Title: Walk in Love (Ephesians 5:1-7)
Commentary on Ephesians (11)
Walk in love (Ephesians 5:1-7)
In the last part of Chapter 4, I said that a Christian is a person who puts off the old man and puts on the new man. The book of Ephesians is talking about how God's children should live on this earth. Today's text is about the Christian life. (1) “Be ye imitators of God, as beloved children” (verse 1). We must act in love because Jesus did it. Those who imitate Christ please God, they are God's people, and they are God's children. Because we are loved by Christ, we must walk in love. So, who is the one who walks in love?
It is a life that imitates Christ.
(Verse 2) [Christ] . . . as you did... Do] Jesus Christ is the invisible God incarnate as the visible God. In The Imitation of Christ, author Thomas Acampis writes: “We are exhorted to follow his teachings and imitate the way he walked if anyone truly wants to live in the light and be saved from all darkness of heart.”
[Imitator] means 'imitator, imitator'. All we have to do is imitate God diligently. By imitating Christ, you can become like God. Even in the days of the Ephesian church and now, it is a fierce and fearful world, a lewd and corrupt world, and a world full of danger. How should we live as believers in this dangerous world? How afraid are you? This is the time to [live by imitation of Christ Jesus.] Only then can we become strong like God. As children of love, let's imitate Christ and live. The best way for a child who has been indebted to love to repay his father is to imitate his father. A father gives birth to a child, feeds him, educates him… , all raised with love. But when the child closely resembles himself, an indescribable joy burns in his heart. In this way, Heavenly Father is most pleased when you imitate and resemble Heavenly Father.
1. You must imitate love.
(1 John 4:7-8) “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God; whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” verse 1 It says, “Therefore, as children in love.” We are already children of God's love. Verse 2 also says, “As Christ loved you.” Because Christ loved you first, we are also telling you to walk in love. There must be something for the church to say to the world, 'Imitate us'. That is Jesus Christ, His love.
"This was how the love of God was revealed to us, because God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Here is love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us, Beloved, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:9-11). It means to practice in Love is a language of action, not an idea.
2. It must resemble sacrifice.
Isn't it difficult to live in a world where it is difficult to make a living even if there is a fight? The population is large, the land is small, and both of you live with selfishness. In a world where the word competitive society sounds too natural. But the love of Christ is sacrifice. Giving up oneself for the sake of others. Jesus loved us and gave Himself to God as [livestock]. It means that he sacrificed his body with [blooded cattle and sheep]. What would we be today if He had not sacrificed? (2) “Walk in love, as Christ also loved you, who gave himself up for us as a fragrant sacrifice and a livestock to God.”
The world forsakes others for its own sake, but the love of Jesus lays down itself for others. We cannot give up what is mine for others. But let's pretend like Jesus Christ. Let's spend our time, energy, and money on loving our brother. The most pitiful people in the world are those who harm others for their own sake. But the happiest people are those who lose themselves for the sake of others. Those who sacrifice and serve for others are the winners and the strong. Who makes the most sacrifices in our family? Aren't you mother? A child who is loved must live sacrificing like Jesus Christ.
3. We must imitate holiness (2-6).
It proceeds from spiritual degeneration → moral depravity → sexual depravity. The world at that time, including Ephesus, was dominated by idolatry. In particular, the goddess Diana was worshiped. Worship itself is lewd. The act of intercourse with the priestess was worship. The temple priestess was a legitimate prostitute. Since the Gentiles who are immersed in this old life have become children of God in the church, how should they live? It is to live like a child in love. We must look to Jesus Christ and live by imitation like Jesus.
Today's society is also gradually degenerating into a society of obscenity and decadence. A typical phenomenon in the lives of those who have turned away from God is the pursuit of [fornication]. This world is lewd and dirty. The more civilized the country, the more lewd. The life of the rich and the poor, the ignorant, the wise man, and the one who turns away from God is lewd and dirty. How should we live in this world of Sodom and Gomorrah? Living by imitating Jesus. Jesus is holy. You have defeated the devil, the father of fornication. (1 Thessalonians 4:7) “For God hath not called us to unclean, but to sanctify.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3) “This is the will of God, your sanctification, that is, to put away sexual immorality.”
1) Don't even have an adulterous mind (verse 3)
"Let not even the name of fornication, any unclean thing, or greediness among you be called." Not to mention, of course, is a story about horses. But in reality, it means not to think that way.
2) Do not speak obscene words (verse 4)
'Bad remarks': shameful and obscene promiscuous remarks, 'stupid remarks': words from the mouth of a drunken man, 'harrassment remarks': vulgar jokes, obscene jokes, hurtful jokes, vulgar gags, obscene remarks, jokes , obscene rumors are not right for the saints. (lewd mind)→ (lewd mouth)→ (lewd behavior)
3) Those who commit lewd acts go to hell.
'Fornicators, unclean people, and covetous people' are idol worshipers (modern people's idolatry sex, money, and power). Therefore, they will not inherit Christ and the kingdom of God.
(1 Corinthians 3:16) “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. Hani," he says. Let's be sanctified like Jesus in this wicked and adulterous generation. Let's imitate cleanliness like Jesus.
[Like a child of love] I want you to imitate Jesus and become a good person like Jesus. Let's love like Jesus. Let's sacrifice Let's be sanctified. So let's become strong like God. Let's become saints who are afraid of the devil and tremble. All of this is possible when we abide in the love of Christ. As long as that love burns in your heart, you can become an imitator of Christ. Dear Yeeun family, May you be those who possess that love.