Ephesians 4
Expanded Bible
The Unity of the Body
4 [L Therefore,] As a prisoner [3:1] ·for [because I belong to; or in] the Lord, I urge you to ·live [walk] in a manner worthy of the calling ·you have received [L to which you were called]. 2 ·Always be [or Be completely] humble, gentle, and patient, ·accepting [putting up/bearing with] each other in love. 3 Make every effort to preserve the unity ·of [provided by; available through] the Spirit ·in [through] the ·peace that joins us together [L bond of peace]. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, and God called you to ·have one hope [L one hope of your calling]. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. 6 There is one God and Father of everything. ·He rules everything and is everywhere and is in everything [L …who is over all and through all and in all].
7 Each one of us has been given the ·special gift of grace [L grace; or gift], ·showing how generous Christ is [or in proportion to Christ’s gift; L according to the measure of Christ’s gift]. 8 That is why it says in the Scriptures,
“When he ·went up [ascended] to the heights,
he ·led a parade of captives [or took captives into captivity],
and he gave gifts to people [Ps. 68:18].”
9 When it says, “He ·went up [ascended],” what does it mean? ·It means [L …except] that he first ·came down [descended] to the ·earth [or lower regions, namely the earth; or the depths of the earth; C probably refers to (1) the Incarnation, though possibly (2) Christ’s descent to Hades after his death (1 Pet. 3:19–20), or (3) Christ’s descent through the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2)]. 10 So the one who ·came down [descended] is the same one who ·went up [ascended] above all the heavens. ·Christ did that [L …in order] to fill ·everything with his presence [L all things]. 11 And ·Christ gave gifts to people—he made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to have the work of caring for and teaching God’s people [L he himself gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors/shepherds, and teachers]. 12 ·Christ gave those gifts to prepare [L …to equip] God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger. 13 This work must continue until we ·are all joined together in the same faith [or all reach unity in the faith] and in the same knowledge of the Son of God. We must become like ·a mature person [or the perfect Man; C Christ], ·growing until we become like Christ and have his perfection [L to the measure of the stature of Christ’s fullness].
14 Then we will no longer be ·babies [children]. We will not be tossed about like a ship that the waves carry one way and then another. We will not be ·influenced by every new teaching [L carried along by every wind of (false) teaching] we hear from people who are trying to ·fool [trick] us. They ·make plans [scheme] and try any kind of trick to fool people into following ·the wrong path [error; false teaching]. 15 ·No! [Instead; Rather] ·Speaking [or Living out; Practicing] the truth with love, we will grow up in every way into Christ, who is the head. 16 ·The whole body depends on Christ, and [L …through/by whom] all the parts of the body are joined and held together. Each ·part [supporting joint/ligament] ·does its own work [performs its function] to make the whole body grow and ·be strong with [to build itself up in] love.
The Way You Should Live
17 ·In the Lord’s name [or By the Lord’s authority; L In the Lord], I ·tell you [L speak and testify to] this. Do not continue ·living [walking] like ·those who do not believe [the pagans; L the Gentiles], whose thoughts are ·worth nothing [futile]. 18 They ·do not understand [L are darkened in their minds/understanding] and they are ·separated [excluded; alienated] from the life ·God gives [or God has; L of God] because of their ignorance ·and because of [or caused by] ·their stubbornness [or their closed minds; L the stubbornness of their heart/mind]. 19 They have lost ·all feeling of shame [or any sense of right and wrong; L all feeling/sensitivity], and they ·use their lives for doing evil [abandon themselves to indecency/depravity]. They ·continually want to do [or greedily pursue] all kinds of ·evil [impurity]. 20 But ·what you learned in Christ was not like this [or that is not how you learned about Christ; L you did not learn Christ that way]. 21 ·I know that [L …if indeed] you heard ·about him [or him], and you ·are in him, so you were taught the truth that is in Jesus [or were taught by him, because the truth is in Jesus]. 22 You were taught to ·leave [put off; lay aside] your old ·self [L person]—to stop living the evil way you lived before. That old self ·becomes worse [is decaying/being corrupted], because ·people are fooled by the evil things they want to do [L of the deceitfulness of their desires]. 23 But you were taught to be made new in ·your hearts [the spirit/attitude of your minds], 24 to ·become [put on; clothe yourself with] the new ·self [L person; or Man; C become like Christ]. That new person is created ·to be like God [or in God’s image; L according to God]—truly good and holy [or in the righteousness and holiness that comes from truth].
