Imitating God

October 2, 2016                   Notes Not Edited                            
Imitating God
Ephesians 5:1-20

SIS--Everybody is imitating somebody—Christians are called to imitate God.

Originality is a myth.  One great irony in these United States is that we say we value individuality, but we practice imitation.  For example: some the most rebellious and seemingly individualistic people I've ever met are members of the Hell's Angels motorcycle club.  Yet, when you think about it -- they all drive Harley's, they all have tattoos, and they all wear the same wardrobe . . . black leather.

Or, take the FaceBook people.  People on the social networking website are constantly taking these little "Five Question Quizzes" to discover things like, "Which dead president are you most like," or "Which superhero do you most resemble."  People can find out that they think like Lincoln and have anger issues like the Incredible Hulk.

Or, you can take a "cheesy Bible quiz" to find out which Bible character you are most like. Results might show you have a heart for worship like David or courage like Daniel.

The point I'm making is:  "originality is a myth."

The wise old king, Solomon, said many centuries ago

"Whatever has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

Innovation in the church has almost become a cult in itself in these modern days.  If you want to sell a few million books all you have to do is publish a book with a title like, "Out with the Old and in with the New" or "Breaking the Mold of Traditional Worship" or any other title that smacks of innovation.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for "improvement" in the way we present the gospel to each new generation.  I'm all for "new methods" of presenting the Old Gospel -- but, I don't want to become part of the cult of innovation. And, here's why . . .

The Bible does not call us to be "innovators" but it calls us to be "imitators!"  Imitation of God is a command.  Paul says quite clearly and directly,

"Be imitators of God." (Eph. 5:1)

As we read our text this morning, this will become perfectly clear.

The original word for imitation should sound familiar to you:  it is memētēs.  It means, "to mimic."

Have you ever purchased a "cheap imitation?" I mean, like a watch you buy from a man on the street wearing a trench coat.  He opens his coat and dozens of shiny watches are hanging in rows.  Some may even say, "Rolex" on them.  You get them at a really big discount only to discover after a few days that the fake gold is flaking off and you could keep better time with sundial strapped to your wrist.

We all know about "cheap imitations," or what is referred to as a "knock off."  Cheap imitations are just that "cheap and worthless."

This is not what Paul had in mind when the Holy Spirit directed him to exhort us to "Imitate God."

In the text we see at least five qualities or attitudes, or virtues if you will, that we should imitate as we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us more fully into God's image. The only life God blesses is one seeking to imitate Him.  Let's read Eph. 5:1-20:

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷ Therefore do not be partners with them. ⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴ for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” ¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. ¹⁹ Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

There are at least four qualities offered in our text that describe the virtues we should have as we imitate God.

1.  We should walk in sacrificial LOVE (vv. 1-2)

I hear a lot of talk about "love" in and around church, but I wonder if we really take seriously what it means.

God clearly states "what kind" of love we are to imitate.  Look at v 2:

"and live a life of love just as Christ loved us and GAVE himself up for us as a fragrant offering and SACRIFICE to God."

Imitating the love of God means "giving yourself as a sacrifice for others."  Here's how one person described walking in the love of God:

"Christ's call is to feed the hungry. . . to save the lost, [to] call sinners to repentance; not to build and furnish comfortable chapels, churches and cathedrals at home in which to rock [Christians] to sleep by means of clever essays, stereotyped prayers and artistic musical performances, but to. . . capture men from the devil's clutches and snatch them from the very jaws of hell."

This was written by C.T. Studd almost 100 years ago. CT Studd inherited a fortune from his father, one of the wealthiest men in England.  C.T. Studd was (and still is) considered one of the greatest cricket players England has ever known.  He could have lived a life of ease and admiration -- but instead, became a missionary to some of the most destitute people on earth in the land of China.

For C.T. Studd, loving like Jesus loved meant sacrificially giving away one's life in order to "snatch men's souls from the very jaws of hell."  When we think of "love" we think of candlelight and romance.  When the Word talks about love, it means a "cross and resurrection."  We cannot say we are "imitating" the Love of God if we are not mimicking the life of Christ.

The Greek word for "imitate" is mimetes.  The English equivalent is "mimic," which means to "copy."  Interestingly, there is no parallel in the O.T. to "imitating God."  This would have been foreign to the Jews who would not even speak God's name.  There was nothing to mimic in the O.T. because Jesus had not yet come to be the "exact representation of the invisible God" as we learn from Col.1:15.

