We are to be imitators of God.
The way we enhance our capacity to imitate God is by recognizing the love of God and walking in love with one another. Ephesians 4:25–32 focuses on the ways in which we ought to demonstrate love for one another—speaking kindly, acting compassionately, and forgiving one another.
The reason we walk in love is because Christ loved us and “gave Himself up for us” (Ephesians 5:2). He pursued us at the cost of His very life; this is a love in action. Love, after all, is not meant to be in word only, but also in deed.
Christ is the ultimate model of what true love looks like, laying down His life for us. His sacrifice was not a cheap offering; we were purchased “with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:19 NASB95). As a result of Christ’s sacrifice, we need to walk in a manner worthy of Him. After all, since we have been adopted as God’s children through His sacrifice, we have a responsibility to our identity.
The responsibility we have to our new identity involves imitating Christ, loving others as He loved us.
We need to be conformed to the image of Christ, loving Him and acting out of that love. What we love will transform us, so if we love God, we will become more like Him. This is the heart of Ephesians: our position leads to our practice.
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In the article below, Dr. Boa synthesizes material from several teaching sessions from his series Biblical Principles for Marriage and from portions of his spiritual formation text Conformed to His Image (primarily from chapter 18, “Holistic Spirituality”). Dr. Boa focuses on agape love as one of the five forms of loves (based on the different Greek words). After reviewing all forms, he gives reasons for why agape is the greatest.
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