Sermon Overview: As dearly loved children of God, we are called to mirror the Master by imitating Jesus in the way we live, love, and walk in wisdom—reflecting His holiness, avoiding the darkness of sin, and making the most of every opportunity to shine His light in the world.

V1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

· The word imitate comes from the Greek word mimētēs and this is where we get our word for mimic. In the ancient Greek this word was used to refer to an actor that gets on stage and is doing an impression of someone else. This isn’t the first time you see this command to be imitators of God. In Leviticus 11 God says “Be holy just as I am holy.” God is calling His people to be set apart from the rest of the world not just by name but in the way they live, think, and act. Ref 1 Cor 4:16

V3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.

· Sexual immorality is “Porneia” in the Greek, this is where we get our word for pornography. This is any sexual sin outside of God’s design, so any sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is condemned as being sinful. Ephesus was known for being a city dominated by pagan worship and sexual immorality, and they worshipped the pagan gods Diana and Dionysus with wine, drunkenness, and orgies

V4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

· Paul is warning about sexual sin but it’s moving from action to the words we use. There should be no obscenity or foolish talk, foolish comes from the Greek “mōros” and this is where we get our word for moron or moronic. Course joking in this context means quick witted crude humor. The people in Ephesus had festivals filled with crude humor, sexual innuendos, and vulgarity, it wasn’t just in their actions but it was common in the way they spoke, it was part of their religion. Paul says, don’t talk the way the world does, your words need to reflect holiness, not corruption.

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

· “Make the most” in the Greek means to redeem or buy back. Paul is saying time is slipping away fast and you won’t get it back. Life isn’t a rehearsal and you need to make every moment count. Paul is saying, you get one shot at this life and it goes fast, Satan wants to keep you distracted, scrolling on your phone, putting things off. You need to make every opportunity count by living your life very carefully.

V18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit

· In Ephesus when you go to the temple for worship, the priests will be there to fill you with wine so that you can get closer to the gods. They believed that drinking wine put you in a spiritual state so that you can get closer to god and be filled with the divine. Paul is saying, you don’t need alcohol or any other substance to get closer to God, you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. When Paul says that being drunk leads to debauchery, that means reckless, wasteful and wild living. This is the same word Jesus used to describe to prodigal son, he wasted his inheritance on foolish wild living. The point is that this kind of living leads to a wasted life marked with destruction and pain

V19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord always giving thanks to God the Father for everything

· Look at what happens when we are filled with the spirit! Our words change, we speak encouragement, life, and worship instead of negativity and corruption. Our hearts change, we stop complaining and start living a life of thankfulness. Our worship changes, we sing from the heart and it’s genuine from a place of passion

Questions to think about: If people only knew Jesus by watching your life, how clearly would they see Him? If people imitated your spiritual walk, how much would they grow spiritually?