Unity in the Body of Christ
1 mI therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to nwalk oin a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with ppatience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the qbond of peace. 4 There is rone body and sone Spirit—just as you were called to tthe one hope that belongs to your call— 5 uone Lord, vone faith, wone baptism, 6 xone God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to yeach one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,
z“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”1
9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?2 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended afar above all the heavens, that he might bfill all things.) 11 And he gave cthe apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds3 and teachers,4 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the dbody of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to emature manhood,5 to the measure of the stature of the ffullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be gchildren, htossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, iby human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the jhead, into Christ, 16 kfrom whom the whole body, ljoined and mheld together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
The New Life
17 Now this I say and ntestify in the Lord, that you must ono longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the pfutility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, qalienated from the life of God because of the rignorance that is in them, due to their shardness of heart. 19 They have become tcallous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is unot the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were vtaught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to wput off your xold self,6 which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be yrenewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the znew self, acreated after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore, having put away bfalsehood, let each one of you cspeak the truth with his neighbor, for dwe are members one of another. 26 eBe angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and fgive no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest gwork with his own hands, hso that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 iLet no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for jbuilding up, as fits the occasion, kthat it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And ldo not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were msealed for the nday of redemption. 31 oLet all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be pkind to one another, tenderhearted, qforgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Greeting
1 Paul, an aapostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints who are in bEphesus, and are cfaithful1 in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 dBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the eheavenly places, 4 feven as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be gholy and blameless before him. In love 5 he hpredestined us2 for iadoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the jpurpose of his will, 6 kto the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the lBeloved. 7 In him we have mredemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our ntrespasses, according to the oriches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in pall wisdom and insight 9 making known3 to us the qmystery of his will, according to his purpose, which rhe set forth in Christ4 10 as a plan for the sfullness of time, tto unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him.
11 In him we have obtained an uinheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you vheard the wword of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were xsealed with ythe promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the zguarantee5 of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,6 to the praise of his glory.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
15 For this reason, because aI have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love7 toward all the saints, 16 bI do cnot cease to give thanks for you, dremembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you ethe Spirit of wisdom and of frevelation in the gknowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts henlightened, that you may know what is ithe hope to which jhe has called you, what are the kriches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, laccording to the working of his great mmight 20 that he worked in Christ when nhe raised him from the dead and oseated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 pfar qabove all rule and authority and power and dominion, and rabove every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he sput tall things under his feet and gave him as uhead over all things to the church, 23 which is his vbody, the wfullness of him who xfills all in all.
