Ephesians 4:1–6:20

UNITY AND DIVERSITY IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

4 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord,au urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humilityav and gentleness, with patience,aw bearingax with one another in love,ay 3 making every effort to keep the unityaz of the Spiritba through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spiritbb—just as you were called to one hopeD,a at your calling—5 one Lord,b one faith,c one baptism, 6 one Godd and Fathere of all, who is above all and through all and in all.f

7 Now grace was given to each one of usg according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 For it says:

When he ascendedh on high,

he took the captives captive;

he gave gifts to people.E,i

9 But what does “he ascended” mean except that heA also descended to the lower parts of the earth?B,j 10 The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens,k to fill all things.l 11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,m 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son,n growing into maturity with a statureo measured by Christ’s fullness. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching,p by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the headq—Christ. 16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit togetherr by every supporting ligament, promotes the growths of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.

LIVING THE NEW LIFE

17 Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thoughts. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and becauseC of the hardness of their hearts. 19 They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurityt with a desire for more and more.D

20 But that is not how you came to know Christ, 21 assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truthu is in Jesus, 22 to take offE,v your former way of life,w the old selfx that is corrupted by deceitful desires, 23 to be renewedF in the spirity of your minds, 24 and to put onG,z the new self, the one createdaa according to God’s likenessab in righteousness and purity of the truth.

25 Therefore, putting awayac lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor,H,ad because we are members of one another. 26 Be angry and do not sin.I,ae Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don’t give the devil an opportunity. 28 Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to shareaf with anyone in need. 29 No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need,J so that it gives grace to those who hear. 30 And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit.ag You were sealed by himK for the day of redemption.ah 31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kindai and compassionateaj to one another, forgivingak one another, just as God also forgave youL in Christ.

5 Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, 2 and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us,al a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. 3 But sexual immoralityam and any impurityan or greedao should not even be heard ofA among you, as is proper for saints. 4 Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks. 5 For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoralap or impureaq or greedyar person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdomas of Christ and of God.

LIGHT VERSUS DARKNESS

6 Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrathat is coming on the disobedientB because of these things. 7 Therefore, do not become their partners. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are lightau in the Lord. Walk as children of lightav—9 for the fruit of the lightC consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truthaw—10 testingax what is pleasingay to the Lord. 11 Don’t participate in the fruitlessaz works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret. 13 Everything exposed by the light is made visible,a 14 for what makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said:

Get up, sleeper,b and rise up from the dead,c

and Christ will shine on you.d

CONSISTENCY IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise—16 making the most of the time,D,e because the days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish, but understandf what the Lord’s willg is. 18 And don’t get drunkh with wine,i which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit:j 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.k

WIVES AND HUSBANDS

22 Wives,l submitE,m to your husbandsn as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wifeo as Christ is the headp of the church. He is the Savior of the body.q 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives,r just as Christ loveds the church and gave himselft for her 26 to make her holy, cleansingF her with the washing of water by the word. 27 He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.u 28 In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 since we are members of his body.G 31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,v and the two will become one flesh.H,w 32 This mysteryx is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.

CHILDREN AND PARENTS

6 Children, obeyy your parents in the Lord, because this is right. 2 Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, 3 so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land.A,B,z 4 Fathers, don’t stir up angeraa in your children, but bring them up in the trainingab and instruction of the Lord.

SLAVES AND MASTERS

5 Slaves, obey your humanC mastersac with fear and trembling,ad in the sincerityae of your heart, as you would Christ. 6 Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s willaf from your heart. 7 Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to people,ag 8 knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord. 9 And masters, treat your slaves the same way, without threateningah them, because you know that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritismai with him.aj

CHRISTIAN WARFARE

10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength.ak 11 Put onal the full armoram of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against fleshan and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,ao against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil,ap spiritual forces in the heavens.aq 13 For this reason take up the full armorar of God, so that you may be able to resistas in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand,at therefore, with truthau like a belt around your waist, righteousnessav like armor on your chest,aw 15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. 16 In every situation take up the shieldax of faithay with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.az 17 Take the helmetba of salvation and the swordbb of the Spiritbc—which is the word of God. 18 Praybd at all times in the Spiritbe with every prayer and request, and stay alertbf with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldnessbg the mystery of the gospel. 20 For this I am an ambassadora in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.