EPHESIANS 5:1 DEVOTIONAL STUDY
AN IN DEPTH SCRIPTURAL ANALYSIS ON EPHESIANS 5:1
Introduction:
Ephesians 5:1 encourages believers to “imitate God.” This command holds deep theological and ethical significance and invites close examination of the framework within which it was written, as well as the implications it carries for the lives of Christians. The surrounding verses (Eph. 4:17–5:20) make clear that when Paul tells the Ephesians to imitate God, he is calling them to live in a state of holiness and righteousness. But what do holiness and righteousness mean here? And why this linkage between imitation and transformation? To begin answering these questions, we must first understand Paul’s principle of “union with Christ,” for it is in this context that he frames the call to imitation.
In the subsequent verses, Paul speaks of the intrinsic divine qualities of holiness, love, and mercy that must be part of the believer’s life if we are to be said to “imitate” God. Paul does not leave us guessing; he goes on to give us a number of very practical ways that we can live a life that emulates the goodness and greatness of God. The primary “attribute” of God that He intends for us to emulate is His love. As Paul has often reminded us, it was God’s own love that motivated Him to make the ultimate sacrifice for us. The Ephesians are to “walk in love” (5:2), and “in love” is to “walk” as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6), since Jesus is the ultimate demonstration of God’s love. “In love” means being “kind” and “compassionate” (Eph. 4:32), and the way of love is the way of forgiveness, since the ultimate act of love is the forgiveness of sin. Thus, Paul tells the Ephesians that they are to be “imitators of God.” But we know that God is love (1 John 4:8), so what a profound concept this is! God is love, and we are to be imitators of God. So that means we are to be imitators of love. Christianity is a faith that is all about love, and to be a Christian is to be a person who loves.
Contextual Analysis Of Ephesians:
The Epistle to the Ephesians, often credited to the Apostle Paul, is a deeply theological work that explores Christian identity and the ethical behavior that flows from it, all within the divine framework of grace and a unified church. The contents of this letter to the Ephesians—at least when you look at them as a whole—are about a way of being and living that these early Christians are called to inhabit. As with many of the letters in the New Testament, Ephesians is also a work of art, and understanding its artistry is key to understanding its message. The letter opens with a splendid doxology (Eph. 1:3–14), praising God’s plan in Christ. This sets up the first major section of the letter, in which Paul unfolds the mystery of God’s thoroughly Christocentric work. This work, in turn, leads to the community’s holiness and makes it possible for the community to be what it is called to be (the virtues for them and the vices for the others).
Paul’s letter stands out for the way it emphasizes the difference between the conduct of pagans and that of Christians, who, in Ephesus, are to lead a new life (Eph. 4:17–24). It is clear that Paul wants them to move away from their past, which he calls “the futility of their minds” (4:17), and instead, he wants them to embrace what he calls “the new self” (4:24), something made in God’s likeness. God’s instructions to humans in the Bible, somewhere and at some point, reflect not only the things God is like but also the things God is not like. The commands God gives to humans, especially where they concern vices and virtues, are painstakingly set out here at the end of Ephesians 4 and the beginning of Ephesians 5.
Ephesians places imitation within the collective framework of the church—”one body” unified by “one Spirit” (4:4). This gives a corporate dimension to the call to be imitators of God. It means that part of being the church is to reflect and embody the qualities of the God who calls us, notably the qualities of humility, gentleness, patience, and love, that, as Ephesians 4:2-3 suggests, are necessary for the maintenance of unity amid diversity. These are the very qualities that the church in its reflecting and imitating of God needs to possess, and all of them have to do with relationships. The believers are called to sanctity. The unity of the body, which is the church, is founded on the sanctity of its members; they are individually and collectively a witness to “holiness”
The textual design around Ephesians 5:1 echoes certain Old Testament themes. One of these is the imitation of God. Israel was told to “be holy” like Yahweh is Holy (Lev. 19:2), and the passage that follows lists a number of ethical imperatives that spell out what that looks like. Paul uses a similar kind of rhetoric here, though in his case, the imitation of God isn’t simply a matter of keeping rules. For Paul, and consequently for all Christians, the main plot line of “Godliness” is the incarnation. God came to earth in the person of Jesus, and Jesus is the example we’re supposed to imitate. Why? Because Jesus “loved us” and “gave himself up for us”—the two things that are necessary if we’re going to take on a life of virtuous living.
