Sermon Tone Analysis
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LIKE FATHER LIKE SON
Ephesians 5:1
Secular: Steve Irwin, the Crockodile Hunter.
He lived his life on the edge.
Everything he did was outrageous.
The most dangerous snakes, animals, amphibians, insects.
A life lived at the extreme.
Some thought it was too extreme.
But as you watched and listened you became aware of why Steve did these things.
He wanted to be like his dad, who taught him everything he knew.
Who hasn’t seen the old footage of Steve and his dad out catching crockodiles together.
And Steve wanted his son to be just like him.
And so he did some extreme things with his son that garnered him some unwanted publicity.
“Like father like son” was especially true in Steve’s family.
Personal: And this reminds us of the more general principle that children are often like their parents, a fact that can be embarrassing or encouraging depending on the circumstances.
Just the other night I was over at Ed and Robin Miller’s home and Addie was walking around in her daddy’s snow boots.
Just as happy as pie trying to emulate or mimic her dad.
I smiled and hope that she does grow up to be like her dad and love the Lord.
But the other extreme is also true.
An abusive father raises a son who abuses his children as well.
Whether we like it or not children most often turn out to be like their parents.
Biblical: The Apostle Paul was very aware of this truth in his day.
He reminded the Ephesian believer that they were once children of wrath even as the rest.
They and we inherited a sin nature from our father, Adam.
But Paul has explained that when we accepted Christ we received a new nature – we experienced regeneration.
We now have a nature like our heavenly Father.
The old man is gone behold the new man has come!
We are no longer in Adam but in Christ.
And Paul says something startling as he continues to admonish the believers to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the calling with which they have been called.
He commands all of his readers to “imitate God.”
Now that is extreme!
We find this command in the section of Paul’s letter where the Holy Spirit is urging us to live out our everyday lives in a manner consistent with our calling.
A worthy walk because of the wealth we have received.
What is our calling?
What is our wealth?
Let’s remind ourselves!
We are called “saints” “faithful” 1:1
We are called to be “holy and blameless” before Him 1:4
We are called the chosen ones 1:4
We are called sons because we have been adopted into God’s family
We have received grace 1:6,7,8
We have been redeemed through the blood of Christ 1:7
Forgiven our trespasses 1:7
God has revealed to us the mystery of His will 1:9
We have received an inheritance 1:11
All to the praise of God’s glory 1:6, 12, 14
We were once dead but now we are alive and seated with Him in the heavenly places 2:1-10
We who were once separated and alienated from God and each other have been reconciled by the blood of Christ and placed into the body of Christ the Church 2:11-22
We are they mystery of Christ – Jews and Gentiles in one body 3:1
So that God’s incredible wisdom might be made known through the Church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places 3:10
We are God’s eternal purpose 3:11
And we can boldly come into His presence as His children!
Is it any wonder there is a doxology that says “Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Praise Him above Ye heavenly host, praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”
4:1 therefore…
4:17 therefore…
4:25 therefore…
5:1 therefore… Become imitators of God, as beloved children
“therefore” draws a conclusion from previous statements, it introduces a logical result or inference from what has preceded.
Thus, so, consequently, these things being so.
Paul is drawing a conclusion and connecting the thoughts of chaps 1-3 with 4-6.
Structural: Paul’s gives us an amazing exhortation and motivation that should encourage us to live holy lives!
If we are children of God we ought to imitate our Father.
#1.
The Exhortation: “become imitators of the God”
Paul’s exhortation is not really to “be” imitators of the God but to “become” imitators of the God.
There is a difference in Greek verbs as well as English.
‘Become’ has more the idea of perseverance and continuance rather than a state.
It is more the idea of continually or increasingly: make it the activity of your life to imitate the God.
The verb is present tense which refers in this context to continual or habitual action and “become” is also a command.
So this is not an option.
We are under obligation to make God’s character and activity a pattern for our lives.
Illus.
You might say to a child “be nice” and it is good for that one instance but if you say you want them to “become” nice you are looking for a pattern of behavior not just an instance.
App.
To make something a pattern or habit of life takes thought and time and effort.
Paul sets forth a specific pattern for us to follow: imitate the God “imitate” – the Greek word is (mimntai) We derive our English words “mimic” or “mime” or “imitate” from this word.
All these words have the idea of someone who copies specific characteristics of another person.
In English the word “imitation” is usually understood in a negative sense, referring to something that is not genuine.
Vanilla extract or imitation vanilla extract.
But in the Greek language this word always had a positive sense: to become like someone else.
Paul uses this word in several other similar contexts.
When he wrote to the Thessalonians he praised them that they became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea (1 Thess.
2:14).
He wrote them earlier in 1:6 that they had become imitators of Paul and Silvanus and Timothy and of the Lord.
But here Paul makes an even more amazing statement “become imitators of ‘the God’.
Only place in the entire Bible where this is explicity stated.
It is implied in Lev.
19:2 “Be holy as I am holy” but here Paul gives us a seeming impossible command!
Think about that, it is impossible but it is a command.
How Paul? Remember Paul’s prayers 1:19; 3:16.
It is not humanly possible but only possible by the Spirit of God!
And it is to be our goal in life!
Illus.
In the inferior world, this horizontal life, imitation is deemed as the sincerest form of flattery.
You should have seen all the Peyton Manning jerseys people were wearing in Indianapolis.
I even saw a group of Elvis look alikes downtown.
Why do young girls want to dress like Brittany Spears?
Why did so many young boys, like my son and Louis Fahrbach, want to “be like Mike” Michael Jordan?
Why all the Dale Earnhardt caps?
Why do children want to emulate movie stars, or rock stars or the rich and famous or rappers?
Because what we deeply admire we are prone to mimic!
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