What you say matters. How you talk matters. Your speech is an expression of your character. What you do matters. How you walk matters. Your lifestyle is an expression of your character. You can tell who a person is based on how they talk. Jesus said in Matthew 15:18, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.” Proverbs 10:31 tells us, “The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.” God cares about how we talk, because it communicates what we really believe about Him, ourselves, and others. Our tongues are used to demonstrate to others who we really are. In the Christian life, we know that we should talk right, but what matters just as much, if not more, is how we walk. We can talk the talk of being saved, sealed, and set apart for God but if we don’t walk it then it ain’t worth anything. A talk without a walk is just clanging symbols, noise makers, or smoke and mirrors to trick ourselves and others. Those who are in Christ are called to live accordingly. Our walk and talk should match our position in Christ. Let me put it this way, you wouldn’t expect a groundhog to fly and sing a song, would you? The moment you were saved by the marvelous grace of Jesus through faith in His sufficient substitutionary sacrifice for sin you were immediately transformed. You are something and someone completely different. Eph. 1-3 is the exposition of what Christ did for us and who we are in Him. This is our wealth in Christ through the riches of His grace. Eph. 4-6 is the exhortation of how to live that out in our walk based upon our wealth in Christ. These chapters focus on what Christ is doing in and through us based upon what He has already done for us. Simply put, God wants your life (walk) to match the new life (wealth) that He gave you in Christ. God wants you to become who you became.
There are several key words and phrases that are used repeatedly throughout Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, but I want to focus on one word that we will see as the thrust of this passage and will serve as the connection for the rest of Eph. 5. That word is “love.” Throughout Ephesians we have seen that love is the motivator of our salvation and sanctification. As John puts it in 1 John 4:10, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us.” It is God who in His love planned our redemption (Eph. 1:4; 2:4). It is the Son’s love that purchased our redemption (Eph. 1:5-12). It is the Holy Spirit’s love that proves our redemption by quickening and indwelling us (Eph. 1:13-14; 2:1). This same love is seen flowing from God to man and then in return, we who are in Christ are to love our fellow family members, citizens of Heaven, and members of the same Body of Christ (Eph. 3:14-19; 4:2-16). Today, in our study we are going to focus on walking in love. As Eph. 4 began with showing our need of a worthy walk, Eph. 5 will continue to show that a worthy walk is built upon walking in love. All these chapters and verses flow from one another. All of them put together show us who we are in Christ, what we have in Christ, and how to live in Christ.
Eph. 5:1-7 says,
“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.”
In this study of this passage, we will see that there are only two loves. Either we are walking in perfect love or perverted love. However, we must understand reading these verses also show us that a perfect love as described in Eph. 5:1-2, is the nature and lifestyle of the believer. Walking in perfect love can only happen in a Christian because only a Christian truly knows the love of God and can truly express love to others. Love is a fruit of the Spirit. We love God and others because of the Spirit’s work in and through us as we are strengthened by Him in our inner man through faithfully and continually yielding to the work of the Spirit and scripture in our life (Eph. 3:14-21). Perfect love as God is in His very nature and now, we too have love perfected in our new nature (or new man as Eph. 4:20-24 puts it) is an unconditional, self-giving, sacrificial love. Perfect love is only motivated for the good of others and not in what we may get in return. The world outside of Christ has love too. However, their love is a perverted love. Those outside of Christ are seen in Eph. 5:3-7 contrasting the perfect love that the Christian should be walking in with a perverted love that is artificial, counterfeit, self-serving, self-motivated, and always based upon conditions that benefit oneself. The perverted love that the world knows and lives in is no longer to be permitted among us. Meaning, we should be walking in love not in the perverted love of the world. Christians are different and new creatures altogether. We are now being commanded and called to live differently. If you are in Christ, then you are different. So be different. Talk different. Walk different. The great difference between those in Christ and those outside of Him is that we walk in love, and they walk in perversion. God wants us to be separated from the perverted love identified by idolatry and immorality. Only by walking in perfect love can we truly walk worthy of our wealth in Christ.
Let’s begin by dealing with Eph. 5:1-2 so that we can faithfully and obediently have our life in Christ identified by walking in love. These verses say, “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” Love is one of God’s perfections (another word used to describe His attributes). God is love. God is perfect. He is the only being who is perfect love and expresses perfect love every single time. Because we are in Christ, we have experienced this perfect love to then express it in our walk. There are two key things that we must see in these verses. God wants us to walk in His likeness (Eph. 5:1) and walk in His love (Eph. 5:2).
First, walking in love begins with walking in His likeness. Remember, God not only planned your salvation but also your sanctification. The end of our Christian life is to be totally transformed into the image of Christ (Eph. 1:3-6; 2:8-10). Our wealth in Christ is who we are and what we have in Him. This is our union with and in Christ. We are eternally united to Christ and His Church. This position is unchanging, but it must be practically lived out through moment-by-moment communion with Christ and His people. Because we are united to Christ, we should heed the command of this verse to be followers of Him in His likeness. The walk of a Christian is living out who we became in Christ. The moment we experience the new birth and adoption through repentance and faith in Gospel of Christ, we have been on a continual, though often slow and perilous journey to looking more like Christ. This is why our walk matters. You may talk that you are a Christian but if you aren’t growing in Christlikeness, then you are either in need of regeneration or you are a wayward sheep in need of deep repentance. Praise God that in either case the solution is the same. The solution is the matchless grace of Jesus. The riches of His grace are still available to you lost sinner without Christ. The riches of His grace are still available to you backslidden child of God. Unfortunately, we have made the Christian life complicated. It’s much simpler. The Christian life is living like your Heavenly Father through the work of the interceding Son and indwelling Holy Spirit. Just as it was grace through faith that saved you, likewise it is the same formula for you to walk in love or to walk worthy of your salvation. God’s grace expects, enables, and empowers our salvation and sanctification. Now, by faith, we respond to the never-ending inner work of His grace so that we may grow in Christlikeness which is the sum of the Christian life as seen in Eph. 4-6.
