Facing Prometheus — Week 14 (Sacred Lives in a Secular World) | “Copy Cat” | Pastor Jason Parrish
Nobody wants to be called a copycat. Kids hate it when their siblings copy them. Friends at restaurants make sure to order last so nobody at the table takes their meal. We’re a culture obsessed with originality.
And yet, in Week 14 of Facing Prometheus: A Letter to the Ephesians and the Future Church Dilemma, Pastor Jason Parrish makes a striking case: for the follower of Jesus, being a copycat is the most ideal position one can find oneself in. Paul opens Ephesians 5 with a direct command: be imitators of God. And he shows us in three specific movements what that imitation actually looks like.
The Text — Ephesians 5:1–21
“Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints. Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks. For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrath is coming on the disobedient because of these things. Therefore, do not become their partners.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light — for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth — testing what is pleasing to the Lord. Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret. Everything exposed by the light is made visible, for what makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said:
Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk — not as unwise people but as wise — making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.”
— Ephesians 5:1–21 (CSB)
The Most Ideal Position
The term “copycat” almost always carries a negative connotation. We want to be original. We want our own style, our own path, our own everything. But Paul says something deeply countercultural here:
★★ For the Christian, being a copycat is the most ideal position one can find oneself in.
Theologian Constantine Campbell captures the foundation of this:
“The instruction to be imitators of God is grounded in believers’ identity as dearly loved children.”
— Constantine R. Campbell, The Letter to the Ephesians
This section of Paul’s letter is technically structured. Academically, Ephesians 5:1–21 is known as a paraenetic section structured by anaphoric imperatives. A few quick definitions:
- Paraenesis — moral exhortation aimed at shaping the life of a community. A formal teaching category for moral instruction.
- Anaphora — a rhetorical device where the same word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of successive clauses for emphasis and rhythm.
- Triadic Structure — a literary device used throughout Scripture to drive a point home for memorization.
This matters because Paul is not floating an abstract idea. He is not making a suggestion or offering something for consideration. He is saying: if you are a child of God, then you and I will be imitators of God — and that imitation will be practically seen in how we walk.
“Their changed parentage obviously transforms their identity, reminding us that we cannot fashion our own identities in a vacuum according to our own self-determination. Our identity is inextricably grounded in the fatherhood of God.”
— Constantine R. Campbell, The Letter to the Ephesians
Paul then breaks the imitation of God down into three specific walks: love, light, and wisdom.
1. A Copycat Will Walk in Love
“Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints. Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks. For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”
— Ephesians 5:1–5 (CSB)
Here is something crucial we cannot miss: Paul does not just instruct us on what it means to be a copycat. He also defines the subject. He says “walk in love” — and then he tells us what love is.
This matters because flawed teaching about love is everywhere right now. Scripturally, love has three aspects: God, self, and others. This is what Jesus taught:
“He said to him, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.'”
— Matthew 22:37–40 (CSB)
★★ Love of people is seen in how we love ourselves — and there are very clear directions on how this is done.
Four Expressions of Love
Paul gives us four specific markers of what biblical love looks like, all drawn from this passage:
Love is sacrificial. “As Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.” (Eph 5:2)
Love is honoring. “But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints.” (Eph 5:3)
Love is pure. “But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you.” (Eph 5:3)
Love is unselfish (faithful). “…as is proper for saints.” (Eph 5:3)
Said another way:
| Love Is… | Love Is Not… |
|---|---|
| Sacrificial | Consumptive |
| Honoring | Objectifying |
| Pure | Compromised |
| Faithful | Idolatrous |
C.S. Lewis, in The Four Loves, captures the danger of getting this wrong:
★★ “Every human love, at its height, has a tendency to claim for itself a divine authority.” — C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
And then, more piercingly:
★★ “Love, having become a god, becomes a demon.” — C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
Paul tells us that if we are going to be imitators of God, we must walk in love as Christ did. And the text itself defines what that means. This is what it actually looks like to love God, love yourself rightly, and therefore be able to love others rightly.
2. A Copycat Will Walk in Light
“Therefore, do not become their partners. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light — for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth — testing what is pleasing to the Lord. Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret. Everything exposed by the light is made visible, for what makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said:
Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”— Ephesians 5:7–14 (CSB)
This entire section (verses 6–14) is governed by the contrasting ideas of light and darkness. Early church father Jerome wrote of this passage:
“The darkness is being turned into light. There is not, as some heretics argue, a nature so alienated that it cannot receive salvation… Those who receive salvation — the righteous — are ‘the light of the world.’ Those who refuse, the unrighteous, are in consequence called darkness… The difference and distance between one and the other is clearly seen by their own fruits.”
— Jerome, Epistle to the Ephesians 3.5.8
★★ This teaching from Paul is not just about contrasting ideas. He is talking about two competing kingdoms.