First-century Greco-Roman culture provides a backdrop for understanding. In this milieu, Paul and the other New Testament writers lived and wrote. The cities of Ephesus, Corinth, and Rome were cosmopolitan, their populations drawn from many cultures, but in each city, the expectation was that the citizens as a collective would worship the gods of the city and that each household would worship the gods of the household. To this mix of cultures, gods, and worldviews, the Christians maintained that there was one true God, and this God did not expect his people to worship him in the ways the gods of the city or household were worshiped. Instead, Christians were urged toward a kind of ethical monotheism, characterized by love, and purity which was the essential nature of the one true God, and should, in like manner, be that of his people.
Ephesians 5:1 demands contextual understanding and should be read in light of Paul’s sweeping vision. “Therefore, be imitators of God” (5:1) comprises a vast instruction. Verse 1 is the counterpart to the charge at the beginning of chapter 4 to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling” (4:1). It is a parallel exhortation to the one given to the Philippians, who are told to “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). In short, to “imitate God” is a profound transformation of our entire being. Paul’s discourse on the new humanity in Ephesians 4:17–32 characterizes our past life as a kind of death and our present life as something new, something not yet fully realized, because we are “created to be like God” (4:24).
The Meaning Of Imitating God:
In order to rightly live out the exhortation “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children”—we must first consider the profound theological implications of what it means to imitate God. The verb “imitate” (Greek: μιμηταί) suggests something much more than superficial copying. The Greek word means to do what someone else does (cf. Phil 3:17; 1 Thess 1:6; 2:14; Heb 6:12; 13:7), which leads to the question, “What does God do?” God creates. God loves. God, because of His love, is compassionate, merciful, gracious, caring and kind (cf. Exod 34:6–7). God acts, directing His works toward His creation in a way that makes the creation better. Therefore, to imitate God is to move in all these directions, thereby rightly imitating God. And yet how can we, as finite and fallen human beings, hope to imitate an infinite and perfect God?
Being like God is fundamentally a moral summons rooted in identity. The believer is to internalize and display the moral attributes that Scripture consistently links with God’s essence. God from one end of the Bible to the other is portrayed as an ontologically superior yet perfectly holy being (Leviticus 11:44). God is shown to be a just and righteous ruler (Psalm 11:7). God is portrayed as an immensely loving and faithful spouse (1 John 4:8; Deuteronomy 7:9). Believers are commanded to ‘be like God’ especially in these ways. But how? The apostle Paul, in Ephesians 5:1, especially this phrase, is putting forward a dynamic and generative theological logic: Because you are children of God in Christ, you should internalize and express His divine moral attributes, and especially the love of God. Thus, Paul is not urging believers to mimic human virtue but to express divine perfections.
Understanding the call to imitate God must be done within the bounds of the covenant. Believers are not just called to copy isolated actions of God but to replicate the divine economy of grace in which love is both motive and means. Paul’s next verse in Ephesians tells us, “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,” and this work of art that we are to “walk” in makes clear that the divine imitation (mimesis, in Greek) is not about following some set of rules but about living a life of love. And the model of love we have is Christ’s own love for us, which is even more work of art, the very image of God’s love.
When we consider the nature of the Father and the son, we often look at the relationships within it. We see justice and mercy in such a close embrace that they seem to be two sides of one coin. If we look at what God has done for us, and with us through His Son and His Holy Spirit, we find not only an individual but a community that dispenses both justice and mercy. In the process of the imitation of God, we are called to be just, but in a way that we cannot completely understand, because we know mercy is poured out for us at the same time. The way that God deals with justice and mercy is a part of His holy nature, which seems to be, as much as we can tell, one of compassion.
At its core, the act of imitating God, as outlined in Ephesians 5:1, requires a comprehensive transformation whereby we mirror the character of our heavenly Father. Our lives must be marked by holiness and love, both of which are divine attributes. We can practice this imitation by behaving ethically—an emulation that should spring from our relational identity as God’s beloved children. We are not only called to be holy but also to be loving, which makes divine imitation an experience of vibrant, ethical, and very personal love. Anything less would be, as Paul notes, a poor excuse for determining “what is good.”
Becoming Holy through imitating God:
The journey toward holiness, as described in Ephesians 5:1, involves deeply imitating God. This form of being set apart, which is part of what “holy” means, is not just an external act; it is a profound inner transformation. It sees the believer as engaging not only with the divine but also with the very nature of God. This union with the divine, by participating in God’s nature, is key to understanding the way in which holiness is actualized in a believer’s life. The fulfillment of this call to holiness, for believers, is to replicate God’s love. It is to embody God’s mercy. It is to live out the righteousness of God. Thus, when believers are called to imitate God, it is fundamentally a call to work out holiness by making the divine character their own.
