Ephesians 4:1–6:4
1 Therefore I, athe prisoner of the Lord, bimplore you to cwalk in a manner worthy of the dcalling with which you have been ecalled,
2 with all ahumility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another bin love,
3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the abond of peace.
4 There is aone body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one bhope of your calling;
5 aone Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all awho is over all and through all and in all.
7 But ato each one of us bgrace was given caccording to the measure of Christ’s gift.
8 Therefore 1it says,
“aWhen He ascended on high,
He bled captive a host of captives,
And He gave gifts to men.”
9 (Now this expression, “He aascended,” what 1does it mean except that He also 2had descended into bthe lower parts of the earth?
10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended afar above all the heavens, so that He might bfill all things.)
11 And He agave bsome as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as cevangelists, and some as pastors and dteachers,
12 afor the equipping of the 1saints for the work of service, to the building up of bthe body of Christ;
13 until we all attain to athe unity of the faith, and of the 1bknowledge of the Son of God, to a cmature man, to the measure of the stature 2which belongs to the dfullness of Christ.
14 1As a result, we are ano longer to be children, btossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by ccraftiness 2in ddeceitful scheming;
15 but 1speaking the truth ain love, 2we are to bgrow up in all aspects into Him who is the chead, even Christ,
16 from whom athe whole body, being fitted and held together 1by what every joint supplies, according to the 2proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself bin love.
17 aSo this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, bthat you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the cfutility of their mind,
18 being adarkened in their understanding, 1bexcluded from the life of God because of the cignorance that is in them, because of the dhardness of their heart;
19 and they, having abecome callous, bhave given themselves over to csensuality 1for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
20 But you did not alearn 1Christ in this way,
21 if indeed you ahave heard Him and have bbeen taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you alay aside the bold 1self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the clusts of deceit,
23 and that you be arenewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and aput on the bnew 1self, which 2cin the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
25 Therefore, alaying aside falsehood, bspeak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are cmembers of one another.
26 aBe angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
27 and do not agive the devil 1an opportunity.
28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather ahe must labor, bperforming with his own hands what is good, cso that he will have something to share with 1one who has need.
29 Let no 1aunwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for bedification 2according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
30 aDo not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, 1by whom you were bsealed for the day of redemption.
31 aLet all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be bput away from you, along with all cmalice.
32 aBe kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, bjust as God in Christ also has forgiven 1you.
1 aTherefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;
2 and awalk in love, just as Christ also bloved 1you and cgave Himself up for us, an doffering and a sacrifice to God 2as a efragrant aroma.
3 But aimmorality 1or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among 2saints;
4 and there must be no afilthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which bare not fitting, but rather cgiving of thanks.
5 For this you know with certainty, that ano 1immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom bof Christ and God.
6 aLet no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things bthe wrath of God comes upon cthe sons of disobedience.
7 Therefore do not be apartakers with them;
8 for ayou were formerly bdarkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as cchildren of Light
9 (for athe fruit of the Light consists in all bgoodness and righteousness and truth),
10 1atrying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
11 aDo not participate in the unfruitful bdeeds of cdarkness, but instead even 1dexpose them;
12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.
13 But all things become visible awhen they are 1exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.
14 For this reason 1it says,
“aAwake, sleeper,
And arise from bthe dead,
And Christ cwill shine on you.”
15 Therefore 1be careful how you awalk, not bas unwise men but as wise,
16 1amaking the most of your time, because bthe days are evil.
17 So then do not be foolish, but aunderstand what the will of the Lord is.
18 And ado not get drunk with wine, 1for that is bdissipation, but be cfilled with the Spirit,
19 aspeaking to 1one another in bpsalms and chymns and spiritual dsongs, esinging and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
20 aalways giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to 1bGod, even the Father;
21 1aand be subject to one another in the 2bfear of Christ.
Marriage Like Christ and the Church
22 aWives, bbe subject to your own husbands, cas to the Lord.
23 For athe husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the bhead of the church, He Himself cbeing the Savior of the body.
24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
25 aHusbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and bgave Himself up for her,
26 aso that He might sanctify her, having bcleansed her by the cwashing of water with dthe word,
27 that He might apresent to Himself the church 1in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be bholy and blameless.
28 So husbands ought also to alove their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;
29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,
30 because we are amembers of His bbody.
31 aFor this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
33 Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to alove his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she 1brespects her husband.
1 aChildren, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
2 aHonor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise),
3 so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.
4 aFathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bbring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.