Self-sacrifice and Sweet Aromas
“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” (Ephesians 5:1-2 NKJV)
In chapter 4 of Ephesians, Paul had been discoursing on the fact that believers should walk in unity; that God has given to the church the gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to build it up; that, like a change of clothes, the believer should, “put off, the old and, “put on the new man;” and that the believer should not grieve (fail to respond obediently to) the Holy Spirit.
He ends up the section by saying, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32 NKJV) Then he opens chapter 5 by saying, essentially, “For this reason, you should imitate God by giving yourself for one another, as Christ did for us.”
This instruction echoes Jesus’s words, where He told His followers,“‘Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.’” (Matthew 5:48 NKJV) In like manner, He said,“‘Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.’” (Luke 6:36 NKJV) And finally, “‘As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.’” (John 15:9 NKJV) Clearly Jesus intends for us not only to follow His but to follow His Father’s example.
In line with that teaching, Paul, in multiple letters to the church tells them in several iterations, “Love one another,” explaining what that means. Most famously, the Holy Spirit wrote through him the greatest treatise on true love in I Corinthians 13. To further validate this, the Apostle John echoed the same theme, saying, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” (I John 3:16 NKJV)
In what does this result? In the Old Testament days, in addition to the requirement of blood atonement, one of the aspects of sacrifices to God was that they would be a, “sweet aroma,” to God (Exodus 19:18, 25). In at least one other place (II Corinthians 2:14-15), Paul metaphorically paints the sacrifice of our self-interest on the altar of faith as the same scent to our Father.
We are no longer required to go to Jerusalem, dragging an oxen, a dove, a sheep or a ram. Instead we daily lay down our lives, as Abraham by faith laid down his son, trusting that in so doing God would raise Isaac up by His mighty power. As God did for Abraham, so He will do for you. “In honor prefer one another,” is a pleasing fragrance to our Father, allowing the Holy Spirit to do His work in our lives. By faith, “go forth and do likewise!”
Related Scriptures
“But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.” (I Thessalonians 4:9-12 NKJV)
“Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Galatians 1:3-5 NKJV
“And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD; it is a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. . . . You shall receive them back from their hands and burn them on the altar as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma before the LORD. It is an offering made by fire to the LORD.” (Exodus 29:18, 25 NKJV)
“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” (II Corinthians 2:14-15 NKJV)
I just noticed something. In my attempt to exegete this scripture, I failed to notice the most important phrase it contains. Paul tells us that we should, “as dear children,” imitate our heavenly Father. I remember with all five of my kids and have seen it with my six grandkids, as well, how little ones will mimic the walk and manner of speech of their parents, and will sometimes quote them verbatim, much to our chagrin.
To imitate God means I’ll love what He loves. I’ll hate what He hates. I’ll be saddened by what makes Him sad and rejoice at what pleases Him. Unfortunately, we all too soon try to, “be big boys and girls,” and advance past the simple joy of imitating our Father. But I want to give as He gives; sacrifice as He does; be the kind of son who makes Him proud. I think that is truly a sacrifice of praise, a sweet-smelling incense in His nostrils.