Why the Supreme Need Is that Jesus Followers Imitate God

The Spirit of God instructs Jesus followers to imitate God. That should be nothing new. We’ve heard that all our lives with movements like WWJD — what would Jesus do? They say imitation is the best form of flattery. In an earthly sense, copying has its advantages and disadvantages. President Calvin Coolidge invited some people from his hometown to dinner at the White House. Since they did not know how to behave at such an occasion, they thought the best policy would be just to do what the President did so, they imitated him. The time came to serve coffee. The President poured his coffee into a saucer. As soon as the home folk saw it, they copied him; they did the same. The next step for the President was to pour some milk and add a little sugar to the coffee in the saucer. The home folks did the same. They thought for sure that the next step would be for the President to take the saucer with the coffee and begin sipping it. But the President didn’t do so. He leaned over, placed the saucer on the floor, and called the cat.¹ So, sometimes copying others does not lead you to the place you desire. Being your own person and striving to be the best version of your unique self is best. But it’s a different story when we step over into the divine realm of things. Imitating God, doing what He would do, is a commanded expectation. Why the Supreme Need Is that Jesus Followers Mimick God — that’s our focus on this week’s Light on Life.

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Rise up to the challenge of living life as a carbon copy of God. Allow the very nature of God to rise from inside your spirit.

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Question: What have been your challenges when it comes to imitating God? The answer is obvious. Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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We are currently teaching in the book of Ephesians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 45 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 40 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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Podcast Notes

What It Means to Imitate God

Ephesians 5:1–2 (ESV) — 1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

The Amplified translation has the same passage as this.

Ephesians 5:1–2 (AMP) — 1 THEREFORE BE imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]. 2 And walk in love, [esteeming and delighting in one another] as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.

The word ‘therefore’ is the one that we need to look it.
You may have heard the saying that when you see the word ‘therefore’, find out what it’s there for.
Remember that the New Testament was not written in chapter and verse.
The end of Ephesians four rolls right into the beginning of chapter five, and the word ‘therefore’ is the connector.

Ephesians 4:32 (ESV) — 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

The Spirit of God by the Apostle Paul declares that the bullseye on the target is to be like the Father God is.

1 John 4:17 (ESV) — 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

As He is, so are we.
What a phenomenal truth!
So, in the area of kindness, we are to be like Him; we are to imitate God.
We are to imitate His example.
When it comes to being tenderhearted, that is having tender feelings for others, and being compassionate² there is no better example than God.
The Lord Most High is the pinnacle of compassion.
No being in the heavens, or in the earth can come close to having the depth of tender feelings toward others that He has.
We are to imitate that – we are to be like Him in our everyday interactions with others.
The last part of Ephesians four speaks to forgiving others.
Are you serious? No one tops the charts in doling out forgiveness.
The Father God is at the head of the class.
Why think about it? He doesn’t just have to deal with a few family members, like you and me.
No, God is putting up with all of us!
Kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving, is a superb three-pronged approach to relationships on planet earth.
If you want to win people to Jesus, be kind.
Looking to be effective in ministry, be tenderhearted.
If you desire to live a completely free life, forgive.

Imitate God: What Does the Word ‘Imitating’ Mean?

Again, it’s best to define terms.
It helps us so much as we look at these Holy Spirit-inspired words written in context thousands of years ago.
You know words change meaning with time.
The Greek word ‘imitate’ is the one that we want to look at today, and with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
The Greek word translated imitate means to mimic.
It means one who copies the words or behavior of another.
Louw Nida says it’s one who does what others do — same thing. ³
So, in the realm of God, being a copycat is the bullseye on the target, but not so in the world of men.
Concerning walking in the love of God, there is no need to be unique.
Imitate God means just copy Him.
Love people to the extent that He does.
Now, what does this kind of walk look like?

Imitating God: How Does Love Act?

How does love act?
First Corinthians gives us a clue.

1 Corinthians 13:4–8 (AMP) — 4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. 5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. 6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. 7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. 8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].

There is no need to feel that you need to be an original, just obey the Bible.
Be a righteous copy of the Most High.
Do what Jesus would do.
Do what the Father God would do.
And with that thought, here’s the Historical Background of the Day.

When Paul talked of imitating God, he was using language which the wisest Greeks could understand. Imitation, was a main part in the training of an orator.

Just a side note here, oration or the art of public speaking was a huge thing in Jesus day.

Cicero was one of the dominating politicians during 1st century Rome. He considered oratory to be the highest form of intellectual activity and an instrument indispensable for the welfare of the state.⁴

The teachers of rhetoric, [that is using language effectively to please or persuade] declared that the learning of public speaking depended on three things—theory, imitation and practice [I’m talking about imitating God]. The main part of their training was the study and the imitation of the masters who had gone before. It is as if Paul said: ‘If you were to train to be an orator, you would be told to imitate those who are experts in making speeches. Since you are training in life, you must imitate the Lord of all good life.’⁵

Imitating God Is about Perception

Your perception of who God is matters when it comes to imitating God.
What is your perception of Him.?
You must know who you are copying.
There is some knowledge in this area you need to possess.
You may have seen those pictures where a a little buy does what His daddy does.
Dads are crucial to the life of children.
They are role models of what God is like.
I don’t know that I was always THE best role model but it wasn’t because of a lack of effort.
I just didn’t always hit the mark.
The mark is based in part on your perception of who God is and what He is like.

Matthew 5:43–48 (ESV) — 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

So what is God like?
Well, Jesus said, and He would know since He is God’s Son, that His Father loves His enemies.
If He is telling you to love your enemies, and you are to imitate Him, then, He must possess this trait.
You’ve heard the saying that we are to be Christ-like.
Being Christ-like is all about imitating God.
If you are a born-again, Blood washed, child of God you are striving to be like Him.
But sometimes, we don’t do a great job of representing what He’s like because we have an inaccurate perception of who God is.

The Crusaders Failed to Imitate God

The Crusaders went to battle against the Muslims because they thought that’s what God was like.
You may not know that some of the Crusaders went on these holy wars because they thought that it was a means of gaining a special place in heaven⁶.
But the Crusaders didn’t just war against the Muslims; they thought Jews were infidels and took the battle to them.

In May 1096, in a period of four weeks frenzied bands of Crusaders struck the Jewish communities of Speyer, Worms, Mainz, and Cologne. The Jews were offered the option of conversion to Christianity or death… Rather than submit to forced conversion, in many cases Jews killed their wives and children, and then themselves[ 5. Ibid]

Well, that is surely not worthy of imitation.
Why? — that’s not what God is like.
Bringing death and destruction to Jewish people is not what God’s like.
Judgmental behavior is another area that we need to avoid.
Some think that it’s their mission in life to trumpet the sins of Jesus followers trying to get them to repent.
They get over into harshness where sin is concerned because they think that’s what God is like.

Imitating God: What Is He Like?

Misaligned understanding can come via misunderstanding passages in scripture, especially the Old Testament.

Imitate God: He Is Love, Not Law

Exodus 20:1–4, 7–8, 12–17 (ESV) — 1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth… 7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy… 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Some read these words in the Old Testament and think that God is law.
God is not law – He is not just a ‘Thou shalt not do thus and so’ God.

1 John 4:8 (ESV) — 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

We must read all the scripture in context.
Some get into a quandary because they don’t understand how these contradictory passages can be possible.
Is God love, or is He law?
It can be confusing when you don’t have the whole story.
Here’s a couple of other passage to help fill out your understanding.

Matthew 22:35–40 (ESV) — 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus told this ‘man of the cloth’ that the Law depends on two commandments: Love God and Love man.
Love your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.
The word ‘depend’ needs a bit of explanation.
The Greek word doesn’t just mean rely or depend on someone.
It means to depend utterly or to utterly rely on.
The adjective utterly amplifies the depth of the dependence.
On these two commandments utterly depend on all the Law and the Prophets.”
Here’s another verse along this line.

Romans 13:8–10 (ESV) — 8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

The Law and the prophets utterly depend on loving God and loving man, and here we have another fact — love fulfills the Law.
The word ‘fulfill’ means to satisfy, conceived of as if filling a container completely.
Love completely satisfies the Law.
So, what is God like love or law?
What should we imitate, legalistic law or love that acts in such a pure manner that law is no longer needed?
Walk in love that’s the very next verse in Ephesians five.
We’ve been looking at verse one — now here’s verse two.

Ephesians 5:2 (ESV) — 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Imitate God, walk in love.
Repeating the thought, to imitate God, you must know what you are copying.
God is love.

Jesus Helped Us to Imitate God

Jesus set an example for us.

John 14:7–9 (ESV) — 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Jesus is declaring that if you pull up a chair and sit down and watch my actions, you will know what to imitate.
You will know how to act.
When you see Jesus act, you will see God act.
How did Jesus act?

Imitate God: Jesus Sought Out the Lost

Luke 19:10 (ESV) — 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Imitate God: Jesus Forgave

Luke 23:34 (ESV) — 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

Luke 5:24 (ESV) — 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.”

Imitate God: Jesus Was Compassionate

Matthew 9:36 (ESV) — 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Imitate God: Jesus Healed Sick People

Matthew 4:23–24 (ESV) — 23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.

Imitate God: Jesus Cast Out Devils

Matthew 8:16 (ESV) — 16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.

Imitate God: Righteous Anger

Jesus was angry over corrupt unrighteous religiousness

Mark 3:1–5 (ESV)— 1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

Imitate God: He Is a God of Purpose

Jesus fulfilled His mission and purpose in life

John 4:34 (ESV) — 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

These are just a few things that Jesus did.
But He didn’t just leave it there; He said these next words as well.

