Welcome back to chapter 5 of our Ephesians study! Let's dig in: Imitators of Christ We're slowly nearing the end of this letter from Paul to the church in Ephesus, and we're definitely getting into the nitty-gritty now of what it looks like practically to walk in the "new life" with Christ and put the "old life" behind us (see my post, Ephesians 2: From Death to Life). The beginning of Ephesians 5 is a call to be imitators of God, as Paul began to describe in chapter 4 (Eph. 4:25-32). Verse two describes Christ as "a fragrant offering" to God. Back in Genesis 8:20-21, Noah's offering after the flood is described as an aroma pleasing to God, and God responds to this pleasing offering with a promise to never again destroy the Earth because of the evilness of mankind. Christ's death on the cross pleases God in the same way, and he responds with an even greater promise...the forgiveness of sins and new life with Him, despite our broken...