Walking in Love

Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children.

And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given

Himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God for a 

sweet-smelling aroma. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

In this chapter we now come to one of the most incredible passages in the Bible as we examine the love of God and that Christians are called to imitate God as beloved children and walk in love. It seems unimaginable, does it not? That a person could, in some amazing way, somehow imitate God! But Paul says plainly, “Be imitators of God as beloved children.”

We must first be reminded that God created mankind to love Him; however, because of the fall of man, it is impossible for the “natural” person (unbeliever) to truly love God. Until we are born again (John 3:3) and become a spiritual person (1 Cor. 2:12-15), with new life in Christ through faith in Him (2 Cor. 5:17), we cannot even know God, much less love Him. However, when we are born again, the Holy Spirit dwells within us and God “pours” His love “into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:5).  

God commands us to love Him, but we cannot do it until God gives us His supernatural love, agape, through faith in Christ, which enables us to love Him. We love God and can imitate Him only because God enables us to do it. That is why Paul encourages the Ephesian believers to “be imitators of God as beloved children.” Only Christians can imitate God and “walk in love.” 

God’s Love

People may have vague thoughts of God, be thankful to God for things in life, and even say they love God, but it is impossible to love God without first knowing Him, and we cannot know God unless we have a relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ, the living Son of God. Only through faith in Christ can a person know God. Jesus said,

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also, and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. (John 14:6-7)

This has been the redemptive plan of God from before the creation of the world (Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was given to us by God the Father (John 3:16) that we may know and love the One who first loved us. 

Although God loves all who are created in His image, He has a special redemptive love for those born again into the family of God through faith in Christ (John 3:16-18), forgiven of their sins (1 John 1:9), declared righteous (Rom. 5:1), and adopted as children of God (Gal. 4:4-6). 

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1, NIV)

As stated previously, Paul says, “Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children” (Eph. 5:1). Christians are “beloved children” and called to imitate God. How can we imitate God? We can imitate God because He gives us the “fruit of the Spirit” to be more like Him.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

We imitate God as beloved children when we love Christ and others, rejoice in the truth, are patient and kind when others provoke us, show the goodness of Christ instead of the evil of this world, when we faithfully obey God’s Word, are gentle with others instead of being harsh and rude, and maintain self-control in our daily lives. Living as a Christian in this fallen world is not easy, but this is how God calls His beloved children to live. 

Walking in Love

Walking in love is foundational in the Christian’s life and leads to the obedience of God’s Word and His commandments. Jesus said to His disciples,

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. (John 14:21)

The identifying mark of a true believer is when a person loves Christ and desires to obey God’s Word. As Christians, our lives have been radically changed by God’s grace through faith in Christ, and we no longer want to conform to the lies and sinfulness of this fallen world (Rom. 12:2), but instead live following the truth of God’s Word. 

Walking in love imitates Christ as we are being conformed to His image (Rom. 8:29). We are not perfect, and we will never even be close to perfection in this life, but true believers love our Lord Jesus Christ and desire to follow Him walking in love the rest of our lives.