Ephesians 4:1–16

Unity and Diversity in the Body of Christ

4Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, ^kurge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, ²with all humility ^land gentleness, with patience, ^maccepting ^noone another in love, ^p3diligently keeping the unity ^qof the Spirit ^rwith the peace ^sthat binds us. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit ^t—just as you were called to one hope ^uvat your calling— ⁵one Lord, ^wone faith, ^xone baptism, ⁶one God ^yand Father ^zof all, who is above all and through all and in all. ^a

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

When He ascended ^con high,

He took prisoners into captivity; ^d

He gave gifts to people. ^ef

⁹But what does “He ascended” mean except that He ^gdescended to the lower parts of the earth? ^hi10The One who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, ^jthat He might fill ^kall things. ^l11And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹²for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, ^m13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, ⁿgrowing into a mature man with a stature ^omeasured by Christ’s fullness. ¹⁴Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, ^pby 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 ^rby every supporting ligament, promotes the growth ^sof the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.