At the core of this transformative likeness is the understanding that holiness is more about relationships than it is about rituals. To draw near to God by imitating Him is to allow His nature to so permeate one’s being that His character is organically reflected in a believer’s life. Paul’s assertion suggests that believers must embody God’s virtues in the way they live. The process of becoming holy requires a deep and abiding internalization of God’s virtues. To become holy in the way that God is holy means to inhabit a new life, in which what God values becomes what the believer values (unified mind and purpose). And the command to be holy leads to the question of how this happens: How does one become like God? How does one live a life that reflects God’s moral and ethical perfections?
Achieving holiness by imitating God requires a believer to fully embrace divine transcendence and immanence. God’s holiness encompasses otherness as well as nearness. It is a kind of paradox. Yet, the fact remains that our holy God is also a God of nearness. He is near in His grace, near in His love, and near in overcoming our sin and making us holy by sheer grace. That nearness in grace is the model for us to emulate. Leviticus 20:26 states, “You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.” The very idea of holiness speaks of being set apart, while at the same time, God calls us to draw near to Him.
The practical application of this imitation requires a deliberate turning away from sin and a determined pursuit of righteousness, upheld by faithfulness to Scripture and reliance on the Holy Spirit for power. This is the tallying of obedience, and as Paul points out, engaging in a life of love is itself the fulfillment of the Law (Romans 13:10). The “living epistle” of holiness is not meant for society in general. It’s meant, very specifically, for us, individually and together, to demonstrate God’s character in the midst of an unholy world. For when we, as a community of believers, truly love one another, we light up the darkness.
To summarize, achieving holiness by imitating God entails a comprehensive transformation that includes moral renewal, spiritual growth, and a commitment to loving as God loves. This is not an easy task, and it is not meant for individual enrichment alone. It is, in fact, something like a team sport, where one’s individual pursuit of holiness contributes to a community that is in some way a sign of the kingdom of God. As His followers, when we are holy, He has a right to use our lives as signals—individually and corporately—to point to Himself. Individual holiness is not just for our own benefit; it’s for the benefit of the community and the society in which we live.
The Role Of Love In Imitation:
Understanding Ephesians 5:1 requires recognizing that love serves as the essential spark and structure within which we must grasp and act out the imitation of God. The apostle’s urging to “Be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1) implies a relationship of sons and daughters to a parent, obviously one of love. And this isn’t just a metaphor; it’s about the most real sort of relationship there is, where love, and not just any kind of love, but the very love with which God loves His Son, forms the bond between us and the Father. To live out this imitation of God is to do so within the framework of love. It’s to be like the Son of God, who, in the very next verse, is said to have loved us and given Himself for us.
Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV) says, “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” This perfectly expresses the idea that the love with which God loves us is not just any kind of love. It’s the love of the Son for the Father in the Holy Spirit. And yet, the Son of God has loved us with that very same love, and by means of that very same love, He has given us that life—again, His life—which is why we can be said to “live” in Him.
The letters attributed to Paul repeatedly highlight that agape love is far more than just a feeling; it is a commitment and an act of will for the good of another person. This kind of love, according to Paul, mirrors Christ’s redemptive work. Christ loved us and died for us even when we were in the throes of sin (Romans 5:8). The role of love in the believer’s life is more than just something personal between the believer and God because agape is communal and relational. Love in the New Testament, and especially in the Pauline letters, is the very heart of the shared life in the body of Christ. For this reason, we are told to live in love (Ephesians 5:2), to bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), and to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). Imitating God must mean, first and foremost, the act of doing justice to the doctrines we hold as “truths” of the faith: that we share them with one another in love.
Understanding Paul’s letters, especially when it comes to Ephesians, brings to light an issue of not only individual but also communal context. Ephesians 5:1–2 brings us into a very intimate relationship with God because we are called God’s “beloved children.” Ephesians 4:32 and 5:2, which precede and follow 5:1, tell the reader (or listener) to be kind and compassionate to one another, to forgive one another just as God in Christ has forgiven us, and to “walk in love,” as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Again, this is a call to intimate relationship. “Be imitators of God,” Paul says (in 5:1), “as beloved children.” And then he tells us what that means for our lives: being lived in “love” as Christ lived his life in “love.”
