NOTES for Eph 5:1-2

The words of the apostle Paul may seem strange. Can a person imitate God, the Almighty, All-Knowing One who surpasses every human understanding? God, who created heaven and earth? But in the second verse the apostle Paul explains that he is speaking about another kind of imitation.

Would a son who wants to be like his father copy the color of his eyes, his height, his shoe size - inborn qualities that belong to his father's nature? Of course not: he would try to imitate his character, his way of thinking and acting, the way his father builds his relationships with other people...

So it is with our imitation of God: the apostle calls us to love others as our Heavenly Father loves us. The Lord Jesus, the Son of God, in His earthly self-emptying, says that whoever has seen Him has seen the Father - but not because He imitates His invisibility or boundlessness. The main thing in God is love, and it is precisely in this that we can become like Him as beloved children, as His beloved Son does.