“ Be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us ”- Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians.
Paul is not telling the Ephesians to imitate God's all-powerful and all-knowing ability. He is telling them to imitate God's pure love. In the 'Sermon on the Mount', after teaching his disciples to love their enemies, Jesus tells them they are to be perfect as their heavenly Father is perfect. That is, perfect in true impartial love. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, lived in perfect love and is our example for imitating God.
Paul lived as an example - he urged the Corinthians to imitate him as he also imitates Christ. Paul lived devoutly, justly and blamelessly and he told the Philippians to follow his example. He also exhorted Timothy to be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. And he exhorted Titus to show himself in all things to be a pattern of good works.
Imitating the true righteousness and holiness of God is at the heart of being a Christian. We once walked according to the course of this world and once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, but we should no longer live for ourselves. We should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind, but we should put off, concerning our former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of our mind, and put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. We are to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Both Peter and John are very blunt. Peter wrote:
“As he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct”
And John wrote:
“He who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk just as he walked.”
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