Eph 4 | NASB1995 | STEP | Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord , implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called ,

Ephesians 4

Unity of the Spirit

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 ^fhumility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another ^gin love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the ^hbond of peace. 4 There is ⁱone body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one ^jhope of your calling; 5 ^kone Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all ^lwho is over all and through all and in all.

7 But ^mto each one of us ⁿgrace was given ^oaccording to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore ^{▼▼ Or He}it says, ^q“When He ascended on high,
He ^r led captive a host of captives,
And He gave gifts to men.”

9 (Now this expression, “He ^sascended,” what ^{▼▼ Lit is it except}does it mean except that He also ^{▼▼ One early ms reads had first descended}had descended into ^vthe lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended ^wfar above all the heavens, so that He might ^xfill all things.) 11 And He ^ygave ^zsome as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as ^aaevangelists, and some as pastors and ^abteachers, 12 ^acfor the equipping of the ^{▼▼ Or holy ones}saints for the work of service, to the building up of ^aethe body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to ^afthe unity of the faith, and of the ^{▼▼ Or true knowledge
,} ^ahknowledge of the Son of God, to a ^aimature man, to the measure of the stature ^{▼▼ Lit of the fullness}which belongs to the ^akfullness of Christ. 14 ^{▼▼ Lit So that we will no longer be}As a result, we are ^amno longer to be children, ^antossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by ^aocraftiness ^{▼▼ Lit with regard to the scheming of deceit}in ^aqdeceitful scheming; 15 but ^{▼▼ Or holding to or being truthful in}speaking the truth ^asin love, ^{▼▼ Or let us grow up}we are to ^augrow up in all aspects into Him who is the ^avhead, even Christ, 16 from whom ^awthe whole body, being fitted and held together ^{▼▼ Lit through every joint of the supply}by what every joint supplies, according to the ^{▼▼ Lit working in measure}proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself ^azin love.

The Christian’s Walk

17 ^baSo this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, ^bbthat you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the ^bcfutility of their mind, 18 being ^bddarkened in their understanding, ^{▼▼ Or alienated
,} ^bfexcluded from the life of God because of the ^bgignorance that is in them, because of the ^bhhardness of their heart; 19 and they, having ^bibecome callous, ^bjhave given themselves over to ^bksensuality ^{▼▼ Or greedy for the practice of every kind of impurity}for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not ^bmlearn ^{▼▼ I.e. the Messiah}Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you ^bohave heard Him and have ^bpbeen taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you ^bqlay aside the ^brold ^{▼▼ Lit man}self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the ^btlusts of deceit, 23 and that you be ^burenewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and ^bvput on the ^bwnew ^{▼▼ Lit man}self, which ^{▼▼ Lit according to God
,} ^bzin the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

25 Therefore, ^calaying aside falsehood, ^cb speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are ^ccmembers of one another. 26 ^cd Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not ^cegive the devil ^{▼▼ Lit a place}an opportunity. 28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather ^cghe must labor, ^chperforming with his own hands what is good, ^ciso that he will have something to share with ^{▼▼ Lit the one}one who has need. 29 Let no ^{▼▼ Lit rotten
,} ^clunwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for ^cmedification ^{▼▼ Lit of the need}according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 ^coDo not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, ^{▼▼ Lit in}by whom you were ^cqsealed for the day of redemption. 31 ^crLet all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be ^csput away from you, along with all ^ctmalice. 32 ^cuBe kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, ^cvjust as God in Christ also has forgiven ^{▼▼ Two early mss read us}you.