Ephesians 4:4–32

⁴There is one body and one Spirit^bb—just as you were called to one hope^Da at your calling—⁵one Lord,^b one faith,^c one baptism, ⁶one God^d and Father^e of all, who is above all and through all and in all.^f

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

When he ascended^h on high,

he took the captives captive;

he gave gifts to people.^Ei

⁹But what does “he ascended” mean except that he^A also descended to the lower parts of the earth?^{Bj 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, ¹²to 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 stature^o measured by Christ’s fullness. ¹⁴Then 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. ¹⁵But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head^q—Christ. ¹⁶From him the whole body, fitted and knit together^r by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth^s of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.

LIVING THE NEW LIFE

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

²⁰But that is not how you came to know Christ, ²¹assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth^u is in Jesus, ²²to take off^Ev your former way of life,^w the old self^x that is corrupted by deceitful desires, ²³to be renewed^F in the spirit^y of your minds, ²⁴and to put on^Gz the new self, the one created^aa according to God’s likeness^ab in righteousness and purity of the truth.

²⁵Therefore, putting away^ac lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor,^Had because we are members of one another. ²⁶Be angry and do not sin.^Iae Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷and don’t give the devil an opportunity. ²⁸Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share^af with anyone in need. ²⁹No 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. ³⁰And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit.^ag You were sealed by him^K for the day of redemption.^{ah 31}Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. ³²And be kind^ai and compassionate^aj to one another, forgiving^ak one another, just as God also forgave you^L in Christ.