Imitators of God

This is Paul’s call to the saints at Ephesus in Ephesians 5:1, and it could be said to summarise the goal of Christian life. As redeemed individuals created in the image and likeness of God, we are designed to be like God. John says as much in his letter when speaking about the need to love.

“No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.” (1 John 4:12).

“As He is, so also are we in this world” (1 John 4:17).

Indeed, God’s ultimate purpose for us is that we will be conformed into the image of the Son of God.

“those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom. 8:29).

This is a high calling, and with the infinite expanse of the virtues of God, such a calling can appear overwhelming. Where do we even start in trying to be ‘imitators of God’??

A fear that can arise when discussing such things is whether it is even appropriate to speak about ‘being like God’ as a goal. The language echoes the serpent’s lie to Eve in the garden, being like God was held out as a false hope, which resulted in mankind being separated from God and His goodness.

So what’s the difference? Why are New Testament writers so free to speak about us imitating God, and being as God is on the earth?

I believe a proper understanding of this distinction will help us not only in grasping a coherent picture of the Bible’s vision for our lives, but also in getting a starting point for how to correctly be imitators of God.

The wrong idea

When Satan came to Eve in the garden, he presented the need to be like God as a need to break free of God’s oppression over her life.

“Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

“God knows… your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3:1,5).

The temptation held out by Satan was put in language that sounded appropriate: our eyes should be open, we should be like God, we should know good and evil. However, what the serpent meant was anything but appropriate; the intention behind being like God in this sense was to replace God.

This temptation is one that we can fall into far too easily as young men. We can desire (rightly) to pursue knowledge, righteousness, responsibility, and a plethora of other necessities of a life that honours God. Yet in doing so, we can move from trying to follow God to trying to replace God.

The critical distinction (as far as I understand it) is one of control.

When the serpent spoke to Eve about knowing good and evil, the problem was that she would now become the arbiter of good and evil, as seen in her following actions as she began to buy into his lie.

“Then the woman saw that the tree was good…” (Gen. 3:6).

She took on the role that belonged only to God, seeing and declaring things as good.

“God saw that the light was good” (Gen. 1:4).

Mankind sinned in trying to be like God because they tried to take His control. In our lives, crossing this line can manifest itself in any number of ways, but it comes back to an obsession with self.

When we fear and overthink situations we are in, it is because we think we are in control. When we dominate and try to upstage others, it is because we think we are in control.

We may think that, as men of God, we need to be the ones to save the day, have all the answers and solve everyone’s problems. But this is a burden far too great for us to bear; it will either make us paralysed and weak under the pressure or make us domineering and overbearing with delusions of grandeur.

When we think we are in control, we replace God. This is idolatry, this is the first sin, this is where problems in Christian life begin. This is the wrong idea.

The right idea

So we are not meant to replace God (obviously). God is God, and we are not. So what does the Bible mean when it says we are to imitate God?

Rather than replacing God, I think the right idea is that we are to represent God.

Like an ambassador to a foreign land, we do not go seek to control and reign as the king back in the home country does; we go to show those in other lands how good the king is and why they should want Him to reign over them.

This is captured in the idea of the image of God seen in the creation of man. We are not gods; we are made from the dust of the ground. We are not equipped to control all things, but we do have the imprint of God on us. We are created with a limited kind of power and knowledge, with the purpose of representing the all-powerful and all-knowing God.

Is it a hopeless task? NO! Such limitations should tell us that those aspects of God are not part of what we are showing the world (creation around us has that task).

When God created mankind, integral to being made in the image of God was being made as male and female.

“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Gen. 1:27).

Relationships were vital in the creation of mankind in the image of God. This is because God eternally has been in a relationship, the Father, Son and Spirit in perfect love and harmony that has poured out into creation. This is one of the gloriously unique things about the true God, and this capacity for deep, sacrificial, loving relationships is something that sets humanity apart. This is key to how we represent God: we love.

With this in mind, I think this gives us the Biblical starting point for what it is to be an imitator of God. Those who imitate God are those who love, because God is love. This is exactly John’s point in 1 John 4, and it is no surprise that when Paul tells us to be imitators of God, he immediately follows it with the command to “walk in love” (Eph. 5:2).

For us to be men who are like God, the primary virtue that will undergird that is not power, not influence, not eloquence, knowledge or anything else. The principal virtue of those who are like God is love.

A Biblical imitation of God is not self-focused; it is radically others-focused. The standard for our love is not just the best love humans can give (John 15:13), it is the love that Christ can give (Eph. 5:2). The kind of love that shows God to the world is a love that gives all for nothing in return, that gives all even when there is only hatred in return. This is divine love that we are called to live out.

This is still an extremely high calling and could still appear overwhelming, so often we find it difficult to truly show love for others. However, we must remember that any feelings of being overwhelmed trace back to us trying to replace God, rather than representing Him. We are weak, we are not capable of faithfully representing God is we try to be in control.

That attitude of a true imitator of God is one of humility. This is exactly what Paul says.

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children”

Sometimes in the New Testament, we are called to be mature, to be men, to be strong (1 Cor. 16:13). That is all essential, but when speaking about this aspect of life, it is not what Paul emphasises. If we are to be like God, our posture needs to be one of utter dependence, as children who simply watch and imitate their Father (of course, this is the path to true maturity as well, so the two ideas are not in conflict).

Proper imitation stems from relationship. As the Lord taught His disciples in the upper room,

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit from itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:4).

If we are to be men who love others, it starts with our love of God, being fully taken up with Him and in awe of Him. The two greatest commands are to love God and love our neighbour. We will never fulfil the second if we do not do the first.

The Bible teaches us to show God to the world – to imitate Him. We do not need to be paralysed at the weight of responsibility. What we do need to do is run to our God to be taken up with His love, to look to Christ our perfect example and be in awe of Him. From there we will be able to love others as He has loved us.