcohol?

Children probably learn more by watching and imitating than any other way.

If we are the children of God, then we ought to imitate our Father.

This is the basis for the three admonitions in this section.

God is love (1 John 4:8); therefore, “walk in love” (Eph. 5:1–2).

God is light (1 John 1:5); therefore, walk as children of light (Eph. 5:3–14).

God is truth (1 John 5:6); therefore, walk in wisdom (Eph. 5:15–17).

Of course, each of these “walks” is a part of Paul’s exhortation to “walk in purity.”

Walk in Love

Ephesians 5:1–2 NASB95

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

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

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

It takes a real love in the heart, for “charity [love] shall cover the multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).

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

He 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); and since “God is love” it is logical that God’s children will walk in love.

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.

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

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

He is God’s beloved child.

“Be ye imitators of God as beloved children.”

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

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

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.

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

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

He 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).

But He laid down His life for His enemies (Rom. 5:10).

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

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

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

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).

Walk as Children of Light

Ephesians 5:3–14 NASB95

3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them; 8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light 9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. 14 For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”

We are Saints (3-4)

That is, we are “set-apart ones” and no longer belong to the world of darkness around us.

We have been “called out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

It is beneath the dignity of a saint to indulge in the sins that belong to the world of darkness, some of which Paul names here.

He warns us against the sexual sins (fornication, uncleanness) which were so prevalent in that day—and are prevalent today.

Sad to say, these sins have invaded the homes of Christians and brought grief to local churches too.

“Covetousness” may seem out of place next to fornication, but the two sins are but different expressions of the same basic weakness of fallen nature—uncontrolled appetite.

The fornicator and the covetous person each desire to satisfy the appetite by taking what does not belong to them.

“The lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes” (1 John 2:16) would describe these two sins.

“Let there not be even a hint of these sins!” said Paul.

In verse 4 he warned against sins of the tongue, which, of course, are really sins of the heart.

It is not difficult to see the relationship between the sins named in v. 3 and those in v. 4.

People who have base appetites usually cultivate a base kind of speech and humor, and often people who want to commit sexual sins, or have committed them, enjoy jesting about them.

Two indications of a person’s character are what makes him laugh and what makes him weep.

The saint of God sees nothing humorous in obscene language or jests.

“Foolish talking” does not mean innocent humor but rather senseless conversation that cheapens the man and does not edify or minister grace to the hearers (Eph. 4:29).

Paul is not condemning small talk because much conversation falls into that classification.

He is condemning foolish talk that accomplishes no good purpose.

Jesting is a translation of a word that means “able to turn easily.”

This suggests a certain kind of conversationalist who can turn any statement into a coarse jest.

The gift of wit is a blessing, but when it is attached to a filthy mind or a base motive, it becomes a curse.

There are quick-witted people who can pollute any conversation with jests that are always inconvenient (out of place).

How much better it is for us to be quick to give thanks!

This is certainly the best way to give glory to God and keep the conversation pure.

Christians who have God’s Word in their hearts (Col. 3:16) will always season their speech with salt (Col. 4:6); for grace in the heart means grace on the lips.

We are Kings Vv. 5-6

When we trusted Christ, we entered into the kingdom of God (John 3:3); but we are also awaiting the full revelation of His kingdom when He returns (2 Tim. 4:1).

Paul makes it clear that people who deliberately and persistently live in sin will not share in God’s kingdom.

“They which practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:21, literal translation).

“Whoremonger” is a translation of the Greek word pornos, from which we get our word pornography, and it means “one who practices fornication—illicit sex.”

The morally unclean and the covetous will join the fornicator in judgment.

Paul equates covetousness with idolatry, for it is the worship of something other than God.

These warnings deal with the habitual practice of sin, and not the occasional act of sin.

David committed adultery, yet God forgave him and one day took him to heaven.

Certainly David was disciplined for his sin, but he was not rejected by God.

In Paul’s day, there were false Christians who argued that believers could live in sin and get away with it.

These deceivers had many arguments to convince ignorant Christians that they could sin repeatedly and still enter God’s kingdom.

“You were saved by grace!” they argued.

“Therefore go ahead and sin that God’s grace might abound!”

Paul answered that foolish argument in Romans 6.

“Sin in the life of a believer is different from sin in the life of an unsaved person!”

Yes—it’s worse! God judges sin no matter where He finds it, and He does not want to find it in the life of one of His own children.

I personally believe that no true Christian can ever be lost, but he will prove the reality of his faith by an obedient life.

There are many professors who are not possessors (Matt. 7:21–23).

A Christian is not sinless, but he does sin less—and less—and less!

The Christian is a king, and it is beneath his dignity to indulge in the practices of the lost world that is outside the kingdom of God.

We are Light Vv. 7-14

This figure is the main thrust of the passage, for Paul was admonishing his readers to “walk as children of light.”

Paul did not say that we were “in the darkness,” but that we “were darkness.”

Now that we are saved, “what communion hath light with darkness?”

After all, light produces fruit, but the works of darkness are unfruitful as far as spiritual things are concerned.

“For the fruit of the Spirit [or “the light”] is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.”

It is impossible to be in darkness and light at the same time!

The light produces “goodness,” one manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22).

Goodness is “love in action.”

Righteousness means rightness of character before God and rightness of actions before men.

Both of these qualities are based on truth, which is conformity to the Word and will of God.

To “walk as children of light” means to live before the eyes of God, not hiding anything.

It is relatively easy to hide things from other people because they cannot see our hearts and minds; but “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13).

Walking “as children of light” also means revealing God’s light in our daily lives.

By our character and conduct, we bring God’s light into a dark world.

As God’s lights, we help others find their way to Christ.

Light reveals God; light produces fruit; but light also exposes what is wrong.

The light reveals the truth and exposes the true character of things.

This explains why the unsaved person stays clear of the church and the Bible.

God’s light reveals his true character, and the exposure is not very complimentary.

As we Christians walk in light, we refuse to fellowship with the darkness, and we expose the dark things of sin for what they really are.

V. 12 gives us a caution.

Be careful how you deal with the “unfruitful works of darkness.”

The motto today seems to be, “Tell it like it is!”

And yet that can be a dangerous policy when it comes to exposing the filthy things of darkness, lest we unconsciously advertise and promote sin.

The believer has no business in the darkness.

He is a saint, which means he is a partaker “of the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:12).

He is a king, because he has been delivered “from the power of darkness” and has been translated “into the kingdom of His dear Son” (Col. 1:13).

He is “light in the Lord” (Eph. 5:8).