Ephesians 5:1-2

 

 

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Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;  (NASB: Lockman)

Greek: ginesthe (2PPMM) oun mimetai tou theou os tekna agapeta,
Amplified: THEREFORE BE imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father].  (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
NLT: Follow God's example in everything you do, because you are his dear children.  (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: As children copy their fathers you, as God's children, are to copy him. (
Phillips: Touchstone)
Wuest:  Be becoming therefore imitators of God, as children beloved. (
Erdmans
Young's Literal:  Become, then, followers of God, as children beloved,

REFERENCES

Paul Apple
Albert Barnes
Wayne Barber
Brian Bell
J M Boice
John Calvin
Alan Carr
Steven Cole
Thomas Constable
Bob Deffinbaugh
Explore the Bible
Explore the Bible
Oliver Greene
David Guzik
Matthew Henry
Charles Hodge
Jamieson, F & B
S Lewis Johnson
John MacArthur
John MacArthur
J Vernon McGee
Alexander Maclaren
F B Meyer
John Piper
John Piper
John Piper
A T Robertson
C H Spurgeon
Ray Stedman
Ray Stedman
Marvin Vincent
Precept Ministries

Ephesians Outline/Commentary
Ephesians 5
Ephesians 5:1-2: Be Imitators of God's Love - 1
Ephesians 5:1-21
Ephesians 5 Body Life (Audio)

Ephesians 5
Ephesians 5:1-10 Walk Like An Ephesian
Ephesians 5:1-2 Imitating the God of Love - Excellent (Or Mp3)
Ephesians Expository Notes

Ephesians 5:1-6 Making Love More Than a  3 Letter Word

Ephesians 5:1-21: Imitate God
Ephesians 5:22-33: Build Strong Marriages
Ephesians 5:1-7 As God's Child We Should Follow God
Ephesians 5 Commentary
Ephesians 5 Commentary
Ephesians 5:3-20 - Commentary
Ephesians 5 Commentary
Ephesians 4:25-5:2 Christian's Use of Tongue - Audio or Pdf

Ephesians 5:1-2: Walking in Love - 1

Ephesians 5:2-7: Walking in Love - 2
Ephesians - Thru the Bible Mp3 Audios
Ephesians 5:1 God's Imitators
Ephesians 5:2 - Love: On God's Side; Love: On Our Side
Ephesians 4:31-5:2 Be Kind To One Another

Ephesians 4:32-5:2 Forgive just as God in Christ has forgiven

Ephesians 4:32-5:2 Christ's Love: Its Cost
Ephesians 5
Ephesians 5:1 Imitators of God - Pdf
Ephesians 5:1-2: The Call Of The Hour;
Ephesians 5:1-2  Be Godlike

Ephesians 5
Ephesians Lesson 1 - 37 pages PDF

THEREFORE BE IMITATORS OF GOD: ginesthe (2PPMM) oun mimetai tou theou: (Eph 4:32; Leviticus 11:45; Matthew 5:45,48; Luke 6:35,36; 1Peter 1:15,16; 1John 4:11) 

Note: All verbs in bold red indicate commands, not suggestions! Also hold mouse pointer over underlined links for pop up of Scripture which stays open and can be copied.

Therefore (3767)  (oun) introduces a logical result or inference from what precedes (so, consequently)

Be (1096) (ginomai) means to become or come into existence (to be born). They were already "born" but now were to live as ("be") newly born ones.

Imitators (3402)  (mimetes from miméomai = imitate <> English = mimic) is an imitator, follower, actor, impostor. Plato said a mimetes was one who represents characters. Aristotle said it was one who is like another.

Don’t talk it
Walk it!

A mime is one who acts a part with mimic gestures and action.  Have you ever seen somebody mime? They don’t say anything, do they? In other words, what Paul is saying is,

"Don’t talk about His love, walk in His love, live it, express it. Don’t tell everybody you have it, show them that you have it. Do as God does. Mime. In other words, live it out before the world."

Mimetes means "do as I do." The present imperative is a command calling for divine imitation to be their way of life. Paul says for us to continually "mimic" God's attitudes and actions just described (strengthened by His Spirit cf prayer of Eph 3:16-see note).