In essence, love’s part in imitation serves as both the foundational and ultimate purpose. It defines the identity of imitators (“beloved children”) and the end they seek, which is the embodiment of divine charity. The New Testament’s self-understanding is that of God’s holy people, and its call to holiness is the call to love. But the love it envisions is not the abstract, universal kind that some strands of liberal theology have favored. It’s the love that takes shape in specific communities of faithful people who actually know and care for each other and for the wider world. So when Paul says to the Ephesians, “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children,” the imitation to which he calls them is the imitation of a God who lives in and through their loving actions.
Practical Applications In Daily Life:
Ephesians 5:1 calls for its followers to replicate the holiness, love, and sacrificial grace shown by God. The believers are to walk as children of light (Eph. 5:8), loving as Christ loved. Thus, Ephesians 5 is one of the most practical chapters in the Bible. The chapter demands that every facet of our everyday life reflect the love and grace of God, and it tells us how. It is not just about not doing bad things. It is about doing good things and doing them with a pure heart and motives. It tells us how to live a life of love and grace.
Imitating God in real-world terms means embracing the self-sacrificing love exemplified in Christ’s work of redemption. It means showing agape love—a selfless, unconditional dedication to the well-being of others—within our families, church communities, and society at large. Paul, in Ephesians 5:2, urges us to “walk in love” as Christ did, and this is a call not merely to emulate him but to take part in his redemptive work. That work is indeed sacrificial, and it is suffused with the kind of love that forgives, that endures personal and social injustices, and that does so without a trace of bitterness.
Embodying God’s character calls for a vigorous pursuit of holiness. This is seen in our ethical and moral vigilance against the world’s corruptions. The believer is summoned to “put off” behaviors that can be labeled as “impure” or “deceptive,” and to “put on” a life that reflects God’s nature of truth and purity (Eph 4:24). At work, this could be conscientious honesty; at home, it might be resisting the pervasive cultural influences on our character or our children’s character when it comes to sexual purity or even just the words we use.
Imitating God has a lot to do with community. The way that can be seen most clearly is in the area of unity. God has always urged His people to be united. The Bible is full of calls for the church to be humble and to serve one another, and not in a kind of halfhearted way (Ephesians 4:3). God Himself is the ultimate example of humility and service. He served us through the incarnation and through Christ’s work on the cross. And we are to do what He does, because that is the definition of imitation. We are to be “little Christs” and to serve one another in the community of believers.
Believers are called to steward creation, reflecting another aspect of their identity as children of God and participants in His work. This is indeed a broad mandate, one that includes responsibly caring for the environment and working for the good of society as a whole. When believers carry out this role, they are imitating, in some sense, the “goodness” of God, which is not limited to any one part of His creation but extends to all creatures—human and non-human—on this earth.
Understanding Ephesians 5:1 rightly urges Christians toward living out their faith in a holistic way, where love, holiness, harmony, and stewardship all work together to shape a life that bears witness to God. Each of these is a Christian “value” that forms our identities as “imitators of God.” That identity is not something that we can only assent to intellectually or something that we can only give lip service to. It has to be something that is lived out in day-to-day life because God is not dead, and neither can our faith in Him be.
Conclusion:
Ephesians 5:1 calls believers to “be imitators of God,” a profound theological command that requires both understanding and action. When we contextualize the verse within Ephesians, we see that the command is not an isolated moral injunction, but a part of Paul’s larger discourse on sanctification and holiness, as he calls the church to be in the world but not of it. Imitating God means more than just doing what God does; it implies that we share in God’s nature (cf. 2 Peter 1:4), and this is part of what makes our salvation so great a wonder (cf. Hebrews 2:3). Yet, because God is holy, the practical result of being called to imitate Him is that we, too, are called to be holy and loving. Central to this imitation is love, defined in biblical terms as “agape”—a self-sacrificial, unconditional love. It is hard to overstate the significance of this love, because it is the core animating principle of the new way of life that Paul is calling the Ephesians to live (Ephesians 5:1-2) and, indeed, is calling every believer to live. Paul’s instruction to “walk in love” is not just an encouragement to be loving in the abstract. It is a call to be loving in the very concrete terms that he will later unfold. And this is what makes the command so challenging, because it requires nothing less than the cultivation of the very attitude and actions of Jesus in the life of the believer. This is being the imitation of God that Paul is calling for, and it is the right and proper way to understand Ephesians 5:1.
