Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
But among you, as is proper for saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed. These are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.
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 in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—for everything that is made visible is light. So it is said:
“Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
Notes
This section reveals the shape of the Spirit-filled life: a walk of love, light, and resurrection clarity. To be “imitators of God” may sound impossible, but Paul grounds this command in our identity: we are beloved children. In Christ, we are not slaves striving for approval—we are sons and daughters, already accepted in the Beloved
(cf. Ephesians 1:5–6; 1 John 3:1).
The model for love is Christ—not sentimentalism but sacrificial giving. His death was a fragrant offering, echoing the pleasing aroma of Old Covenant sacrifices (cf. Leviticus 1:9), now fulfilled in His once-for-all offering. Walking in love, then, is not self-expression but cross-shaped obedience.
Paul contrasts this walk of love with a life of darkness. Sexual immorality, impurity, greed, and obscene speech do not fit the identity of those who are holy. These behaviors are not simply forbidden; they are incompatible with the kingdom of Christ and of God. To continue in them willfully is to deny the inheritance that Christ secured.
We are warned against deception—empty words that minimize sin or erase judgment. But the wrath of God remains real for the sons of disobedience. Paul does not write this to condemn saints, but to exhort them: do not be partakers with them. The New Covenant has rescued you from darkness—walk as children of light
(cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Peter 2:9).
To walk in light is to walk in truth, transparency, and transformation. The fruit of light—goodness, righteousness, and truth—is what pleases the Lord. The light does not merely expose darkness; it transforms what it touches. The call to wake up, rise, and be illuminated by Christ is the call of resurrection life. It is a summons to live as those who have been raised with Christ and now shine with His life.
This is the New Covenant ethic in action: not behavior management but heart transformation. The old is gone, the new has come. Walk in love, because Christ gave Himself. Walk in light, because you are now light in Him. Wake up, live risen, and let Christ shine through you.
Moe Bergeron 
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