This morning we are continuing our study through Ephesians by moving into chapter five. I really hope that our study through chapter four has been helpful to you. All that we have studied in those lessons sets the scene for what we are looking at this morning. But as we begin, let me call one specific section back to your mind: Ephesians 4:17-24. Remember we talked about true conversion? It is a rejection of the empty thinking of the world, and a renewal of the mind into the image of the likeness of God. I want you to keep that in mind as we go through our study this morning. Since we have quite a bit of territory to cover I want to avoid a long introduction, and jump right into our discussion right now. Let’s read our text, then examine it.
“(1) Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. (2) And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (3) But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. (4) Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. (5) For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no 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.” (Ephesians 5:1–6, ESV)
1) We must be IMITATORS of God as CHILDREN. (v. 1-2)
One of the most heartwarming things to me is a child imitating their mother or father. A few years ago my son got a pulpit for Christmas. Right now it is set up in the corner of his room. Every so often I will catch the kids “playing church” (which of course I mean in the best way possible). He will get up and preach, they will sing songs, and pray. Sometimes mommy and I will get involved, too. Now I don’t know whether he will grow up to be a preacher. But I can remember back to my own childhood, and that’s how it starts. I wanted to imitate my own dad, and preach like him. I even remember asking my grandfather to build me a pulpit.
And that’s how children learn to be adults, isn’t it? They play, pretending to do what the “big people” do. And then, eventually, they actually start doing what the “big people” do. Maybe that’s why the Holy Spirit chose to put things this way in our passage. Look at the first two verses of our text with me again:
“(1) Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. (2) And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1–2, ESV)
Let’s start with the word “therefore.” This is our connection to everything we talked about in chapter four. I hope you remember our study of Eph. 4:23 a few weeks back, where Paul told them to “be renewed in the spirit of your minds.” Then in the next verse (v. 24), he tells them to “put on the new self, created after the likeness of God.” He even gives a specific example of where to imitate God, in being forgiving: “Forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (v. 32). Everything that Paul is saying in those passages could be summed up (and is summed up) into this one statement: Be imitators of God.
Don’t just be an admirer of God. Don’t just be a respecter of God. Don’t just be an evangelist for God. Be an imitator of God. Don’t just meditate on his word. Put it into practice. Don’t just speak of how much you love Jesus. Do everything you can to be like him.
Now the need to do this seems pretty obvious. So how can you this? Let me just give you three quick suggestions. I won’t go into a huge amount of detail, but maybe these suggestions can get you started in your personal study.
First, you need to know what he is really like. Be sure you have an accurate mental picture of Jesus. Spend time reading the New Testament. Make notes in your Bible as you read through the Gospels of the passages that show insight into Jesus’ character. Then as you read Acts and the Epistles, look for how others lived those things out. See how Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and John give commands that reinforce those things. For a verse that expresses this idea, consider what Peter said in 1 Peter 3:18—“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Grow in your knowledge of what Jesus said, and did, and who he really is. Then be ready to compare those notes with your own life.
Second, you need to know what you are really like. We have a tendency to fool ourselves about what we are really like. Pride blinds us into thinking we are perfectly rational people who behave correctly 99% of the time… when the truth may be far from that! And worse, often everyone else can see it better than we can. James warns of the kind of person who is merely a hearer of God’s word, who looks at himself in the “mirror” of Scripture, and may feel a brief stirring of need to change. But then he (or she) simply… doesn’t. That feeling never goes anywhere. That person forgets what they saw, what they are really like (James 1:23-24). John outright says in 1 John 1:8, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” It’s important to remember that while we can fool other people, and we (alarmingly) can even fool ourselves, we can’t fool God! He knows the truth about us. He knows the truth about you. And for you to make real, positive change in your life you must also know the truth about yourself. Again, I could make a whole sermon out of this one point, but consider what Paul told the church in Corinth on this point:
“(5) Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Corinthians 13:5, ESV)
Third, identify and imitate those who imitate him. It’s one thing to read about some skill in a book. It’s another thing to watch someone who has mastered that skill. Maybe that’s why the author of Hebrews wrote—
“(11) And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, (12) so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:11–12, ESV)
Paul wrote, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). He told the church in Philippi to “join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us” (Phil. 3:17). Christianity is a religion of imitation. A major part of faithful living consists of imitating other faithful people. Even when we read Scripture and see how we ought to live, we’re just trying to imitate Paul, or other faithful Christians like him. And they were just trying to imitate Jesus. And along with his sacrifice for our sins, Jesus came and lived an example for us to follow. John wrote, “Whoever says he abides in him [Jesus] ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (1 John 2:6). It’s all about imitation.
What John wrote is what Paul was also getting at in verse two of our text. “Walk in love, as Christ loved.” As Christ. Like Christ. Being Christ-like.
