Ephesians 4

Unity in the Body of Christ

1 I therefore, as a prisoner because of my service to the Lord, urge you to conduct your lives in a way that reflects the high calling you have received,

2 demonstrating complete humility and gentleness, with patient endurance, showing tolerance toward one another in love,

3 making every effort to preserve the unity that the Spirit creates through the bond of peace.

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when God called you—

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 one God and Father of all people, who rules over all and works through all and dwells in all.

7 Yet to each individual among us grace has been given in proportion to the measure of Christ’s gift.

8 This is why Scripture says,

“When He ascended to the heights,

He took captives in His train;

He distributed gifts to people.”*

9 (Now this reference to His ascension implies that He also descended into the lower regions, the earth itself.

10 He who descended is the very same One who ascended far above all the heavens, in order to fill the entire universe.)

11 So He personally gave the apostles, and the prophets, and the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers,

12 for the purpose of equipping God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ would be built up,

13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, arriving at mature manhood, measured by nothing less than the full stature of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be immature children, shaken and tossed by the waves and swept along by every changing wind of teaching—by human cleverness and by craftiness deliberately designed to lead us progressively into error.

15 Instead, by speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, namely Christ,

16 from whom the entire body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love as each part does its work according to its proper function.

Living the New Life in Christ

17 So I declare this and solemnly affirm it in the Lord: You must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the emptiness of their reasoning,

18 having their understanding darkened, being separated from the life of God because of the ignorance within them, which stems from the hardness of their hearts.

19 They have lost all moral sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to sensuality, engaging in every form of impurity with an insatiable desire for more.

20 But you did not learn Christ in this way—

21 surely you heard about Him and were taught in Him, in accordance with the truth that is found in Jesus:

22 that you must put off your former way of life, the old self that is being corrupted by its deceitful lusts;

23 that you must be renewed in the attitude of your mind,

24 and put on the new self, which God has created in conformity to His own character—marked by righteousness and holiness that arise from the truth.

25 Therefore, having laid aside falsehood, each one must speak truthfully with his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.

26 If you become angry, do not let it lead you into sin; do not let the sun set while you are still angry,

27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.

28 The person who has been stealing must steal no longer; rather, he must work hard, doing honest labor with his own hands, so that he will have something to share with anyone in need.

29 Allow no corrupting words to come from your mouth, but speak only what is beneficial for edifying others as the situation requires, so that your words will impart grace to those who hear.

30 And do not cause grief to God’s Holy Spirit, who has marked you with His seal until the day when your redemption is complete.

31 Remove from your lives all bitterness, fury and rage, all brawling and verbal abuse, together with every kind of malicious intent.

32 Rather, show kindness and tender hearts toward one another, extending forgiveness to each other in the same way God extended forgiveness to you through Christ.

Notes

8 Quoted from Ps. 68:18

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