Remember that when you "mime" you usually let your actions speak in place of your words. How does this truth that apply to being kind, tender hearted, forgiving (Eph 4:32 -note). If we are to be like God, we must "mime" Him and let our actions speak louder than our words!

Barclay wrote that

"When Paul talked of imitation he was using language which the wise men of Greece could understand. Mimesis, imitation, was a main part in the training of an orator. The teachers of rhetoric declared that the learning of oratory depended on three things-theory, imitation and practice. The main part of their training was the study and the imitation of the masters who had gone before. 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. Since you are training in life, you must imitate the Lord of all good life." (1Pe 2:21-note) (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series, Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press)

What a lofty and privileged call this is - called to to be imitators of the Living and True God. Oh, Father, forgive us for forgetting all too often who we now are and more importantly "Whose" we now are (not our own but bought with a price to glorify or give a proper opinion of You in our bodies to the sons of disobedience who live in darkness!) Amen.

Jesus gave a similar exalted charge in His Sermon on the Mount...

Love (as your lifestyle = present imperative) your enemies and pray (as a lifestyle = present imperative) for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (See notes Matthew 5:44; Matthew 5:45)

Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (See note Matthew 5:48)

AS BELOVED CHILDREN: os tekna agapeta: (Jeremiah 31:20; Hosea 1:10; John 1:12; Colossians 3:12; 1John 3:1,2) (Jeremiah 31:20; Hosea 1:10; John 1:12; Colossians 3:12; 1John 3:1,2)

As (5613)(os) is a comparative particle which points to the manner or character in which the imitation is to be made good, and indicates at the same time a reason for it. They are children of God, experiencing His love and this should motivate them to imitate His forgiveness. Children should be like their father, and love should meet love! How are you doing beloved of God?

Beloved (27) (agapetos from agape) means dear or very much loved (in context by God their Father!). It is a love called out of one’s heart by preciousness of the object loved.

The "Beloved" are those to whom Christ has shown love.

Children (5043(teknon from tikto = to give birth to) is a word for children that emphasizes the birth relationship. Paul used this word teknon earlier (Eph 2:3-note) to point were born with Adam's depraved nature and were fully deserving of the wrath of God. What a contrast a few chapters makes (and the love of God poured out in these Gentiles hearts)! Now they were in Christ, empowered by His Spirit and motivated by a desire to walk in a manner pleasing to their new Father, God (formerly Satan had been their "daddy", cf John 8:44).

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William Barclay has an illustration of one who sought to imitate His Father writing that...

In the early church, when a man gave his life to Jesus Christ as Savior, he often had to leave his job because it conflicted with his profession of faith. William Barclay points out that some years ago, the same thing happened to F. W. Charrington, the heir to a fortune made by brewing.

Barclay writes,

“Charrington was passing a tavern one night. There was a woman waiting at the door. A man, obviously her husband, came out, and she was trying to keep him from going back in. With one blow of his fist, the man felled her.

“Charrington started forward and then he looked up; the name above the tavern was his own. Charrington said, ‘With that one blow that man did not only knock his wife out, he also knocked me clean out of that business forever.’”

Charrington gave up the fortune he might have had, rather than touch money earned in such a way. (From Morning Glory, July 26, 1993)

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Copy The Master
Ephesians 5:1
November 10, 2003

The Louvre in Paris is perhaps the most famous art museum in the world. It displays originals by such masters as Delacroix, Michelangelo, Rubens, da Vinci, Ingres, Vermeer, and many others.

Since 1793, the Louvre has encouraged aspiring artists to come and copy the masters. Some of our most famous modern artists have done that and have become better painters by copying the best the world has ever known.

An article in Smithsonian magazine tells about Amal Dagher, a 63-year-old man who has been duplicating art at the Louvre for 30 years. Dagher remains in awe of the masters and continues to learn from them. He said, "If you're too satisfied with yourself, you can't improve."

Paul instructed us to be "imitators of God" (Ephesians 5:1). In his first letter to the Thessalonians, he commended the believers because they were becoming like the Lord and setting an example for others (1Thessalonians 1:6, 7, 8, 9, 10).

