Ephesians 4–6

Chapter 4

Unity of the Spirit

¹Therefore I, ^athe prisoner of the Lord, ^bimplore you to ^cwalk in a manner worthy of the ^dcalling with which you have been ^ecalled,

²with all ^ahumility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another ^bin love,

³being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the ^abond of peace.

⁴There is ^aone body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one ^bhope of your calling;

^5aone Lord, one faith, one baptism,

⁶one God and Father of all ^awho is over all and through all and in all.

⁷But ^ato each one of us ^bgrace was given ^caccording to the measure of Christ’s gift.

⁸Therefore 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?

¹⁰He who descended is Himself also He who ascended ^afar above all the heavens, so that He might ^bfill all things.)

¹¹And He ^agave ^bsome as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as ^cevangelists, and some as pastors and ^dteachers,

^12afor the equipping of the ¹saints for the work of service, to the building up of ^bthe body of Christ;

¹³until 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.

¹⁴¹As 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;

¹⁵but ¹speaking the truth ^ain love, ²we are to ^bgrow up in all aspects into Him who is the ^chead, even Christ,

¹⁶from 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.

The Christian’s Walk

^17aSo 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,

¹⁸being ^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;

¹⁹and they, having ^abecome callous, ^bhave given themselves over to ^csensuality ¹for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

²⁰But you did not ^alearn ¹Christ in this way,

²¹if indeed you ^ahave heard Him and have ^bbeen taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,

²²that, 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,

²³and that you be ^arenewed in the spirit of your mind,

²⁴and ^aput on the ^bnew ¹self, which ^2cin the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

²⁵Therefore, ^alaying aside falsehood, ^bspeak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are ^cmembers of one another.

^26aBe angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

²⁷and do not ^agive the devil ¹an opportunity.

²⁸He 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.

²⁹Let 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.

^30aDo not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, ¹by whom you were ^bsealed for the day of redemption.

^31aLet all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be ^bput away from you, along with all ^cmalice.

^32aBe kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, ^bjust as God in Christ also has forgiven ¹you.

Chapter 5

Be Imitators of God

^1aTherefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;

²and ^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.

³But ^aimmorality ¹or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among ²saints;

⁴and there must be no ^afilthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which ^bare not fitting, but rather ^cgiving of thanks.

⁵For 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.

^6aLet no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things ^bthe wrath of God comes upon ^cthe sons of disobedience.

⁷Therefore do not be ^apartakers with them;

⁸for ^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),

^101atrying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

^11aDo not participate in the unfruitful ^bdeeds of ^cdarkness, but instead even ^1dexpose them;

¹²for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

¹³But all things become visible ^awhen they are ¹exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

¹⁴For this reason ¹it says,

“^aAwake, sleeper,

And arise from ^bthe dead,

And Christ ^cwill shine on you.”

¹⁵Therefore ¹be careful how you ^awalk, not ^bas unwise men but as wise,

^161amaking the most of your time, because ^bthe days are evil.

¹⁷So then do not be foolish, but ^aunderstand what the will of the Lord is.

¹⁸And ^ado not get drunk with wine, ¹for that is ^bdissipation, but be ^cfilled with the Spirit,

^19aspeaking to ¹one another in ^bpsalms and ^chymns and spiritual ^dsongs, ^esinging and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

^20aalways giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to ^1bGod, even the Father;

^211aand be subject to one another in the ^2bfear of Christ.

Marriage Like Christ and the Church

^22aWives, ^bbe subject to your own husbands, ^cas to the Lord.

²³For ^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.

²⁴But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

^25aHusbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and ^bgave Himself up for her,

^26aso that He might sanctify her, having ^bcleansed her by the ^cwashing of water with ^dthe word,

²⁷that 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.

²⁸So husbands ought also to ^alove their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;

²⁹for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,

³⁰because we are ^amembers of His ^bbody.

^31aFor this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

³²This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

³³Nevertheless, 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.

Chapter 6

Family Relationships

^1aChildren, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

^2aHonor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise),

³so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.

^4aFathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but ^bbring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

^5aSlaves, be obedient to those who are your ¹masters according to the flesh, with ^bfear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, ^cas to Christ;

^6anot ¹by way of eyeservice, as ^bmen-pleasers, but as ^cslaves of Christ, ^ddoing the will of God from the ²heart.

⁷With good will ¹render service, ^aas to the Lord, and not to men,

^8aknowing that ^bwhatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, ^cwhether slave or free.

⁹And masters, do the same things to them, and ^agive up threatening, knowing that ^bboth their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is ^cno partiality with Him.

The Armor of God

¹⁰Finally, ^abe strong in the Lord and in ^bthe strength of His might.

^11aPut on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the ^bschemes of the devil.

¹²For our ^astruggle is not against ^1bflesh and blood, but ^cagainst the rulers, against the powers, against the ^dworld forces of this ^edarkness, against the ^fspiritual forces of wickedness in ^gthe heavenly places.

¹³Therefore, take up ^athe full armor of God, so that you will be able to ^bresist in ^cthe evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

¹⁴Stand firm therefore, ^ahaving girded your loins with truth, and having ^bput on the breastplate of righteousness,

¹⁵and having ^ashod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

¹⁶¹in addition to all, taking up the ^ashield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the ^bflaming arrows of ^cthe evil one.

¹⁷And take ^athe helmet of salvation, and the ^bsword of the Spirit, which is ^cthe word of God.

¹⁸¹With all ^aprayer and petition ^2bpray at all times ^cin the Spirit, and with this in view, ^3dbe on the alert with all ^eperseverance and ^fpetition for all the saints,

¹⁹and ^apray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me ^bin the opening of my mouth, to make known with ^cboldness ^dthe mystery of the gospel,

²⁰for which I am an ^aambassador ^bin ¹chains; that ²in proclaiming it I may speak ^cboldly, ^das I ought to speak.

^21aBut that you also may know about my circumstances, ¹how I am doing, ^bTychicus, ^cthe beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you.

^221aI have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know ²about us, and that he may ^bcomfort your hearts.

^23aPeace be to the brethren, and ^blove with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁴Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ ¹with incorruptible love.