2 And walk in love,
as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a
sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
Ephesians 5:2
Personal Mission - Be a man of God
Personal Vision - Lead like Christ, Walk
with Christ, Love my wife and children in a way that they understand
Dear Heavenly
Father, as I begin my study of the Scriptures today, please keep me focused on
you. Remove all distractions and help me
see the depths of your Word. Help me understand how I should walk, live my
life. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
We'll be wrapping up
our discussion of walk, peripeteio, in
Ephesians today. Peripeteio means to conduct my life, regulate one's life, make
progress, make use of opportunities, be occupied with. Surrounding this verse, Paul tells us what to
do and what not to do for our lives. We
must be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, and always giving thanks. We must not be bitter, full of wrath, full or
anger, filthy, speak evil, clamor (shout), engaged in foolish talk, and
fornicators. Let's examine the Greek
meanings of the words in this passage.
"Love" in
the Greek is agape which means
benevolence, unselfish, love which centers on moral preference, to prefer, good
will, love that embraces truth, embracing God's will. We must pattern our life that embraces God's
will, embraces His Truth, with unselfish ambitions.
"Given" in
the Greek is paradidomi which means hand
over, betray, deliver, abandon, delivered with close personal involvement,
permit, allow. Jesus allowed Himself to
be delivered by God then abandoned to take our punishment for our sin.
"Offering"
in the Greek is prosphora which means sacrifice, gift, present.
"Sacrifice" in the Greek is thusia which means offering, official
sacrifice prescribed by God. Jesus' gift
to us is to be the official sacrifice required for sin. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin
for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him," 2
Corinthians 5:21. Jesus is the lamb "without blemish," Exodus 12:5, for the Passover. There are no coincidences. His sacrifice was during the Passover,
remembering God's deliverance.
"Sweet-smelling
aroma" in the Greek is made up two words, euodia
which is the odor of acquiescence (without protest) or satisfaction, well pleasing to God and osme which is savor (pleasant, enjoyed
completely), diffused or emitted by life.
This last phrase, "an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweet-smelling aroma," is hearkening to the Old Testament, the commands of
God as told by Moses in the Pentateuch, specifically in Leviticus and
Numbers. God knows that man will sin and
provides a way of atonement, to be cleared of the wrong doing by sacrificing
unblemished (perfect) animals. This
aroma first appeared with Noah in Genesis 8:21 "And when the Lord smelled
the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, 'I will never again curse the
ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his
youth.'"
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
Great is God's
love that He would be our last, final required sacrifice for our wrong doings,
sin. This way is how we should live with that
amount of love. Emulate God by
understanding Him through learning the Bible.
Be fully dependent on Him by knowing that we can do nothing on our own. Live in a sacrificial love being kind,
tenderhearted, forgiving,
thankful, unselfish.
5 Therefore become
imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children
[imitate their father]; 2 and walk continually in love [that is, value one
another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for
others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering
and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.
Amplified Bible
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