Like the Louvre copyists, we'll never reach perfection before we get to heaven. Even so, we must resist the temptation to be satisfied with our present imitation of Jesus. We need to keep looking to Him, learning from Him, and asking for His help. Let's copy the Master. —David C. Egner (
Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

More like the Master I would live and grow,
More of His love to others I would show;
More self-denial, like His in Galilee,
More like the Master I long to ever be. —Gabriel

To become like Christ, we must learn from the Master

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Ephesians 5:1
F B Meyer

Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children. (r.v.)

Children mostly resemble their father. There is often an unmistakable family likeness, which compels the most casual observer to exclaim, “The very image of his father.” Oh that in each of us there might be that which would make men think of God!

Put away your former manner of life (Ephesians 4:22). — The old man stands for the collection of habits, sayings, and doings which characterised our unregenerate days. The apostle says that they are to be put away suddenly, instantly. Evidently this is possible, or such a command would not be issued. Men speak of a gradual reformation, and advise the piecemeal discontinuance of evil. God, on the contrary, bids us treat the evil past as a company of soldiers would bandits and outlaws. There is the greater reason for this, as the old man waxeth corrupt. Even Martha could not bear the opening of her brothers vault.

Be renewed in the spirit of your mind (Ephesians 4:23). — We are reminded of Romans 12:2. The mind needs to be brought into daily, hourly contact with God’s thoughts, as contained in Scripture, that it may be renewed; else our constant association with the men and women of the world, their maxims and practices, will inevitably and sorrowfully deteriorate it. The only source of daily renewal is fellowship with God.

Put on the new man. — Of this the apostle affirms that it is according to God, and has been created. Our Lord created this beauteous dress when He rose from the dead. The day of resurrection was one of creation. All the habits and dispositions of a holy, godlike life have been prepared for us in Him, and await our appropriation; and as they are according to God, so soon as we put them on we shall become imitators of God as dear children. (Meyer, F. B. Our Daily Homily)

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Living Up To The Name
Ephesians 5:1
August 3, 1999

Our 9-pound Yorkie was barking frantically and digging furiously to get at a chipmunk that had scurried under a shed. She looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, "Can't you do something to help me catch it?" I didn't help her, but neither did I scold her. While I wish she could distinguish between rats and chipmunks, it's natural for her to go after any rodent. She is, after all, from a family of small terriers that were bred in Yorkshire, England, to kill rats. So she's living up to her family name.

God expects His "dear children" (Eph. 5:1), who have been delivered from spiritual darkness and made to be "light in the Lord" (v.8), to do what we were redeemed to do. He wants us to "walk in love, as Christ also has loved us" (Ep 5:2), and not to speak or live as unbelievers who have no share in God's eternal kingdom (Ep 5:5, 6).

Obviously, living as God's children is not a matter of instinct. We are challenged to remind ourselves daily of who we are by God's grace. Only as we do this consistently and become "imitators of God as dear children" can we have the joy of knowing that we please the Lord.

When we do what God saved us to do, we'll be living up to the family name. --H V Lugt (
Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Dear Jesus, take my heart and hand,
And grant me this, I pray:
That I through Your sweet love may grow
More like You day by day. --Garrison

How we behave reveals what we believe.

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Just Like My Dad!
Ephesians 5:1
June 18, 1995

Like so many kids her age, my daughter Julie loves to play basketball. Of course she's had more than a little encouragement, since that is my sport of choice.

Much of what Julie knows about the game has come from our driveway sessions. Occasionally, as I have watched her playing ball with friends, I've heard her remark after making a long shot, "Just like my dad!"

That's a good feeling, but the other day she said something that made me feel even better. We were talking about how she imitates me on the court, and she said, "Dad, Christians should be imitators too. We should imitate Jesus. Then we could say, 'Just like Jesus.'"

Julie is right. We need to know how Jesus responded to trouble--and react as He did. We need to know how He answered critics--and answer as He did. We need to know how Jesus cared for others--and treat them as He did.

That's a lofty aim, but it should be the goal of every Christian. We can only begin to do this by regularly studying God's Word and daily seeking the Holy Spirit's guidance in all that we do.