The metaphor of light appears throughout Scripture. The Old Testament is rich with connections between God and light:
- God brought light into the world (Genesis 1:3)
- “In your light we see light” (Psalm 36:9)
- “Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me” (Psalm 43:3)
- “Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, Lord” (Psalm 89:15)
- “The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment” (Psalm 104:2)
- “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you” (Isaiah 60:1)
- “The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end” (Isaiah 60:20)
And in the New Testament, light becomes a metaphor for conversion (2 Cor 4:6; Col 1:12–13; 1 Pet 2:9) and a description of God’s character: “God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him” (1 John 1:5).
What This Means Practically
Verse 9 — There is fruit consistent with light. Goodness, righteousness, and truth — and the ability to test what is pleasing to the Lord.
Verses 11–12 — To be the light of God is to refuse to participate in the fruitless works of darkness. Notice that Paul calls darkness fruitless, but light is fruitful. This is why truth matters so deeply, even when it isn’t popular or politically correct. When we subject biblical truth to the popularity of culture, we end up participating in lies — which Paul names as the fruitless works of darkness.
Verses 13–14 — The light brings exposure. We need this. All of us need this. Whether you are brand new to following Jesus or you’ve been walking with him for twenty years.
★★ Everything that the light of God exposes, he can heal. The reason many of us never find healing is that we refuse to allow the light of God’s truth and grace to expose the dark things in our lives for what they are.
Constantine Campbell summarizes the weight of verse 14 beautifully:
“Putting all these elements together, we see that Eph 5:14 points to the reality that Christ’s shining on believers, like the promised glory of the Lord, illuminates them and transforms them into light themselves (cf. Phil 2:15). Believers’ light-giving vocation is preceded by their waking up from sleep — their spiritual resurrection with Christ from death to life.”
— Constantine R. Campbell, The Letter to the Ephesians
3. A Copycat Will Walk in Wisdom
“Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk — not as unwise people but as wise — making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.”
— Ephesians 5:15–21 (CSB)
Paul says, “Pay careful attention.” Literally, look diligently. This is how we are instructed to view our daily lives. Theologian Grant Osborne captures the heart of it:
“The wise are typified by an awareness of God and a desire to live out that awareness in their daily conduct.”
— Grant R. Osborne, Ephesians: Verse by Verse
Paul’s vision of wisdom unfolds in concrete steps:
- Verse 16 — Wisdom is “making the most of the time.”
- Verse 17 — Wisdom is “understanding what the Lord’s will is.”
- Verse 18 — Then he gets exceedingly practical: “Don’t get drunk” — but rather “be filled by the Spirit.”
- Verse 19 — Being filled with the Spirit changes the way you talk.
- Verse 20 — A disposition of thankfulness becomes visible and experiential in your life.
Paul ends this section with a statement that serves as both a conclusion and a transition to what’s coming next — how being an imitator of God will flesh itself out in our relationships (marriage, family, parenting, friendships):
“Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.”
— Ephesians 5:21 (CSB)
To our modern ears, this can sound offensive — counter to everything we naturally desire. But Paul makes this statement intentionally, in the context of wisdom and on the front edge of his teaching about relationships. Wisdom — seen in this posture of mutual submission — will significantly alter the reality of our practical life and our relationships.
★★ A lot of the problems we face in life are simply due to the fact that we have chosen not to operate with wisdom, discernment, and discretion — especially where relationships are concerned.
Closing: The Three Walks of an Imitator
Paul’s threefold call is woven together. To imitate God is to walk in love — sacrificially, honoringly, purely, faithfully. To imitate God is to walk in light — refusing the fruitless works of darkness and stepping into the exposing, healing brightness of God’s truth. And to imitate God is to walk in wisdom — paying careful attention, being filled with the Spirit, and posturing ourselves in mutual submission as we move into the most important relationships of our lives.
Being a copycat in the eyes of the world may sound small. Being a copycat of God is the highest calling we have.
References
- Campbell, Constantine R. The Letter to the Ephesians. Edited by D. A. Carson. Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2023.
- Edwards, M. J., ed. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999.
- Furnish, Victor Paul. Theology and Ethics in Paul. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1968.
- Lausberg, Heinrich. Handbook of Literary Rhetoric: A Foundation for Literary Study. Translated by Matthew T. Bliss, Annemiek Jansen, and David E. Orton. Leiden: Brill, 1998.
- Lewis, C. S. The Four Loves. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1960.
- Malherbe, Abraham J. Moral Exhortation: A Greco-Roman Sourcebook. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1986.
- O’Brien, Peter T. The Letter to the Ephesians. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999.
- Osborne, Grant R. Ephesians: Verse by Verse. Osborne New Testament Commentaries. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017.
- Thielman, Frank. Ephesians. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010.
