Being an imitator of God...how can it be? Children generally imitate their parents...is that good news for you? Therefore, we as God's children should imitate our heavenly Father!!
1. Because of Who we are v.1 "As beloved children" Because He is our Father, we are enabled to imitate Him..."Christ in me, the hope of glory."
2. Because of what Christ has done v.2 The model and motivation Jesus gave to us on the cross. "walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma". That is what love truly is!!
God is love therefore, walk in love
I John 4:8 Eph. 5:1,2
God is light therefore,walk as children of light
I John 1:5 5:8
God is truth therefore, walk in wisdom
I John 5:6 5:15-17
Why should Christians walk in love?
1. Because we are God's children..."Partakers of divine nature II Pet. 1:4 We have received a new nature that wants to express itself in love. The old nature is basically selfish, but the new nature is loving, and therefore builds bridges and proclaims peace.
2. Because we are God's beloved children...God loves us as He loves His Son John 17:23.
3. Because we have been purchased with a great price..."Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13. But Christ laid down His life for His enemies. Rom. 5:10.
Paul begins with "walk in love" because love is the fundamental factor in the Christian life. If we walk in love, we will not disobey God or injure men because "he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law" Rom 13:8. The Holy Spirit puts this love in our hearts Rom. 5:5.
To walk in love means to give and forgive. God has always been giving
In Genesis, He gave life
In Exodus, He gave the law
In Joshua, He gave the land
In the Psalms, He gave strength and comfort
In the Gospels, He gave His Son.
In Acts, He gave the Holy Spirit.
In Revelation, He gave hope.
It is God's nature to give. That is the heart of His love. To imitate God in our walk of love means our lives are to be characterized by a giving spirit toward others. forgive...love demands the willingness to forgive.
Walk in light...To walk in the light we need to put some things out of our lives:
Immorality. To walk in light means our sexuality is to be expressed within the context God intended: between a husband and a wife who have made a permanent commitment to each other. To walk in light means to control the sexual dimension of life which is the opposite of immorality. To walk in light includes control.
Impurity. To walk in light includes cleanliness...those who walk in light are those who live a clean life.
Greed the word described someone who has something but is not satisfied with that so he reaches over to somebody else. The opposite of greed is contentment. To walk in light means to face life with the attitude Paul had "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am" Phil. 4:11...a recognition that what we have is a gift from God and what we are is a result of the grace of God, and we are therefore content with what God has done for us up to that point.
Filthiness...carries the idea of obscene thinking or shameless thinking. Where is the focus of our minds, the things to which we give attention. "Those in darkness concentrate on what is obscene, what is immoral, what is bad." In contrast, to walk in light means to concentrate on those things that are good, right. To walk in the light includes concentration.
Silly talk...foolish kind of speaking. "Those in darkness talk foolishly. In contrast to walk in light means not to speak foolishly. Talking with foresight. Think, then speak. Talking without wisdom. To walk in light means to think about what we are going to say, to think about the consequences of what we say. To walk in light includes carefulness.
Coarse jesting..."to turn easily" He adjusts to the crowd he is with. Some adjusting is good. However, the kind of adjusting Paul was talking about is not good. Such a person is shaped by circumstances rather than by inner commitment. A person who walks in the light is to base his behavior not on his ourward circumstancers but on his inward commitment" To walk in light means to consistently live out of this inner commitment. To walk in light includes consistency.
Idolatry...to worship an idol, to worship something other than God. Putting anything above God is idolatry. Those who walk in light are to be committed to God. He is to be our top priority. To walk in light includes commitment.
Next WEEK, we will begin with "walking in the Light"
1 comment:
Hi Ms. Bernadine, Thank you for sharing the Love Christ has shared with you. It a blessing to have leaders like you and Wes who love the Lord with all their heart, mind and soul. I enclosed some of the note's I took while performing the homework you assigned in class. In examining several sources of the word submission I found the obdieant and submssion in some context have the similar meaning. In the same letter Paul softens the command to respect yet the intent of command is similar to submit and obey. (Asbury bible commentary.) In the Asbury commentary, I thought the author's provided a excellent counter example: " Of course, such submission is not to replace reverence for Christ or run counter to obedience to God."
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