We imitate the love of God when we love like Jesus loved -- sacrificially.  Warm feelings or thoughts of romance are as far from the idea of God's agape love as one could imagine.  Sacrifice, not sentimentality, characterizes the love of God.

If your heart is not hurting for a lost world, you are not imitating the love of God. 

2.  We should walk in HOLINESS (3-5; 8-18)

Living a holy life is the very essence of imitating God.
The Lord God says:

“ ‘Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. ⁸ Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy." Lev 20:7-8

There are two ideas in Christendom in regard to holiness that are equally false.

One view says that we can be "holy" exactly in the same way as God is "holy" and therefore reach sinless perfection.  The Nazarene Church and other holiness type churches in Wesleyan (Methodist) tradition hold to the view that absolute perfection is possible in this life. Even if the Nazarene Church could prove this in theory (which they cannot do very well), they certainly have never proven it in practice.  We can never "be God" and thus hold any virtue in an absolute sense.

Another view is equally false and held by many in Christendom--including some Baptists.  This view of holiness teaches that we are so utterly (totally) depraved that we can never achieve holiness in this life.  This extreme view is as false as the other.

The clear Biblical teaching is that we not only can be holy, but we "must be holy."  God provides the Holy Spirit to accomplish this task.

God would not command us to do that which it would be impossible for us to achieve.  In fact, look carefully at this text in Leviticus (repeated word for word in 1Pet. 1:16).  The essence of moral holiness is to "keep God's decrees" (ei. obey His Word).

Now, let's go back to Ephesians 5 to see what it looks like to imitate the holiness of God.  Verse 15 gives us the essence of "holy living."

"Be very careful."

Unfortunately, many Christians do live in just the opposite way --they live careless, apathetic lives in regard to the things of God.  This is not good.

If we are to "imitate" the holiness of God, verses 3-5 and 8-18 give us an idea of the things we should carefully avoid.

³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

These are strong, direct, clear words outlining how we should live as Christians.  The Word does not stop there but amplifies what it means to live a holy life.  Look at verses 8-18 again:

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴ for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” ¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

Using the most forceful language possible Paul completely obliterates the erroneous idea that a person can claim to be right with God and live and unholy life. An "unholy Christian" is an oxymoron.

If we claim to be imitators of God, there are attitudes, actions, and circumstances we MUST avoid.

But, holiness does not consist only of what we avoid,
but also what we oppose.  Look at verse 10:

¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

It is not enough that we avoid evil, we must also
expose it by our words and by our deeds.

If we are going to "imitate God" we must earnestly and carefully pursue a life in obedience to His commands.  This means we must first, learn what those commands are through a thorough grasp of God's Word, and then carefully put them into practice.

3.  We must walk in TRUTH (v. 6)

The idea of "absolute truth" is under attack in our culture today -- including an attack from the inside by what is being called, "the Emerging Church."

I submit to you that if there is no such thing as "absolute" truth there is no such thing as truth. . . period.  All that is left is opinion and the opinion of man is less than a shaky foundation to build any society on and certainly too flimsy a foundation to build a hope for eternity upon.

Truth is under attack today and a believer who wants to imitate God must defend it.  Jesus said,  "I am the truth"

Don't shut out the truth.  The "truth will set people free."  Don't be like one wife I read about.  One time a woman and her friend were visiting mutual friends about fifty miles from home.  After a wonderful day of visiting, it was time to go home.  As the woman tried to open the car door, he noticed she had locked the keys in the car.  They tried using a wire coat hanger to open the door, but the new electric locks made it impossible.  Finally, the woman said, "I'll have to call my husband to bring the spare."  She called.  The husband was very annoyed to have to drive 50 miles to unlock his wife's car, but set out on his way.  After a few minutes one of the friends noticed that a back door was unlocked.  She rushed in to tell the wife that she could call the husband (who was really upset) that the back door was unlocked and he can turn around and go back home.  The wife was horrified.  She said, "Oh no!  Wait 'til my husband hears this.  He'll be even more upset."  Trying to calm her one friend asked, "Well, what can you do. You just made a mistake."  The wife said, "I know what I'll do."  She ran to the car.  Opened the unlocked door.  Pushed down the locked and slammed the door shut!" We mistakenly think that our lies are more helpful than God's Truth.

