Even As God

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave You.  

Ephesians 4:32

How does God forgive us? Our text falls in what we may term the practical portion of Ephesians. Typically, Paul in writing his epistles, begins with the doctrinal discussion of his subject and proceeds later to the more practical application for which the doctrinal portion has laid the groundwork. Our text exhorts us to forgive one another ‘even as God in Christ forgave you.’ The implications of this statement are more far-reaching than we may immediately realize. We understand that the process of sanctification involves the work of God’s free grace wherein He renews us in the whole person after the image of Christ. Thus Christ is first, Our Redeemer, and afterward the Great Example for us to follow. We become imitators of Christ. Therefore, if we are to forgive each other as God has forgiven us, we need a clear understanding of how God forgives. This becomes the model for our own forgiveness of one another. We want to examine this carefully, that we do not assert that God does things He does not do and somehow lay upon ourselves, and others practices which are not an accurate reflection of how we should forgive.  

Our Good and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You have given us Christ 
to show us how to do. 
We praise You, that as we follow Him, 
we grow to be like Him. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning