Ephesians 4
1 And so, as a prisoner in the Lord, I beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the vocation to which you have been called:
I, then, the prisoner for the Master's sake, entreat you to live and act as becomes those who have received the call that you have received--
2 with all humility and meekness, with patience, supporting one another in charity.
with all lowliness of mind and unselfishness, and with patience, bearing with one another lovingly, and earnestly striving to maintain,
3 Be anxious to preserve the unity of the Spirit within the bonds of peace.
in the uniting bond of peace, the unity given by the Spirit.
4 One body and one Spirit: to this you have been called by the one hope of your calling:
There is but one body and but one Spirit, as also when you were called you had one and the same hope held out to you.
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
There is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all.
and one God and Father of all, who rules over all, acts through all, and dwells in all.
7 Yet to each one of us there has been given grace according to the measure allotted by Christ.
Yet to each of us individually grace was given, measured out with the munificence of Christ.
8 Because of this, he says: “Ascending on high, he took captivity itself captive; he gave gifts to men.”
For this reason Scripture says: "He re-ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and gave gifts to men."
9 Now that he has ascended, what is left except for him also to descend, first to the lower parts of the earth?
(Now this "re-ascended" --what does it mean but that He had first descended into the lower regions of the earth?
10 He who descended is the same one who also ascended above all the heavens, so that he might fulfill everything.
He who descended is the same as He who ascended again far above all the Heavens in order to fill the universe.)
11 And the same one granted that some would be Apostles, and some Prophets, yet truly others evangelists, and others pastors and teachers,
And He Himself appointed some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers,
12 for the sake of the perfection of the saints, by the work of the ministry, in the edification of the body of Christ,
in order fully to equip His people for the work of serving--for the building up of Christ's body--
13 until we all meet in the unity of faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as a perfect man, in the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ.
till we all of us arrive at oneness in faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and at mature manhood and the stature of full-grown men in Christ.
14 So may we then no longer be little children, disturbed and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the wickedness of men, and by the craftiness which deceives unto error.
So we shall no longer be babes nor shall we resemble mariners tossed on the waves and carried about with every changing wind of doctrine according to men's cleverness and unscrupulous cunning, making use of every shifting device to mislead.
15 Instead, acting according to truth in charity, we should increase in everything, in him who is the head, Christ himself.
But we shall lovingly hold to the truth, and shall in all respects grow up into union with Him who is our Head, even Christ.
16 For in him, the whole body is joined closely together, by every underlying joint, through the function allotted to each part, bringing improvement to the body, toward its edification in charity.
Dependent on Him, the whole body--its various parts closely fitting and firmly adhering to one another-- grows by the aid of every contributory link, with power proportioned to the need of each individual part, so as to build itself up in a spirit of love.
17 And so, I say this, and I testify in the Lord: that from now on you should walk, not as the Gentiles also walk, in the vanity of their mind,
Therefore I warn you, and I implore you in the name of the Master, no longer to live as the Gentiles in their perverseness live,
18 having their intellect obscured, being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is within them, because of the blindness of their hearts.
with darkened understandings, having by reason of the ignorance which is deep-seated in them and the insensibility of their moral nature, no share in the Life which God gives.
19 Such as these, despairing, have given themselves over to sexual immorality, carrying out every impurity with rapacity.
Such men being past feeling have abandoned themselves to impurity, greedily indulging in every kind of profligacy.
20 But this is not what you have learned in Christ.
But these are not the lessons which you have learned from Christ;
21 For certainly, you have listened to him, and you have been instructed in him, according to the truth that is in Jesus:
if at least you have heard His voice and in Him have been taught--and this is true Christian teaching--
22 to set aside your earlier behavior, the former man, who was corrupted, by means of desire, unto error,
to put away, in regard to your former mode of life, your original evil nature which is doomed to perish as befits its misleading impulses,
23 and so be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
and to get yourselves renewed in the temper of your minds and clothe yourselves
24 and so put on the new man, who, in accord with God, is created in justice and in the holiness of truth.
with that new and better self which has been created to resemble God in the righteousness and holiness which come from the truth.
25 Because of this, setting aside lying, speak the truth, each one with his neighbor. For we are all part of one another.
For this reason, laying aside falsehood, every one of you should speak the truth to his fellow man; for we are, as it were, parts of one another.
26 “Be angry, but do not be willing to sin.” Do not let the sun set over your anger.
If angry, beware of sinning. Let not your irritation last until the sun goes down;
27 Provide no place for the devil.
and do not leave room for the Devil.
28 Whoever was stealing, let him now not steal, but rather let him labor, working with his hands, doing what is good, so that he may have something to distribute to those who suffer need.
He who has been a thief must steal no more, but, instead of that, should work with his own hands in honest industry, so that he may have something of which he can give the needy a share.
29 Let no evil words proceed from your mouth, but only what is good, toward the edification of faith, so as to bestow grace upon those who listen.
Let no unwholesome words ever pass your lips, but let all your words be good for benefiting others according to the need of the moment, so that they may be a means of blessing to the hearers.
30 And do not be willing to grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you have been sealed, unto the day of redemption.
And beware of grieving the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you have been sealed in preparation for the day of Redemption.
31 Let all bitterness and anger and indignation and outcry and blasphemy be taken away from you, along with all malice.
Let all bitterness and all passionate feeling, all anger and loud insulting language, be unknown among you--and also every kind of malice.
32 And be kind and merciful to one another, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you in Christ.
On the contrary learn to be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you.
