William barclay daily bible study11/22/2023 When a sacrifice was offered on an altar, the odour of the burning meat went up to heaven and the god to whom the sacrifice was offered was supposed to feast upon that odour. Paul uses a typical Old Testament phrase, "odour of a sweet savour," which goes back to a very old idea, as old as sacrifice itself. Since you are training in life, you must imitate the Lord of all good life."Ībove all the Christian must imitate the love and the forgiveness of God. It is as if Paul said: "If you were to train to be an orator, you would be told to imitate the masters of speech. The main part of their training was the study and the imitation of the masters who had gone before. The teachers of rhetoric declared that the learning of oratory depended on three things-theory, imitation and practice. Mimesis, imitation, was a main part in the training of an orator. When Paul talked of imitation he was using language which the wise men of Greece could understand. Later Clement of Alexandria was to say daringly that the true Christian wise man practises being God. Paul sets before his Christian people the highest standard in all the world he tells them they must be imitators of God. It is because of these vices that the wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience. You know this and you are well aware of it, that no fornicator, no unclean liver, no one who gives rein to insatiate desire-which is idolatry has any share in the kingdom of Christ and God. But rather let your talk be a gracious thanksgiving to God. Let there be no foolish talking and graceless jesting among you for these things are not fitting for people like you. Let no one even mention shameful conduct. Let no one even mention fornication and unclean living and insatiable desire among you-it does not befit God's consecrated people to talk about things like that. You must live in love, as Christ loved you, and gave himself to God as a sacrifice and an offering, a sacrifice which was the odour of a sweet savour to God. 5:1-8 You must become imitators of God, as well loved children imitate their father.
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