Ephesians 5:1

My Notes

What Does Ephesians 5:1 Mean?

Ephesians 5:1 issues a command that sounds impossible and means it: "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children."

The Greek ginesthe oun mimētai tou theou — "become imitators of God" — uses mimētai, from which we get mimic. Not admirers of God. Not students of God. Imitators. People who copy God's behavior — who watch what He does and reproduce it in their own lives. The standard for imitation isn't a moral code or a philosophical ideal. It's a person. And the person is God.

The qualifier — hōs tekna agapēta — "as dear children" — provides both the motivation and the method. Dear children — agapēta, beloved. The imitation isn't slave-to-master compliance. It's child-to-parent mimicry. A beloved child doesn't study their parent's behavior in a textbook. They absorb it by proximity. They copy unconsciously because they love the person they're watching. The doing flows from the being-loved.

The "therefore" connects to Ephesians 4:32 — "be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." The specific behavior being imitated is forgiveness. God forgave you. Now imitate that. Be kind the way He was kind. Be tenderhearted the way He was tenderhearted. Forgive the way He forgave. The imitation has a specific shape: it looks like the cross.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Are you imitating God, or have you set a lower standard — a leader, a peer, a comfortable version of spirituality?
• 2.Children mimic through proximity, not study. Is your imitation of God flowing from closeness or from effort?
• 3.The specific imitation Paul prescribes is forgiveness. Who do you need to forgive the way God forgave you?
• 4.You're a 'dear child' — beloved. Does being loved by the Father change the pressure of trying to imitate Him?

Devotional

Imitate God. Three syllables that should end every excuse you've ever made for your behavior.

Not imitate a good person. Not imitate a spiritual leader. Imitate God. The standard Paul sets isn't high. It's infinite. And the method he prescribes isn't striving. It's being a child. A beloved child who copies their parent not because they're obligated but because they adore the person they're watching.

Children mimic naturally. A three-year-old doesn't need a seminar on how to copy their parent's mannerisms. They absorb them through proximity. They talk like their parent because they hear their parent. They walk like their parent because they watch their parent. The doing isn't effortful. It's the overflow of being close.

That's the model Paul uses for imitating God. Not a master-class in divine behavior. A relationship so close that the imitation happens naturally. You spend enough time with God — in His word, in His presence, in the community that reflects His character — and you start looking like Him. Not because you're performing. Because proximity produces resemblance.

The specific resemblance Paul has in mind is forgiveness (4:32). God forgave you in Christ. Now do that to the people around you. Be kind because He was kind. Be tenderhearted because He was tenderhearted. Forgive because He forgave. The imitation isn't a generic command to "be godly." It's a specific instruction to reproduce the specific act of mercy that was done to you.

You're a beloved child. You've been forgiven at the cost of a cross. Now go copy your Father. The imitation won't be perfect. Children stumble through their mimicry. But the direction is right. And the Father being imitated isn't demanding perfection. He's delighted by the attempt.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture