By Grace Through Faith

1 ^jAnd you were ^kdead in the trespasses and sins 2 ^lin which you once walked, following the course of this world, following ^mthe prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in ⁿthe sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in ^othe passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body¹ and the mind, and ^pwere by nature ^qchildren of wrath, like the rest of mankind.² 4 But³ God, being ^rrich in mercy, ^sbecause of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even ^twhen we were dead in our trespasses, ^umade us alive together with Christ—^vby grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and ^wseated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable ^xriches of his grace in ^ykindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For ^zby grace you have been saved ^athrough faith. And this is ^bnot your own doing; ^cit is the gift of God, 9 ^dnot a result of works, ^eso that no one may boast. 10 For ^fwe are his workmanship, ^gcreated in Christ Jesus ^hfor good works, ⁱwhich God prepared beforehand, ^jthat we should walk in them.

One in Christ

11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called ^kthe circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember ^lthat you were at that time separated from Christ, ^malienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to ⁿthe covenants of promise, ^ohaving no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were ^pfar off have been brought near ^qby the blood of Christ. 14 For ^rhe himself is our peace, ^swho has made us both one and has broken down ^tin his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ^uordinances, that he might create in himself one ^vnew man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might ^wreconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and ^xpreached peace to you who were ^yfar off and peace to those who were ^znear. 18 For ^athrough him we both have ^baccess in ^cone Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer ^dstrangers and aliens,⁴ but you are ^efellow citizens with the saints and ^fmembers of the household of God, 20 ^gbuilt on the foundation of the ^hapostles and prophets, ⁱChrist Jesus himself being ^jthe cornerstone, 21 ^kin whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into ^la holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him ^myou also are being built together ⁿinto a dwelling place for God by⁵ the Spirit.

The New Life

17 Now this I say and ^dtestify in the Lord, ^ethat you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, ^fin the futility of their minds. 18 They ^gare darkened in their understanding, ^halienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to ⁱtheir hardness of heart. 19 They ^jhave become callous and ^khave given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you ^llearned Christ!— 21 assuming that ^myou have heard about him and ⁿwere taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to ^oput off ^pyour old self,¹ which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through ^qdeceitful desires, 23 and ^rto be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on ^sthe new self, ^tcreated after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you ^uspeak the truth with his neighbor, for ^vwe are members one of another. 26 ^wBe angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and ^xgive no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather ^ylet him labor, ^zdoing honest work with his own hands, so ^athat he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 ^bLet no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give ^cgrace to those who hear. 30 And ^ddo not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, ^eby whom you were sealed for the day of ^fredemption. 31 ^gLet all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 ^hBe kind to one another, tenderhearted, ⁱforgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Walk in Love

1 ^jTherefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And ^kwalk in love, ^las Christ loved us and ^mgave himself up for us, a ⁿfragrant ^ooffering and sacrifice to God.

3 But ^psexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness ^qmust not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be ^rno filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, ^swhich are out of place, but instead ^tlet there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that ^ueveryone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (^vthat is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 ^wLet no one ^xdeceive you with empty words, for because of these things ^ythe wrath of God comes upon ^zthe sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore ^ado not become partners with them; 8 for ^bat one time you were ^cdarkness, but now you are light in the Lord. ^dWalk as children of light 9 (for ^ethe fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and ^ftry to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 ^gTake no part in the ^hunfruitful ⁱworks of darkness, but instead ^jexpose them. 12 For ^kit is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when ^lanything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

15 ^pLook carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 ^pmaking the best use of the time, because ^qthe days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what ^rthe will of the Lord is. 18 And ^sdo not get drunk with wine, for that is ^tdebauchery, but ^ube filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in ^vpsalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 ^wgiving thanks always and for everything to God the Father ^xin the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 ^ysubmitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives and Husbands

22 ^zWives, ^asubmit to your own husbands, ^bas to the Lord. 23 For ^cthe husband is the head of the wife even as ^dChrist is the head of the church, his body, and is ^ehimself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit ^fin everything to their husbands.

25 ^gHusbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and ^hgave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by ⁱthe washing of water ^jwith the word, 27 so ^kthat he might present the church to himself in splendor, ^lwithout spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.¹ 28 In the same way ^mhusbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because ⁿwe are members of his body. 31 ^o“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and ^pthe two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, ^qlet each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she ^rrespects her husband.

Children and Parents

1 ^sChildren, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 ^t“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, ^ubut bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Bondservants and Masters

5 ^vBondservants,² obey your earthly masters³ with fear and trembling, ^wwith a sincere heart, ^xas you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as ^ypeople-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 ^zknowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, ^awhether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, ^band stop your threatening, knowing that ^che who is both their Master⁴ and yours is in heaven, and that ^dthere is no partiality with him.