Eph 5:1 Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children; John 1:12-13 …to them [the believers] He gave the authority to become children of God who were begotten...of God. 2 Pet 1:4 …you might become partakers of the divine nature,
Verse 1 says, "Become therefore imitators of God, as beloved children." Paul's word here is an imperative, a command. He commands us to become imitators of God. What a glorious fact that since we are His beloved children, we can be imitators of God! As the children of God, we have His life and nature. We imitate God, not by our natural life, but by His divine life. It is by our Father's life that we, His children, can be perfect as He is (Matt. 5:48). According to the New Testament, the believers in Christ are children of God. As God's children, we have God's life. John 1:13 says that we have been born of God. To be born of God is to have the life of God. Furthermore, 2 Peter 1:4 says that we are partakers of the divine nature. Because we have the divine life and the divine nature, we can be imitators of God. Imitating God in this way is much different from training a monkey to imitate a man. A monkey does not have human life or human nature. But we have the divine life and the divine nature. Therefore, we can be imitators of God.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 418-419. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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