John 13:15 (ESV) — 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

Ephesians and Imitating God

If you remember, in Ephesians four, which we covered in previous podcasts, the Spirit of God via the Apostle Paul gave us a list of things that we are to put off.
- Put away lying.
- Modify your anger.
- Give the devil no ground.
- Put away stealing.
- Eliminate corrupt speech.
- Do not grieve the Holy Spirit.
- Put away bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander.
All this stuff that He told us to put off are not attributes the Father possesses.
In other words, they are not what God’s like.
Put away lying; why? — because that’s not what God’s like.
So if that is not what God’s like, and we are supposed to imitate Him, then lying must be struck out of our method of operating.
Give the devil no ground.
Well, the Lord certainly didn’t do that.
Jesus, who showed us the Father, spoke the Word to Satan when he tried to tempt Him.
The result of that encounter in Matthew four, you will also find it in Luke four, was that Satan was forced to depart from Jesus.
In other cases, Jesus cast out demons who were oppressing people, refusing in many cases to even allow them to speak.
Jesus gave the devil no ground — that’s what we are to imitate.
You can go on and on with applying to this list.
The Spirit of God tells us not to steal because the Father has never taken anything from anyone.
He’s a giver — therefore, we are to imitate Him.
Now you can take this line of thought all the way out.

Imitating God: The Next Step

So, we are to imitate God; that’s where we are in Ephesians five.
But notice in so many other places in the New Testament that Paul encourages believers that he can into contact with to imitate not God directly but Himself.
This is what Jesus did.
Jesus said, if you have seen me, you have seen the Father.
Paul used the same concept, but he said it this way.

1 Corinthians 11:1 (ESV) — 1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Paul said, ‘I imitated Jesus so closely that it’s safe for you to imitate me.’
He said that to the Corinthian believers in the passage we read, 1 Corinthians 1:11, and in 4:16.

1 Corinthians 4:16 (ESV) — 16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me.

Paul also said these same words to the Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians 1:5–6 (ESV) — 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,

Look at Paul’s second letter to the same group.

2 Thessalonians 3:7–9 (ESV) — 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.

Then you have Paul speaking to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 6:12 (ESV) — 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

And once again…

Hebrews 13:7 (ESV) — 7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

Now, you can see that there is a supreme need that Jesus’ followers imitate God and do it to such an extent that others can follow suit and use your life as an example to tell the world what God is like.
Did you get anything out of this podcast?

Now Father God, in the precious Name of Jesus, we come to you, right now and we ask you to forgive us if we have not been the copy of Jesus, the example that we should have been. We repent of it right now and ask you to cleanse us. Help us by your Holy Spirit to come up in this area. We reach out to you right now. We lift our hands and our hearts to you. Thank you today for helping us in Jesus Name Amen.

We hope you have a great God-week this week, and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

Are the Ten Commandments Really Necessary?

__________
References:

Source unknown Galaxie Software, 10,000 Sermon Illustrations (Biblical Studies Press, 2002). ↩
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 413. ↩
Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 508. ↩
https://robertapetterson.org/oratory/often-asked-what-was-the-role-of-oratory-in-ancient-rome.html ↩
William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, The New Daily Study Bible (Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 185. ↩
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2617029/jewish/The-Bloody-Crusades.htm ↩

emeryhorvath.com

Equipping people to pursue God's glory

Why the Supreme Need Is that Jesus Followers Imitate God

Podcast: Light on Life Season 9 Episode 43

by Emery Horvath

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

We are currently teaching in the book of Ephesians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Podcast Notes

What It Means to Imitate God

Imitate God: What Does the Word ‘Imitating’ Mean?

Imitating God: How Does Love Act?

Imitating God Is about Perception

The Crusaders Failed to Imitate God

Imitating God: What Is He Like?

Imitate God: He Is Love, Not Law

Jesus Helped Us to Imitate God

Imitate God: Jesus Sought Out the Lost

Imitate God: Jesus Forgave

Imitate God: Jesus Was Compassionate

Imitate God: Jesus Healed Sick People

Imitate God: Jesus Cast Out Devils

Imitate God: Righteous Anger

Imitate God: He Is a God of Purpose

Ephesians and Imitating God

Imitating God: The Next Step

Listen to the Audio

Click Play to Listen | Right Click to Download | Subscribe in Stitcher Radio

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

We are currently teaching in the book of Ephesians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Podcast Notes

What It Means to Imitate God

Imitate God: What Does the Word ‘Imitating’ Mean?

Imitating God: How Does Love Act?

Imitating God Is about Perception

The Crusaders Failed to Imitate God

Imitating God: What Is He Like?

Imitate God: He Is Love, Not Law

Jesus Helped Us to Imitate God

Imitate God: Jesus Sought Out the Lost

Imitate God: Jesus Forgave

Imitate God: Jesus Was Compassionate

Imitate God: Jesus Healed Sick People

Imitate God: Jesus Cast Out Devils

Imitate God: Righteous Anger

Imitate God: He Is a God of Purpose

Ephesians and Imitating God

Imitating God: The Next Step

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