Eph 4 | NASB2020 | STEP | Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord , urge 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, ^burge you to ^cwalk in a manner worthy of the ^dcalling with which you have been ^ecalled, 2 with all ^fhumility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another ^gin love, 3 being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the ^hbond of peace. 4 There is ⁱone body and one Spirit, just as you also 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,
“ ^qWhen He ascended on high,
He ^rled captive the captives,
And He gave gifts to people.”

9 (Now this expression, “He ^sascended,” what ^{▼▼Lit is it except}does it mean except that He also ^{▼▼One early ms 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, some as prophets, some as ^aaevangelists, some as ^{▼▼From Gr for shepherds}pastors and ^acteachers, 12 ^adfor the equipping of the ^{▼▼Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people}saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of ^afthe body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to ^agthe unity of the faith, and of the ^{▼▼Or true knowledge} ^aiknowledge of the Son of God, to a ^ajmature man, to the measure of the stature ^{▼▼Lit of the fullness}which belongs to the ^alfullness of Christ. 14 ^{▼▼Lit So that we will no longer be}As a result, we are ^anno longer to be children, ^aotossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by ^apcraftiness ^{▼▼Lit with regard to the scheming of deceit}in ^ardeceitful scheming; 15 but ^{▼▼Or holding to; or being truthful in}speaking the truth ^atin love, ^{▼▼Or let’s grow up}we are to ^avgrow up in all aspects into Him who is the ^awhead, that is, Christ, 16 from whom ^axthe 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 ^bain love.

The Christian’s Walk

17 ^bbSo I say this, and affirm in the Lord, ^bcthat you are to no longer walk just as the ^{▼▼I.e., unbelieving Gentiles}Gentiles also walk, in the ^befutility of their minds, 18 being ^bfdarkened in their understanding, ^{▼▼Or alienated} ^bhexcluded from the life of God because of the ^biignorance that is in them, because of the ^bjhardness of their heart; 19 and they, having ^bkbecome callous, ^blhave given themselves up to ^bmindecent behavior ^{▼▼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 ^bolearn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you ^bphave heard Him and have ^bqbeen taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to ^brrid yourselves of the ^bsold ^{▼▼Lit person}self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the ^bulusts of deceit, 23 and that you are to be ^bvrenewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to ^bwput on the ^bxnew ^{▼▼Lit person}self, which ^{▼▼Lit according to God} ^cain the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

25 Therefore, ^cbridding yourselves of falsehood, ^ccspeak truth each one of you with his neighbor, because we are ^cdparts of one another. 26 ^ceBe angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not ^cfgive the devil ^{▼▼Lit a place}an opportunity. 28 The one who steals must no longer steal; but rather ^chhe must labor, ^ciproducing with his own hands what is good, ^cjso that he will have something to share with the one who has need. 29 Let no ^{▼▼Lit rotten} ^clunwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for ^cmedification ^{▼▼Lit of the need}according to the need of the moment, say that, 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 ^crAll bitterness, wrath, anger, ^{▼▼Or shouting}clamor, and slander must be ^ctremoved from you, along with all ^cumalice. 32 ^cvBe kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, ^cwjust as God in Christ also has forgiven ^{▼▼Two early mss us}you.