The Means of Following God (1)

Ephesians 5:2 declares: And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour. Now that we know the meaning of following (mimicking) God (v. 1), we now are compelled to ask, “How can we possibly do that? Is it really possible to mimic God? Isn’t that somewhat naïve? Isn’t that a bit exaggerated? Didn’t Paul get a little carried away? How can we who are sinful and who live in a sinful world be mimics of God?” The answer to those questions is found in viewing the attributes (characteristics) of God.

First, there is what we call God’s “Natural Attributes.” These are those characteristics that describe what God is in His nature and include His omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, eternality, sovereignty, and immutability. These attributes are what are called “incommunicable,” that is, unable to be passed on to man.

Second, however, are God’s “Moral Attributes.” These are the characteristics that describe God’s character and what He does; they include His holiness, righteousness, justice, mercy, grace, and love. These attributes, on the other hand, are “communicable,” that is, able to be passed on to men. God can (and does) communicate holiness, righteousness, justice, mercy, grace, and love to men so we can manifest them in their lives.

So, how can we mimic God? By manifesting His moral attributes. We can indeed mimic God by possessing His “character attributes.” For example, we can possess holiness through Christ and live a holy life (I Pet. 1:16). We can “follow after righteousness” (I Tim. 6:11). We are to “think on” and then “do” the things that are just (Phil. 4:8-9). God will judge us if we do not show mercy to fellow believers (Jas. 2:13). It is by showing grace that we can truly serve the Lord (Heb. 12:28).

In light of all that, we now see another way we mimic God through his moral attributes, and that is by [walking] in love. We have seen the word love (agape) many times in Ephesians and recall its meaning, “a self-emptying self-sacrifice.” We now see something in our text that is quite fascinating—love is actually used three different ways in the verses before us.

First, love is used as an adjective. The word “dear” (v. 1) is actually a form of agape (agapetos), which would allow “dear children” to be translated “loved children.” As noted back in our study of 2:4, agape was actually rather colorless in secular Greek. It originally carried an element of sym­pathy and spoke of the love of a person of higher rank for one of a lower rank; it even went so far as to speak of a love that was not self‑seeking. But the Lord Jesus transformed it, giving the deeper meaning of being totally sacrificial. As the same authority says, “[It] thus creates a new people who will tread the way of self-sacrificing love that [Christ] took.” As Christ was self-sacrificing in His love, we do the same.

Meditate for a moment on Matthew 3:16-17. Moments after Jesus’ baptism, “the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” “Beloved” is again agapetos. Do you see the implication? Think of it! God loves us as much as He loves His Son, Who is “the first born among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29). Jesus, in fact, confirmed this in His high priestly prayer in John 17:23, where He prays that the Father has “loved them [i.e., those the Father gave to the Son, the elect, v. 6, 9, 11-12, 20, 24], as thou hast loved Me” (emphasis added).

Second, love is used as a noun (agape). We are told to walk in [a self-emptying self-sacrifice]. As we’ve seen several times, walk is peripateo, literally “to walk about,” that is, how we conduct ourselves as we walk through life. Love, then, is how we conduct ourselves. It must be the basic attitude of the believer. There must be a love for the Lord and spiritual things and a love for other believers. Love must be the root characteristic of our lives.

Third, however, and most important of all, love is used as a verb (as Christ also hath loved us). People speak so lightly about love, but the crux of the matter is this: true love always expresses itself by an action. Our definition shows this fact. As God’s love was shown by the act of giving Christ, so our love is demonstrated by the act of giving ourselves to God and to others. May we mark it down, “a love” that does not give is not real love; “love” that is not a verb is not real love. Love must prove itself. We’ll continue these thought next time.