Friends, I'm afraid many times we in the church are like that wife and are afraid to expose the truth of the matter.  Walking in truth will necessarily put you in uncomfortable situation.  But, if we are going to imitate God by following Christ we need to remember:

"Jesus is THE truth." Lying or ignoring the truth is not how we imitate God.  We imitate God by always, "Speaking the truth in love."  Never let someone deceive you by leading you away from walking in the truth.  Truth is the foundation for everything we do.

4.  By walking in WORSHIP (vv. 19-20)

Now, since we usually have a very narrow view of worship, someone might ask:  "How can we imitate God through worship, when God worships no one or no thing?  

That's a good question and it goes to the heart of what worship is.  While God is indeed the object of our worship there is another aspect to worship that has almost totally been ignored or forgotten in the modern church.  

Worship is about "community."  It is about a unified body mutually surrendering their individuality to engage in the deepest form of community.  Worship is much more about an attitude than an action.  Paul described the attitude we should have when we come together just a few verses before.  He said,

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

When we are worshipping God together with "one mind, one heart for one purpose" we are imitating as near as humanly possible the Eternal Community of the Godhead -- the Trinity.

God is One but also Three.  The very nature of God is the foundation for community and the only foundation for true worship.  When we are together with one heart and mind in worship, we imitate God.

The sad reality is that most people remain individuals when they worship and never fully engage with the others that are around them.  This does not imitate the unity of the Godhead.  This does not honor Our Lord's Prayer in which He prays that,

"they may be one as we are one" (Jn. 17:22b)

If there is any great deficiency in the modern worship practices of the church is that we have lost the sense of "community," or common purpose when we gather.

I read about an interesting exchange between two young boys.  One of the young boys had taken a stapler from his father's desk and the two boys were discussing this fascinating new toy.

"What is this thing, a gun?" said Billy. "This is a stapler. Don't you know what a stapler is?" said John. "No, what is it?" "It holds papers together like this." "I would like to have one," said Billy.  "You don't need one," said John. "Why, I like to hold things together," said Billy.  Hold that thought for a minute.

We all need to be held together by certain forces in our lives. We are constantly bombarded by situations and circumstances that divide our minds, our hearts, divide our families, and divide us from our friends.

When we imitate God through true worship, we gain a sense of unity that gives us a strength we could never achieve on our own. Worship is essential to becoming "like God in Christ."

Worship plays a role similar to that of the staple. It may go unnoticed but supplies a real cohesive force in binding family, friends, and the church together.

When we worship together and when explore our common faith, we discover a sense of unity that imitates that of the very Oneness of the Trinity.  We come closest to being the "image of God" when we are gathered together in worship.

I'm impressed by how often the Word shows Jesus taking time away to "worship" God.  The Word says,

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. (Lk 4:16)

It was Jesus' "custom" (habitual, regular practice) to attend worship services in the synagogue -- and not only attend, but to participate enthusiastically.

We are imitating God through Christ when we "habitually" attend and enthusiastically participate in worship.  Look back at verse 2 again,

"and live a life of love just as Christ loved us, and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

That idea, "fragrant offering" is used throughout the Bible.  The first time we see it is in Genesis 8:21 after God had spared Noah and his family from the flood.  The Word says, 

²⁰ Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. ²¹ The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood.

Noah's response to God's salvation was one of sacrificial worship.  The Word says that the "sacrifice of Noah's worship pleased God."

Walking in worship imitates the very nature of God and it pleases Him when we offer ourselves to Him in worship.

FaceBook provides a never-ending supply of "Five Minute Quizzes" to find out who we most resemble -- from Bible characters to canines.

But, there is no quick "five minute quiz" to determine how well we are doing in "imitating God." There is, however, one measure we can apply to evaluate our progress in "Imitating God."  Are we growing and becoming more like Jesus Christ everyday.

Try this "Four Question Quiz."  Are you walking in sacrificial love?  Are you being truly sanctified by living a holy life which not only avoids, but exposes the evil in our world?  Are you walking in obedience to the truth of God's Word and defending it in the marketplace of the world? Are you habitually attending the worship services of the church, and enthusiastically participating?

Paul said, "Imitate God."  How's your score?