Imagine the joy it would give our Lord if we would always try to handle life just like Jesus. --J D Brannon (
Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

O blessed Jesus, help us
To ever be like Thee;
Till at the throne of glory
Thy loving face we see. --Haan

God's children should bear a likeness
to their Father.

 

Ephesians 5:2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma (NASB: Lockman)

Greek: kai peripateite (2PPAM) en agape, kathos kai o Christos egapesen (3SAAI) hemas kai paredoken (3SAAI) heauton huper hemon prosphoran kai thusian to theo eis osmen euodias.
Amplified: And walk in love, [esteeming and delighting in one another] as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.    (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
NLT: Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him. (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: Live your lives in love - the same sort of love which Christ gives us and which he perfectly expressed when he gave himself up for us in sacrifice to God.  (
Phillips: Touchstone)
Wuest:  be ordering your behavior within the sphere of love, even as Christ also loved you and gave himself up in our behalf and in our stead as an offering and a sacrifice to God for an aroma of a sweet smell (
Erdmans
Young's Literal: and walk in love, as also the Christ did love us, and did give himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odour of a sweet smell,

AND WALK IN LOVE: kai peripateite (2PPAM) en agape: (Eph 3:17; 4:2,15; John 13:34; Romans 14:16; 1Corinthians 16:14; Colossians 3:14; 1Thessalonians 4:9; 1Timothy 4:12; 1Peter 4:8; 1John 3:11,12,23; 4:20,21) 

Walk in love - As imitators of God, Who is love.

Walk (4043) (peripateo from peri = about, around + pateo = walk, tread) (Click word study on peripateo) means literally to walk about here and there or to tread all around. Peripateo then came to mean, to make one’s way, to make progress, to make due use of one’s opportunities and finally (as used by Paul in Ephesians), to live, to regulate one’s life, to conduct one’s self. Most of the NT uses refer to the daily conduct of one's life or how one orders their behavior or passes their life.

Paul uses the present imperative which is a command calling for their way of life and daily conduct to be in the sphere of unconditional, sacrificial love, the love that God is, the love that is a fruit of His indwelling Spirit in the yielded, obedient saint.

Paul's point is that the believer now as a new creation in Christ is to be constantly ordering your behavior within the sphere of love.

Peripateo is a favorite word of Paul in Ephesians, used to describe our behavior both before and after we are saved...

Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. (See notes Ephesians 2:1; 2:2)

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (see note Ephesians 2:10)

Ephesians 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, (see note Ephesians 4:1)

Ephesians 4:17 This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind (see note Ephesians 4:17)

Ephesians 5:8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (See note Ephesians 5:8)

Ephesians 5:15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, 5:16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. (See note Ephesians 5:16)

In Colossians 4 Paul uses peripateo charging the saints to

"Conduct (command to continually - present imperative) yourselves with wisdom (living prudently and with discretion) toward outsiders (non-Christians, whether Jew or Gentile), making the most of the opportunity (present tense - continually seizing, redeeming or buying up the opportunity)." (see note Colossians 4:5)

Love  (26) (agape) (Click word study on agape) is unconditional, sacrificial love which God is. It is love which is commanded in believers, empowered by His Spirit, activated by personal choice of one's will, is not based on one's feelings toward the object of one's love and is manifested by specific actions (see 1Cor 13:4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (notes) for a succinct list of these actions). Agape love speaks of a love called out of one’s heart by the preciousness of the one loved, a love that impels one to sacrifice one’s self for the benefit of the object loved. It is the love shown at Calvary. The prototype of this quality of supernatural love is the Father's love for sinful men as manifest by the Son's sacrifice on the Cross. That is the love in which we are to be rooted and grounded and in which we are called to walk!

Agape is God's willful direction toward man. It involves God doing what He knows is best for man and not necessarily what man desires. For example, John 3:16 states, "For God so loved the world, that he gave." What did He give? Not what man wanted, but what God knew man needed, i.e., His Son to bring forgiveness to man.

Loved  (25) (agapao) describes the love God gives freely, sacrificially and unconditionally regardless of response -- love that goes out not only to the lovable but to one’s enemies or those that don't "deserve" it. Agapao speaks especially of love as based on evaluation and choice, a matter of will and action. This love is not sentimental or emotional but obedient and reflective of the act of one's will with the ultimate desire being for another's highest good. Since it is unconditional, this love is still given if it's not received/returned! Agape gives and give and gives. It is not withheld.

