How to Live as an Imitator of God

Good morning, saints!

In many ways much of what we have talked about so far this year in our church’s study in so far as Building on Our Heritage has to do with imitation.

The challenge of this passage is one of the greatest challenges in all the Word of God. The great pattern for the believer is to imitate God. The believer is to follow the Person of God. The believer is to walk through life following after the God of the Bible

Today’s message is entitled How to Live as Imitators of God because it is necessary to understand who it is we are following. [revise] So with our remaining time we are going to look for Two Characteristics Necessary to Live Life as an Imitator of God

I. Imitate God

Ephesians 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children”

“Therefore” indicates back to what Paul said in chapter 4:17 – that is to say –

Ephesians 4:17 “…that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind.”

And he give particular references to the Gentiles, plural – meaning, we are not to walk or imitate what the rest of the pagans or the Gentiles emulate.

Why? Because we are no longer of an unredeemed stock.

You have experienced the forgiveness of Christ…You are being refreshed and renewed. Your hearts have been enlightened by the light of salvation. And with that comes a spiritual understanding that God has called you and to two closely related things: (1) imitate him and (2) walk in love.

Take note of the first word – imitate.

mimētḗs – from where we get the word mimic – referring to a person who copies specific characteristics of another person.

In other words, now that you are no longer walking according to the course of this world (Eph. 2:2), Paul said to God’s people that we to imitate God’s characteristics! And what that looks like is giving to us by Paul in Eph. 4:24 –

Ephesians 4:24 “…and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

We ought to understand that our emulation of Christ ultimately leads to the truth about God the Father. Our imitation of Christ inevitably leads to the truth about our purpose in Him and who we are in salvation.

Our imitation of God invariably leads to the truth about our fellowship with one another. Now, notice what Paul is NOT saying – he is not saying to BE GOD – he’s not repeating the deceit of the serpent in the Garden – all Paul is saying to us is that we are to follow after the pattern and character of God Himself as seen in the Person of Jesus Christ who has seen the Father and has explained him (John 1:18)

And putting on these new characteristics is patterned – notice what Paul said in v. 24 – in “righteousness and holiness of the truth.” – in other words, this is your true self, now.

Your former life is gone in Christ.

“He has broken the power of cancelled sin,
he set the prisoner free;
his blood can make the foulest clean;
his blood availed for me.”

Because of the Cross, your truest self now is seen in your life – its seen in your living for Him – salvation life is actualized in your emulation of Him – in righteousness and holiness of the truth!

John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

That is to say, that the abiding believers in Christ are the only real believers! So then, abiding in Christ brings about the fruit of imitation, the fruit of emulation.

For instance, an illustration that we often use to describe the kind of imitating that Paul describes we are familiar with is that of a son imitating the characteristics of his father.

Like a child imitates their father

We tend to imitate the characteristics of people we know – because we can’t imitate people we don’t know, right?

The people who have the most influence in our lives is that of our parents – our father and mother. They are our first and primary teachers of emulation, whether they like it or not.

Our children tend to emulate even our dress – for instance, I lean toward a particular style of glasses. Well, sure enough, my son Jadon needed a pair of glasses and guess what happened? He leaned toward a similar style that I wear!

I didn’t have to tell Jadon what kind of glasses to buy. He chose all by himself and, interestingly enough, chose a particular style of glasses that was similar to mine – imitation/emulation.

Just recently, my wife Marleah had taken the kids shopping – next thing you know, Jadon comes home with a flannel like the one I’m wearing – imitation/emulation.

And our daughters have a particular style of dress that is similar to their mother’s wardrobe – imitation/emulation.

In fact, our oldest daughter Leayla will rummage through her mother wardrobe now because she can not only wear her mother’s clothing, but to some degree or another she emulates what she sees because she loves her mother – imitation/emulation.

Nalani tends to be a bit of a jokester and a prankster – well, I wonder where she learned that from!

My oldest daughter tends to be a bit more assertive and strong, whereas our youngest Aletheia tends to be sensitive and passionate. Imitation/emulation.

All of our kids are expressive! Imitation/emulation.

Some of our kids love to cook food while, some others hate it – haha – be careful, David! 😉 Imitation/emulation.

Now, if our children can imitate us in those kinds ways – what about our…behavior – particularly our besetting sins? imitation/emulation.

I’m not suggesting they pick up everything from us! But they do pick up a lot, that’s for sure. But the point is we imitate what we know, not what we don’t know.

It would be great if our children only learned our good characteristics! What a great world it would be, amen? But we know that is a theological pipe dream!

The great news is that God has no bad attributes whatsoever! So then, the challenge of this passage is one of the greatest challenges in all the Word of God, knowing that the pattern Paul sets before us is none other than God Himself!

In the book of Acts 11:25-26 we read about the spread of the Gospel after Stephen killed for his faith in Christ

Acts 11:25-26 “And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”

Christ means a follower of Christ. That’s what a disciple of Christ is – we are to pattern ourselves after the Person of Jesus Christ a son patterns himself after his father.

