Ephesians 5:1

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

Be ye, [ ginesthe (G1096)] - 'become.'

Therefore - since 'God in Christ forgave you' (Ephesians 4:32).

Followers - Greek, 'imitators' of God in "love" (Ephesians 5:2): God's essential character (1 John 4:16).

As dear children - Greek, 'as children beloved;' to which Ephesians 5:2 refers, "as Christ also hath loved us" (1 John 4:19). 'We are sons of men when we do ill; sons of God when we do well' (Augustine) (cf. Matthew 5:44; Matthew 5:48). Sonship infers necessity of imitation ('love instinctively prompting to it'), it being vain to assume the title without similitude of the Father (Pearson).