Ephesians 5:1 Be you therefore followers of God, as dear children; I. THE IMITATION OF GOD'S WISDOM. It is written — I take one example — it is written, "No man knoweth the Son but the Father"; they, therefore, who are studying the Son under the Father's teaching, are in the most direct way imitating God Himself in the matter of knowledge. Again, we may imitate God in the knowledge of human nature. II. THE IMITATION OF GOD IN POWER. This would seem, like the other, to be almost an unintelligible precept till we begin to ponder it more thoughtfully. Then we must be struck with several passages of Scripture which represent power as one of the characteristic Christian endowments, as when St. Paul says, "Ye received not a spirit of fear, but ye received, when ye became Christians, a spirit of power"; or our Lord, "that ye receive power, in that the Holy Ghost is come upon you"; or St. Paul again, "I can do all things," or, more literally, "I have strength for all things, through Christ which enableth me"; or St. John in the opening verses of the Apocalypse, "He hath made us kings"; "I appoint unto you a kingdom as My Father hath appointed unto Me." We must dismiss altogether the first idea of power as a selfish or personal ascendency over a multitude of subjects or inferiors. If we examine it we shall find that the power in which we are to be imitators of God consists in two things — the one a power over ourselves, and the other an influence over others, both alike due to the same cause — the ever-present help and strength of the Holy Spirit. We are forever misreading and miscalling power. We look for it, we seem to see it, in some form or other of the self-strength. We call a man powerful who by the force of intellect, or of eloquence, or of station, can overbear his opponents, enthral his hearers, or make a nation bow down to him. In all these workings of power it would be ridiculous, it would be irreverent, to see any approach, however infinitely distant, to the imitation of God. But it is otherwise when we come into successful conflict, however insignificant may seem to be the form of it, with God's one foe, which is the power of evil. And yet once more, and finally, the imitation of God's power in conquering a sin passes on into the imitation of God's power in the exercise of influence. That marvellous word influence, which is the flowing in into one soul of a mysterious something out of another soul; is it not the very highest of God's operations and power? Is it not that which quickens dead men out of the sleep of death? Is it not that which changed Saul of Tarsus into the blessed apostle and evangelist St. Paul? Is it not that which even in these late days of the earth is every day bringing some new wicked rebel into the gracious obedience of Jesus Christ? Is it not just that flowing in of the Holy Spirit into the spirit that is in man? And is there any exercise of God's power quite so wonderful as that? (Dean Vaughan.) Parallel Verses KJV: Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; |
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