Ephesians 4
1 I therefore, a prisoner in our Lord, beseech of you, that ye walk, (as it becometh the calling wherewith ye are 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 lowliness of mind, and quietness, and long suffering; and that ye be forbearing one towards another, in love.
with all lowliness of mind and unselfishness, and with patience, bearing with one another lovingly, and earnestly striving to maintain,
3 And be ye solicitous to keep the unity of the Spirit, in a bond of peace;
in the uniting bond of peace, the unity given by the Spirit.
4 so that ye may become one body, and one Spirit; even as ye are called unto 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 For, the Lord is one, and the faith one, and the baptism one;
There is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 and one God is the Father of all, and over all, and by all, and in us all.
and one God and Father of all, who rules over all, acts through all, and dwells in all.
7 And to each of us grace is given, according to the measure of the gift of the Messiah.
Yet to each of us individually grace was given, measured out with the munificence of Christ.
8 Wherefore it is said: He ascended on high, and carried captivity captive, and 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 ascended, what is it but that he also previously descended to the interior regions 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 also the same that ascended up, high above all the heavens, that he might fulfill all things.
He who descended is the same as He who ascended again far above all the Heavens in order to fill the universe.)
11 And he gave some, legates; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, 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 perfecting the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edification of the body of the Messiah;
in order fully to equip His people for the work of serving--for the building up of Christ's body--
13 until we all become one and the same, in faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and one complete man according to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Messiah:
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 and that we might not be children, agitated and turned about by every wind of the crafty doctrines of men who plot to seduce by their subtilty:
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 but that we might be established in our love; and that every thing in us might progress in the Messiah, who is the head:
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 and from him it is, the whole body is framed together and compacted by all the junctures, according to the gift that is imparted by measure to each member, for the growth of the body; that his edifice may be perfected in love.
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 this I say, and testify in the Lord, that henceforth ye walk not as the other Gentiles, who 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 and they are dark in their understandings, and are alienated from the life of God, because there is not in them knowledge, and because of the blindness of their heart.
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 They have cut off their hope, and have given themselves over to lasciviousness, and to the practice of all uncleanness in their greediness.
Such men being past feeling have abandoned themselves to impurity, greedily indulging in every kind of profligacy.
20 But ye have not so learned the Messiah;
But these are not the lessons which you have learned from Christ;
21 if ye have truly heard him, and by him have learned as the truth is in Jesus.
if at least you have heard His voice and in Him have been taught--and this is true Christian teaching--
22 But ye have learned, that ye should lay aside your former practices, the old man that is corrupted with the lusts of 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 should be renewed in the spirit of your minds;
and to get yourselves renewed in the temper of your minds and clothe yourselves
24 and should put on the new man, that is created by God in righteousness 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 Wherefore, put away from you lying, and speak ye the truth each with his neighbor; for we are members one of 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 ye angry, and sin not: and let not the sun go down upon your wrath.
If angry, beware of sinning. Let not your irritation last until the sun goes down;
27 And give no place to the Accuser.
and do not leave room for the Devil.
28 And let him that stole, steal no more; but let him labor with his hands, and do good acts; that he may have to give to him who needeth.
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 hateful language come from your mouth, but that which is decorous, and useful for edification, that it may convey grace to those who hear.
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 grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed for 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 wrath, and clamoring, and reviling, be taken from you, 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 ye affectionate towards one another, and sympathetic; and forgive ye one another, as God by the Messiah hath forgiven us.
On the contrary learn to be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you.
