[notes on §9]

EpDiog 10 picks up right where EpDiog 9 left off. §9 ends describing what Christ has done for his beloved; §10 makes the transition asking the reader for a response:

If you also long to have this faith, you must first acquire the knowledge of the Father. (EpDiog 10.1, Ehrman)

This (of course) reminds me of 1Ti 2.3-4:

This [cf. vv 1-2] is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Ti 2.3-4).

What is the knowledge mentioned in §10.1? It is clarified in §10.2 (which I've reformatted a bit*):

For God loved humans,

for whose sake he made the world,
to whom he subjected everything on earth,
to whom he gave reason,
to whom he gave mind,
whom alone he permitted to look up to him above,
whom he formed out of his own likeness,
to whom he sent his one and only Son,
to whom he promised the kingdom in heaven.

And he will give it to those who love him. (EpDiog 10.2, Ehrman)

Here is a list of what God has done for men, according to the author, and the promise that just as God "loved" men (his reason for doing these things), those who love him will receive the promise of the kingdom of heaven.

§10.3 transitions into thinking about how this knowledge will affect the one who knows it. The author is evangelizing. He's stated what the Godhead has done and does in the transaction of salvation; he is now asking for the response of the reader.

Once you have known him, with what sort of joy do you think you will be filled? Or how will you love the one who so loved you in advance? (EpDiog 10.3, Ehrman).

§10.1 spoke of acquiring the knowledge of the Father; §10.2 conveyed the knowledge. Now that the reader has this knowledge (and the background of §1-9 to understand it a bit more) the author tries to close the sale. The verse also speaks of the love that the reader, upon acquisition of the knowledge of the Father, will have for the Father. The author implies that once this knowledge is imparted and the spirit has truly allowed one to understand it, that the recipient will respond with both joy for the love the Father has bestowed and love for the Father.

§10.4-6 begin to instruct the reader how to respond. It is natural that one will want to be an imitator of God, to live as much as possible like the one who has given such joy and love:

But when you have loved him you will become an imitator of his kindness. And do not marvel that a person can become an imitator of God. It is possible, so long as he desires it. For happiness is not a matter of oppressing your neighbors, or wishing to have more than those who are lowly, or being wealthy and coercing those who are in need. Nor is anyone able to imitate God in these ways, for they form no part of his greatness. For whoever takes up the burden of his neighbor, whoever wants to use his own abundance to help someone in need, whoever provides for the destitute from the possessions he has received from God—himself becoming a god to those who receive them—this one is an imitator of God. (EpDiog 10.4-6, Ehrman)

Of course, when reading about being an imitator of God, one recalls that Paul used similar language in his epistle to the Ephesians: "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children" (Eph 5.1, ESV). The Greek is fairly similar as well:

γίνεσθε οὖν μιμηταὶ τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς τέκνα ἀγαπητὰ (Eph 5.1, UBS4)

ἀγαπήσας δὲ μιμητὴς ἔσῃ αὐτοῦ τῆς χρηστότητος. καὶ μὴ θαυμάσῃς, εἰ δύναται μιμητὴς ἄνθρωπος γενέσθαι θεοῦ. δύναται, θέλοντος αὐτοῦ. (EpDiog 10.4, Lake)

The author realizes that one cannot imitate God to the degree of becoming God. Instead, an imitator of God is one who, through love, strives to help those he encounters who are in need—just as God has done for those whom he saves. And this seems to jive with Paul's use of the same phrase. Paul doesn't teach the Ephesians that they need fully reproduce God in perfection in their actions. Instead Paul uses the picture of small children who try to act and be like the adults in their lives. These small children learn to walk, talk and interact with others based on observation and imitation. Christians should do their best to observe and imitate God. This happens as love is fostered between God and man through the agency of the Spirit.

§10.7-8 continue to develop the apologist's argument. Again, I've reformatted this a bit:*

Then even while you happen to be on earth,

you will see that God is conducting the affairs of heaven.
Then you will begin to speak the mysteries of God.
Then you will both love and admire those who are punished for not wanting to deny God.
Then you will condemn the deceit and error of the world,

when you come to know the true life of heaven,
when you despise that which merely seems to be death here and come to fear that which is truly death,

which is preserved for those who are condemned to the eternal fire,
which will punish those who are given over to it until the end of time.

And then, when you know that other fire, you will admire and bless those who endure the fleeting fire of the present for the sake of righteousness. (EpDiog 10.7-8, Ehrman).

Acting as imitators of God will increase our knowledge of him. The more one strives to imitate God, the more one will become like him and the more one will come to know him. This knowledge will result in a true understanding of life and death, which will only reinforce actions that are rooted in loving and serving the God who has so loved his people. One will come to an understanding of why the martyrs (recall the time frame when this epistle was most likely written, circa 150-180) were willing to suffer and die instead of renounce Christ.

Next up: EpDiog 11.

* These indented versions are loosely based on the underlying Greek, but I've stuck with Ehrman's translation. If I were to attempt a translation, my wording would be a little different and this might affect how these indentations would be made. In other words, I'm not attempting to make any arguments or points from the Greek syntax, I'm just trying to show the basic flow of the argument as it ends up in the translation.