Ephesians 4
4
The Unity of the Spirit
1I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2#Col 3.12,13. with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; 3endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8#Ps 68.18. Wherefore he saith,
When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive,
and gave gifts unto men.
9(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; 15but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16#Col 2.19. from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
The New Life in Christ
17This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20But ye have not so learned Christ; 21if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22#Col 3.9. that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24#Col 3.10; Gen 1.26. and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25 #
Zech 8.16. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another. 26#Ps 4.4. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27neither give place to the devil. 28Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. 29Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32#Col 3.13. and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake#4.32 for Christ's sake. Some early manuscripts have in Christ. hath forgiven you.
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Ephesians 4
4
Unity with Christ
1As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own. 2#Col 3.12,13. Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other. 3Try your best to let God's Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace. 4All of you are part of the same body. There is only one Spirit of God, just as you were given one hope when you were chosen to be God's people. 5We have only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. 6There is one God who is the Father of all people. Not only is God above all others, but he works by using all of us, and he lives in all of us.
7Christ has generously divided out his gifts to us. 8#Ps 68.18. As the Scriptures say,
“When he went up
to the highest place,
he led away many prisoners
and gave gifts to people.”
9When it says, “he went up,” it means that Christ had been deep in the earth. 10This also means that the one who went deep into the earth is the same one who went into the highest heaven, so he would fill the whole universe.
11Christ chose some of us to be apostles, prophets, missionaries, pastors, and teachers, 12so his people would learn to serve and his body would grow strong. 13This will continue until we are united by our faith and by our understanding of the Son of God. Then we will be mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him.#4.13 and we will be completely like him: Or “and he is completely perfect.”
14We must stop acting like children. We must not let deceitful people trick us by their false teachings, which are like winds that toss us around from place to place. 15Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head 16#Col 2.19. of the body. Christ holds it together and makes all of its parts work perfectly, as it grows and becomes strong because of love.
The Old Life and the New Life
17As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people. 18Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right, 19and they are so greedy they do all kinds of indecent things.
20-21But this isn't what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about him and learned about him. 22#Col 3.9. You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. 23Let the Spirit change your way of thinking 24#Col 3.10; Gn 1.26; Ws 9.3. and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy.
Rules for the New Life
25 #
Zec 8.16. We are part of the same body. Stop lying and start telling each other the truth. 26#Ps 4.4 (LXX). Don't get so angry that you sin. Don't go to bed angry 27and don't give the devil a chance.
28If you are a thief, quit stealing. Be honest and work hard, so you will have something to give to people in need.
29Stop all your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say.
30Don't make God's Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins.
31Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. 32#Col 3.13. Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.