Made New: An Ephesians Book Studyنموونە

When I was in elementary school, my best friend and I walked to 7-Eleven to get slurpees on a hot summer day. My little sister tagged along. When we arrived, I grabbed a cup and went in for the cherry flavor. My sister followed suit. In an attempt to dodge her copycat behavior, I changed my mind to Coca-Cola. She changed her mind, too. Annoyed now, I changed course a third time and moved on to blue raspberry. Guess which flavor all of a sudden became appealing to her? I admitted defeat and returned to my original choice. All the way home, my sister and I sipped matching cherry slurpees.

Oscar Wilde is credited with saying, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” We can all probably drop the name of someone who has imitated or copied us at some point. Maybe a younger sibling followed you around like a puppy dog when you were younger. Or a friend started dressing like you. Perhaps you recall moments you found yourself forming to the likeness of someone else. The truth is, it’s human nature to become more like those we spend time with.

Paul opens chapter 5 with a challenge for believers to “be imitators of God” (v. 1). This is an intimidating and seemingly impossible venture! But Paul’s attempt here encourages us that just as children imitate their parents, we, as His “dear children,” should imitate our Father God. Although we cannot exactly mirror His perfect standard of love and holiness, we bear His image as His children. We can seek to imitate His qualities. The more time we spend with Him, the more like Him we can become.

So, what does this look like? Paul spells it out for us in verse two. We are to “live a life of love.” 1 John 4:7-21 teaches us that love is not merely an attribute of God, but it is his very nature. God IS love. Because God is love, we, His followers, must also love. God loves us, so we must love one another. We do this by modeling after Jesus’s example. His love for us led Him to sacrifice Himself on the cross so that we might live. Our love for others should be similar and move from simple affection to self-sacrifice.

Response
1. Reread Verses 1-2. Ponder the implications of being God’s “dearly loved child.” How does this make you feel? How does this truth lay the foundation for us to imitate God?

2. Read Leviticus 19:2 and Mattew 5:48. Does the idea of being an “Imitator of God” intimidate you? Why or why not?

3. How can you practically live in love? What is holding you back from expressing sacrificial love? Spend some time in prayer asking the Lord to help you as you seek to be more like Him.

Weekly Memory Verse
"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)."
Ephesians 5:8-9

Written by Shelly Brown