Like Father, Like Son

Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love Ephesians 5:1-2

Imitators – You would recognize this Greek word immediately.  It is mimetes, from which we get “mimic.”  What you probably wouldn’t recognize is how utterly different this word is from our Greek-based worldview.  Mimic is not what it appears to be.

In Greek-Platonic thought, the imitation is never the reality.  Plato held that the real world stood behind the imitations in our experience.  The real world was the world of pure ideas (Forms).  Most of the time, the world that we experience is just a vague and distorted copy of this pure world.  This thinking has had a powerful influence on all Western thought.  For example, it leads us to conclude that reality is really what God sees, not what we see.  It leads to the idea that this world is not my home, that heaven is the greater reality, that the soul is more important than the body, and a host of other dichotomies.  All of these dichotomies of existence stand in opposition to the Biblical worldview.  Maybe that’s why this Greek word, mimetes, is never found in the Greek translation of the Old Testament.  It sends the wrong message.

So, why does Paul use the word?  Paul has a Hebrew concept behind this word, and he uses it in a very different way than the Greeks.  For Paul, imitation is not about inadequate copies of reality.  For Paul, mimetes is a call to action – real action – not a description of something that is less than the real thing.  In other words, when Paul tells us to be imitators of God, he means to do what God does.   The Greek idea of discovering a hidden, real world behind experience is completely foreign to Paul.  This world is the real world!  This is the place where I exhibit my alignment with the Father.  What I do here is what is real.  For Paul, mimetes is not a word about the difference between the real and the copy.  It is a word about the similarity between a father and a son.  When the son does what the father does, there is a family resemblance.  The son is not the father, but the actions of the son can duplicate the actions of the father.  That’s what Paul has in mind.  We can’t be God, but we can act in ways that duplicate the behavior of God.  Paul’s use of mimetes does not come from Greek philosophy.  It’s about practical duplication of the character of God.

So, now that we understand that Paul is calling us to real, tangible acts, what can we do that duplicates God’s actions?  For that answer, Paul adds the little phrase, “walk in love.”  Any Hebrew would know immediately what Paul meant.  The Hebrew word for “walk” is a word that describes a continuous exhibition of character.  To walk in God’s way is to be consistently obedient to God’s commands.  To walk in love is to exhibit obedience from the heart.  Compliance doesn’t count unless it comes from genuine willingness.  Like Father, like son.  Mimicking the father is a lot more than just being compliant.  If I am going to mimic God, I must start with duplicating His heart in my life.  Paul tells me that I can do this.  He expects me to do this.  So, am I doing it?  Or am I just thinking about it?

Topical Index:  Obedience