Let’s give a moment to the command to “walk in love.” This is really a parallel statement to verse one—they mean practically the same thing. Paul has already spent time emphasizing the need to “walk” (i.e. “live”) in a manner worthy of a Christian (Eph. 4:1). That includes humility, gentleness, and patience, with a desire to keep peace (4:2-3). It means walking in righteousness and holiness, unlike the Gentiles (4:24). It means living out the list of things we looked at a couple weeks ago (4:25-32). It means being kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving as God in Christ forgave you (4:32). It means loving as Jesus loved others, and loved God. Jesus laid this out and John recorded it in John 13:34-35—
“(34) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. (35) By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”” (John 13:34–35, ESV)
And here’s the deal: If we concentrate on being imitators of God, imitators of Christ, imitators of faithful Christians who we see around us, then we won’t be involved in any of what we read about in verses 3-5. We will make every effort to please God. Because to do otherwise is to become something you really don’t want to be: An instigator of his wrath.
2) We must NOT be INSTIGATORS of God’s wrath. (v. 3-6)
Let’s take a moment and read through the rest of our passage:
“(3) But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. (4) Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. (5) For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no 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.” (Ephesians 5:3–6, ESV)
What Paul deals with in verses 3-5 is unfortunately common among religious folk today. We live in highly sexualized society. If you don’t believe me, just walk through the grocery store sometime and pay attention to the covers of the magazines (or don’t). Make note of the advertisements you see on TV. Consider the content of what’s popular on TV and in movies. For a culture that thinks it’s educated and “evolved” when it comes to this subject, it looks a lot more to me like we have a group of junior high boys running our ad agencies, and locker room conversations providing the inspiration for the plots of major movies. Sexuality isn’t treated with respect, honor, and the appreciation it deserves. It’s not used the way God intended it.
But this isn’t just a modern problem. It was evidently a problem in Ephesus, too. Idolatry was prevalent, and Ephesus was known for the temple to Artemis (Diana). The idol was considered a goddess of fertility, and part of the worship of the false goddess included prostitution. Without digging too much further, then, it ought to be obvious that those in the church in Ephesus may have been struggling with similar problems to ours today.
Paul warns them that these things must not be named among them. Sexual immorality is a blanket term, referring to all kinds of sexual sins (fornication, adultery, incest, homosexual behavior, et al.). “Impurity” refers to lustful, or lascivious thinking. Covetousness here is likely connected more to being greedy for sexually immoral behavior than for material possessions. It’s also interesting to note the connection between covetousness, which is idolatry, and sexual immorality in a city known for a temple where the worship included prostitution. In verse four he tells them that even the way they talk about sexuality needs to be pure as well. It’s not fitting to speak obscenely, or joke crudely about sexuality.
In verse five Paul tells us something we can be sure about—everyone who practices these things has no inheritance in the kingdom of God. I don’t want to get into a deep study of the use of the word “inheritance” in this lesson, but let me point out a few things which “inheritance” is connected to: Eternal life (Mark 10:17); Salvation (Heb. 1:14); Being rescued from darkness and brought into light (Col. 1:12-13). What we’re talking about is heaven. To put it bluntly for the sake of understanding, Paul is saying you can’t practice these things and go to heaven.
Verse six is where the concept of being an instigator comes in: Paul says it’s because of these kinds of behavior that God is bringing his wrath against people. Don’t be fooled. Don’t be fooled into thinking you can dabble in it and be okay. Don’t be fooled into thinking that God doesn’t care, or will turn a blind eye. Don’t be guilty of instigating God’s wrath against you because you do what others are doing to incur God’s wrath against them.
But go back with me to the last part of verse four. At the end of the verse Paul gives an alternative to the lewd and crude talk that Christians ought to avoid. He says, “But instead let there be thanksgiving.” Of course this can be taken generally, but I want to focus in on the proper perspective on the sexual relationship for just a moment. God gave it to us not so we could abuse ourselves, or use other people for this purpose. God gave it to us as a blessing. A blessing for which we ought to be thankful! That is, if it’s done within the proper context. And the writer of Hebrews gives us the only proper context for sexual activity:
“(4) Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” (Hebrews 13:4, ESV)
Let me be clear about something else: Past sins of this nature can, and will be forgiven of the person who repents. That was true for the Ephesians, too. But what Paul is saying is that once a person is a Christian, they ought to be an imitator of God, of Christ—and they can’t continue to live their life in that way! To do so is “not proper,” and is “out of place.”
Next week we will continue our study with Ephesians 5:7-20, and think further on what it means to “walk as children of light” (verse 8). But for this week I want to end with this one question: Are you an imitator of God, or an instigator of his wrath? The good news of the gospel is that he offers anyone who has been an instigator of his wrath forgiveness. He offers an opportunity to become an imitator of him, through obeying the gospel, and being a disciple of his beloved son Jesus. Do you need to respond to that gospel call today?