Agape love is commanded of believers, empowered by His Spirit, activated by personal choice of one's will, not based on one's feelings toward the object of one's love and manifested by specific actions (see 1Cor 13:4-8 (notes) for a succinct list of these actions). Agape love speaks of a love called out of one’s heart by the preciousness of the one loved, a love that impels one to sacrifice one’s self for the benefit of the object loved. It is the love shown at Calvary. The prototype of this quality of supernatural love is the Father's love for sinful men as manifest by the Son's sacrifice on the Cross.

Wuest adds that...

This love is the agape love which God is, which God exhibited at the Cross, which Paul analyzes in 1 Corinthians 13, and which is the fruit of the Spirit in the yielded saint. The saint is to order his behavior or manner of life within the sphere of this divine, supernatural love produced in his heart by the Holy Spirit. When this love becomes the deciding factor in his choices and the motivating power in his actions, he will be walking in love. He will be exemplifying in his life the self-sacrificial love shown at Calvary and the Christian graces mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

Speaking to faithless Israel God speaks of coming days of restoration declaring...

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness. (Jeremiah 31:3)

In Romans Paul explains that even while we were helpless and ungodly, Christ died for the ungodly adding...

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (see note Romans 5:8)

John writes...

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

JUST AS CHRIST ALSO LOVED YOU AND GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR US: kathos kai o Christos egapesen (3SAAI) hemas kai paredoken (3SAAI) heauton huper hemon:  (Ep 5:25; 3:19; Matthew 20:28; John 15:12,13; 2Corinthians 5:14,15; 8:9; Galatians 1:4; 2:20; 1Timothy 2:6; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 7:25, 26, 27; 9:14,26; 10:10,11; 1Peter 2:21, 22, 23, 24; 1John 3:16; Revelation 1:5; 5:9)

Just as (2531) (kathos) -- Christ's love is our example, a love which led Him to sacrifice His life for us on the cross.

Christ (5547) (Christos from chrio = to anoint, rub with oil, consecrate to an office) is the Anointed One, the Messiah, Christos being the Greek equivalent of the transliterated Hebrew word Messiah.

Loved (25) (agapao) - see agape. Paul is previewing a theme he will return to at the end of this chapter. Christ sacrificed Himself for the church because He loves her and wants to make her holy and blameless. Believing husbands and wives and all Christians are to love each other with the same kind of sacrificial love.

Gave Himself up - ultimately this speaks of His death in our place! In the context of Christian's being commanded to walk in love, we see that such a walk means a death to self and a giving of self to others (as Christ did).

He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. (See note Romans 4:25)

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (See note Romans 8:32)

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me. (See note Galatians 2:20)

Himself (heautois) is a reflexive pronoun, emphasizing Christ's personal involvement (He initiated the action and carried out the action ... all for us).

Gave up (3860) (paradidomi from para = alongside, beside + didomi = give) means to  give alongside. The basic idea is to give over from one's hand to someone or something with particular reference to a right or an authority. This concept is illustrated in the devil's attempt to tempt our Lord...

And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to (paradidomi) me, and I give it to whomever I wish. (Luke 4:6)

In the ancient world paradidomi was used as a technical term of police and courts = ‘hand over into the custody of’. The idea is to give over into one’s power or use and involves either the handing over of a presumably guilty person for punishment by authorities or the handing over of an individual to an enemy who will presumably take undue advantage of the victim, as was the case in the arrest and trials that followed our Lord's being giving over.