Notice a few key phrases in this verse. “Be ye” shows us that what is coming is a forceful command. This is non-negotiable. Walking in His likeness and love is not optional for the Christian. “Therefore” connects backwards to see the positional and practical truths of Eph. 1-4. Therefore, because of our wealth in Christ our walk must be in Christ and match who we became in Him. The word “followers” is an interesting word and critically important to understanding the Christian life. The word is “mimetes” meaning imitator or follower. It is where we get the word mime or mimic from. A mime as we see more often than not in cartoons or in movies is someone who only communicates through action, movement, or facial expression. You won’t hear a word come from a mime or else they won’t be a mime anymore. The reason this word is used is because we need to be imitators of God. Our life should look like Jesus, sound like Jesus, and love like Jesus. Essentially, this phrase is commanding each believer to live out who we are in Christ and let our walk do all the talking. I get very nervous when people have to tell me how spiritual they are. My radar goes off when people over spiritualize everything or talk about how much they love God. Don’t tell me lest you find yourself not walking worthy in “all lowliness, and meekness” as we are commanded in Eph. 4:2. Have you ever noticed that you naturally pick up characteristics of those that you are around? Certain phrases and mannerisms naturally are passed around as we spend time with others. We won’t walk in His likeness as imitators of God if we aren’t spending time in communion with Him through prayer and the word. But here is the key to the verse, “as dear children.” Children are natural imitators. When you were without Christ your flesh naturally imitated your old father, the devil. Now, because you are in Christ, you are God’s “dear child,” joint heirs with Jesus, and one of the many blood bought children of the King of Kings. When children are born into the world, do you know who they will look like? That’s right, their mom and dad. As they grow up, whoever raises them and they watch they will naturally begin to do as they do. Let me give you an example. I stand, cross my arms, and sit like my father. I can’t tell you how many times we cross our arms the same way at the same time and then decide together who is allowed to cross their arms so we both aren’t doing it. But I also meticulously search for sales and coupons like my mother. We both enjoy the feeling of saving a buck. These things came naturally to me because they are my parents, and I am their son. I naturally picked this up. It’s in my DNA. In Christ, you have a new Father. You have new DNA. 2 Pet. 1:2-4 says, “2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Because we are God’s dear children who have been given new natures in union with Christ, we should live in the likeness of our Father. Look like Him. Live like Him. Love like Him. You carry the family name and resemblance. If you are in Christ, then stop living like you aren’t a dear child of God. He loves you as His own because you are accepted in the beloved. You are as loved and accepted by the Father as Jesus the Son.
Second, walking in love means that we not only walk in His likeness but that we walk in His love. God’s love is perfect, unconditional, selfless, self-giving, and always seeking the good of others without expectation of anything in return. Don’t think for a minute that God only loves you because you can offer Him something. There is nothing that we can offer Him except a faithful, humble, and grateful love to Him for all that He is, has done, is doing, and will do in our life. Perfect love is the perfect image of His likeness. We can’t live in His likeness without walking in His love. A loveless Christian is no Christian at all. 1 John makes it clear as does Ephesians (all of the Bible for that matter) that there is no such thing as a saved child of God who is not filled with love. Now, let’s be honest, we aren’t always as loving or like Christ as we ought to be. This is exactly why we need the work of His grace in the inner man through the indwelling Holy Spirit who is always seeking to grow us in the likeness and love of Christ. The word love here is “agape.” This is an eternally unconditional, selfless, sacrificial love for the sole purpose of the benefit of another. Does this love sound like you? Does it look like you? Walking in His love means that we have put off the old man and put on the new to walk with a renewed heart that loves the truth, forgiveness, and honest living. Look at Eph. 4:25-32 and you’ll see that to walk in the love of God, we must be quick to forgive. A love that doesn’t forgive is not love. The limitations of your love are seen in the limits of your forgiveness for others. Didn’t Jesus say to forgive continuously and love our enemy (Matthew 18, 5:43-48)? Walking in love not only means that we forgive but that we simply give our lives to Christ and others. Notice in Eph. 5:2 that we are “to walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” Jesus shows us perfect love. Jesus shows us what it means to walk in love. Jesus only ever walked in love. Perfect love. Perfect love for you. We are forgiven only because Christ gave Himself for us in perfect love (Gal. 2:20; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 5). The perfect love and walk of love that Jesus displayed was a sweet aroma to the Father. Walking in His likeness and love is a sweet fragrance to the glory of God and the good of others. Nothing is sweeter to your Heavenly Father than when you are walking in His likeness and love. Walking in His likeness and love is how we mature and cultivate unity in the Body of Christ. Walking in His likeness and love is how we walk worthy of our wealth in Christ. As we walk in His likeness and love we will edify the Body and be salt and light to the lost world. Salt is not very loud, but you feel it’s impact in a wound. I’ve never heard the sound of light, have you? Yet, both speak loudly by walking loudly. As we walk in His likeness and love we will be used to bring others to Christ. Let your walk talk for you, but remember, right now your walk is speaking to the world. What is it saying? What is your walk proclaiming about God and the Gospel of Christ? What is it saying of eternal value?
Grow with me as we study the believer’s wealth and walk in Christ.
Grow deeper.
Grow higher.
Grow wider.
Grow With Pastor Joe 
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