“The term [‘Christian’] only occurs in two other places in the New Testament (Acts 26:28; 1 Pet 4:16). In all three instances it is a term used by outsiders to designate Christians. Evidently the term was not originally used by Christians of themselves. They preferred terms like ‘believers, disciples, brothers.’” – John B. Polhill, Acts (NAC), 273.

So here’s a question for all of us. Do you claim to be a Christian, or are you called a Christian?

“…what is it else to be a disciple of Christ but to be a Christian? But when they began plainly to be called that which they were, the use of the name served greatly to set forth the glory of Christ, because by this means they referred all their religion unto Christ alone. This was, therefore, a most excellent worship for the city of Antioch, that Christ brought forth his name thence like a standard, whereby it might be made known to all the world that there was some people whose captain was Christ, and which did glory in his name.” – John Calvin, Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles, 472.

Who/what are you living for? Who are you imitating/emulating? Right now, you are emulating something – the question is what.

God’s will for all his disciples is that we follow him – imitate him – emulate him.

1 John 2:6 “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

“Christ is our perfect example in all things. We have been given many other examples in the scriptures as well. Some are good examples and some are bad ones. We are given good examples that we may clearly see God's pattern. Bad examples show us wrong patterns. By these poor examples God is seeking to reveal what is often difficult for us to recognize in the middle of our own circumstances. God uses both good and bad examples to move us toward his own likeness. God not only wants us to look to be the right examples, but he also wants each one of us to be the right kind of examples for others. We need to remember that we already are some sort of example to others. The question is, what kind?” (Stuart Scott, “The Exemplary Husband, p. 6)

Who are you imitating/emulating?

This is not much different from the Apostle James’ letter to Jewish believers who had been dispersed as a result of their imitating Christ.

And James 2:26 “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”

That is to say, the only possible evidence of true saving faith is by the works of a changed life – imitation, emulation.

We are going to live as an imitator of our God or will imitate a dead faith – which takes us back to Paul’s statement in Ephesians 2:2 – that kind of imitation is, as Paul described is in accordance to the course of this world…

Ephesians 2:1-2 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.”

Friend, where does your life stand right now? Is your faith alive or dead? If your faith is a dead faith – are you thirsty for the Living water that only Christ can offer to you?

There’s a powerful scene in the Gospel accounts of Jesus meeting a Samaritan Woman at the well – this woman had no hope – that is until she came face to face with Christ. And it was on that day that she abided in Christ and what did she do – she began to live for him, and she told others…I have a video for you that I hope will be helpful to illustrate this.

[PLEASE INSERT VIDEO of the Chosen] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ordhsDeAt60 ]

Listen, that would be us – who got you food?

Christian, our motivation for following after Christ is because we are to imitate God…

Like you are His beloved child

John 14:15 ““If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

What the Apostle John is saying is that a love for Christ follows that of obedience – it follows a growing life of imitation – and to know what God is like follows that we understand his Word.

Your imitation of Christ in your life corresponds to your understanding and comprehension of who He is in His Word.

I read a story about a man named Alexander The Great. If you don’t know who he is, you ought to. He is called by many the greatest military leader in world history. He’s actually written about in OT prophetic literature.

He was given the title “the great” because he never lost a battle, and many have endeavored to imitate his military strategy and genius. At one point, Alexander found a coward amongst his military ranks who also went by the name “Alexander.”

You want to know what he told this young man – here’s what he said – “renounce your cowardice or renounce your name.”

My friends, if we so bare the name of the King of Kings and Lord of lords, it follows that we bare the fruit or characteristics of Christ Himself.

For those of us who do know and love Jesus – it follows that we will most certainly, not perfectly…

II. Walk in Love

Ephesians 5:2 “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.”

The only way this can be lived out is supernatural- requiring a new nature. And with a new nature follows new behavior brought about by the Spirit of Grace residing in us to bring about those characteristics…

Living for him is supernatural – are we praying to God in order to bear fruit for Him? Just what does your prayer life look like, by the way?

“Living for Jesus Who died in my place,
Bearing on Calv’ry my sin and disgrace;
Such love constrains me to answer His call,
Follow His leading and give Him my all.”

We are supernatural imitators with a supernatural love only because…

Because He first loved us.

You do realize that, yes? Or do you not believe what God says about you?

[[[Could you PLEASE INSERT a front cover image of Pastor Viars’ book Do you believe What God says about You?]]]

Because He sacrificed for us.

1 John 3:16 - We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

John 15:13- Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

Do you see the pattern?

Because He is a fragrant aroma to God.

Hebrews 10:11-12 - Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God…

What do we smell like? [give a bit more commentary]

Romans 12:1-2 - Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Are our lives bearing out the characteristics of our Master and Lord? [give a bit more commentary]

2 Corinthians 2:14-16a - But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an
aroma from life to life.

Jesus said that if we are to follow him, that means living for him. And living for him means imitating him. [give a bit more commentary, but not too much for the sake of time]

Acts 4:13 - Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

Self-explanatory, isn’t it?