In Galatians 2:20 (see note) paradidomi is in the aorist tense which Vine states...

is in the point tense (Ed: "aorist") because it refers to the “one act of righteousness,” Romans 5:18 (see note), in which the eternal love of God found its highest expression, and by which the salvation of believers was secured...Complete comprehension of “the mystery of God, even Christ” lies beyond the capacity of the human mind. The more closely it is considered the greater grows the wonder of its unfathomable depths. Not only was God in Christ during His life on earth, John 14:10 , God was in Christ in His reconciling death, 2 Corinthians 5:19 . This ground is holy, yet is it to be approached, albeit with “reverence and awe,” for all that God has been pleased to reveal is proper subject for the worshipful consideration of His children. Two cautions are needful here, however. We may not go beyond what is written, and we may not expect to eliminate mystery from the Divine sacrifice or to reconcile all that is revealed concerning it; the human point of view is far too low, the human outlook far too limited, to admit of that. (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson )

In the introductory verses to this letter to the Galatians, Paul explained that Jesus

"gave (didomi = active voice = of His own volition) Himself for (huper = on behalf of = speaks of His substitutionary death for) our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father" (Galatians 1:4)

Later Paul taught that...

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us-- for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE"-- in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Gal 3:13-14) (Comment: Note He was not "accursed" but became a curse in the same sense that "He was made to be sin" in 2Cor 5:21. He voluntarily submitted himself to the curse of the law that that curse might be removed from us.)

Preacher's Commentary illustrates Christ giving Himself up fro us with the following story...

Following the success of the communist revolution in China in 1948, two young men were given the job of destroying Christian chapels. One evening at dusk, after they had devastated a small chapel, they decided to sleep in it that night. As they were lying on the floor there, one of them saw a crucifix so high on the wall they had not been able to reach it. He looked at it steadily for a while, then said to his companion, “Do you see the picture of God nailed to that stick of wood?” “Yes,” the other responded, “but what of it?” The first answered, “You know, I never saw a God who suffered before.” This is something new—a Savior who voluntarily suffers. (Briscoe, D. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. The Preacher's Commentary Series,  New Testament. 2003; Thomas Nelson)

Jesus explained His purpose to the disciples declaring that...

"the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Mt 20:28)

In John Jesus declared...

"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep...For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father." (John 10:11, 17-18)

The awesome truth about Jesus' life for our life cannot be repeated enough, as Paul emphasized in many of his letters...

He who was delivered up (paradidomi) because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. (see note Romans 4:25)

"Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up (paradidomi) for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (see note Ephesians 5:2)

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up (paradidomi) for her (see note Ephesians 5:25)

(Jesus) gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time. (1Ti 2:6)

(Jesus) gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. (see note Titus 2:14)

Although Paul clearly states that Jesus of His own volition gave Himself over into the hands of evil men, many of the other uses of paradidomi in the gospels describe the giving over of our Lord Jesus Christ  into the hand's and the authority of His various and manifold adversaries...and so we read that Jesus was given over...

By Judas - And Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests, in order to betray (paradidomi - to hand Him over to them) Him to them. (Mark 14:10) (Compare: Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed [paradidomi] Him. - Mt 10:4)

By the Sanhedrin to Pilate - And early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes, and the whole Council, immediately held a consultation; and binding Jesus, they led Him away, and delivered Him up (paradidomi) to Pilate (Mark 15:1)

By Pilate to the people's will - And he released the man they were asking for who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, but he delivered (paradidomi) Jesus to their will. (Luke 23:25)

By Pilate to the soldiers for execution - And wishing to satisfy the multitude, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he delivered (paradidomi) Him to be crucified. (Mk 15:15)

S Lewis Johnson speaking of living our lives now based on faith in the Son of God asks...

But do we have good reasons to rest in Him? The final words of Galatians 2:20 supply ample grounds. Our faith is in the Son of God, "who loved me and gave himself for me." Cf. Gal 1:4. All of the essentials of the atonement are found here. His redemptive work is grounded in the love that expressed itself in the cross, the word "loved" being an aorist in tense and referring to the event of the cross as the issue of eternal, electing love (cf. Eph 1:3, 4, 5, 6; 2:4, etc.). The verb, "gave," means to hand over, to deliver over (cf. Ro 4:25-note; Ro 8:32-note; Eph. 5:2). It in this context suggests these important things:

(1) First, His death was voluntary. He gave Himself.

(2) Second, His death was a penal sacrifice, for He had to deliver Himself over to the cross. The aorist of the participle again points to the cross as the event at which the delivering took place. And it was a delivering of Himself over to the divine penalty for sin. He, thus, was a sacrifice.