Be ye therefore followers of God - Greek, “Be imitators - μιμηταὶ mimētai - of God.” The idea is not that they were to be the friends of God, or numbered among his followers, but that they were to imitate him in the particular thing under consideration. The word “therefore” - οὖν oun - connects this with the previous chapter, where he had been exhorting them to kindness, and to a spirit of forgiveness, and he here entreats them to imitate God, who was always kind and ready to forgive; compare Matthew 5:44-47; As he forgives us Ephesians 4:32, we should be ready to forgive others; as he has borne with our faults, we should bear with theirs; as he is ever ready to hear our cry when we ask for mercy, we should be ready to hear others when they desire to be forgiven; and as he is never weary with doing us good, we should never be weary in benefiting them.
As dear children - The meaning is, “as those children which are beloved follow the example of a father, so we, who are beloved of God, should follow his example.” What a simple rule this is! And how much contention and strife would be avoided if it were followed! If every Christian who is angry, unforgiving, and unkind, would just ask himself the question, “How does God treat me?” it would save all the trouble and heart-burning which ever exists in the church.