25 So you must stop telling lies. ·Tell each other the truth [L Let each one of you speak truthfully to his neighbor; Zech. 8:16], because we ·all belong to each other in the same body [L are members of one another]. 26 ·When you are angry, [or Be angry, and] do not sin [Ps. 4:4; C there is a time for righteous anger, but it must not result in sin], and ·be sure to stop being angry before the end of the day [L don’t let the sun set on your anger]. 27 Do not give the devil a ·way to defeat you [foothold; opportunity]. 28 Those who are stealing must stop stealing and start working. They should ·earn an honest living for themselves [do something good/useful with their hands]. Then they will have something to share with those who ·are poor [L have need].
29 Don’t ·say anything that will hurt others [L let any rotten/unhealthy word come from your mouth], but only say what is ·helpful [good] to ·make others stronger [build others up] ·and meet [L according to] their needs. Then what you say will ·do good [give grace; be a gift] to those who listen to you. 30 And do not ·make the Holy Spirit sad [grieve/bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit]. ·The Spirit is God’s proof that you belong to him and he will make you free when the final day comes […by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption]. 31 Do not be bitter or angry or ·mad [raging]. Never shout angrily or ·say things to hurt [slander; insult] others. ·Never do anything [Get rid of all kinds of] evil. 32 Be kind and ·loving [compassionate; tenderhearted] to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.
Ephesians 4
EasyEnglish Bible
God's people are like one body
4 Because I serve the Lord, I am here in prison. I really want you to live as God's own people should live. God has called you to come to him. He has chosen you to be his own people. 2 Do not think that you are better than other people. Always be kind and patient with each other. Love one another, so that you do not quickly become angry with each other. 3 Do your best to let God's Spirit keep you united. You belong together so live in peace with each other. 4 As God's people, you are like one body. There is one Spirit that gives you life. God has chosen you to be his own people. So you all expect to receive the same great things from God. 5 There is one Lord. There is one true message that we must believe. There is one baptism.[a] 6 There is one God, who is the Father of all of us. He has authority over all of us. He works through all of us. He is in all of us.
7 But God has been kind to all of us. Each of us has received a special gift, just as Christ has decided to give us. 8 This is what it says about him:
‘When he went up to the highest place,
he led many prisoners with him.
Then he gave gifts to his people.’[b]
9 It says: ‘He went up.’ That must mean that Christ had also come down. He came down to a lower place, the earth. 10 So the man who came down is also the man who went up, high above all the heavens. He did that so that he would fill everything everywhere.
11 It was Christ who chose to give different gifts to his people. He chose some to be apostles. He chose some to speak messages from God. He chose some to tell God's good news to many people. He chose some to take care of his people, and to teach them. 12 He gave all these gifts to help God's people to serve him in different ways. As a result, the church, which is like Christ's body, would become strong. 13 In that way, all of us will become united, like one person. We will all believe in Jesus as the Son of God. We will all know him. We will become like a man who has grown up well. We will be completely as God wants us to be, just like Christ himself.
14 So then we will not be like children any more. Our minds will not become confused by strange ideas. We will not change what we believe, from one thing to another. Some people teach things that are not true. They do clever things to deceive people. But we will not agree with their false message. 15 Instead, we will love each other and we will speak God's true message. As a result, we will become more and more like Christ in every way. He is the head of his body, which is the church. 16 As its head, he helps the whole body to grow well. Each part joins with the other parts so that the whole body becomes strong. As each separate part does its proper work, we love each other more and more.
Live in a way that pleases God
17 So I say this to you. I am sure that I have the Lord's authority to say it. You must not live any longer like the Gentile people who do not know God. They do whatever their silly ideas teach them to do. 18 They cannot understand God's true message because their minds are in the dark. They have not accepted the life that God gives. They have decided that they do not want to know about God. They do not even try to understand. 19 They do not feel ashamed when they do all kinds of disgusting things. They do more and more bad things just to please themselves.
20 But when you learned about Christ, you did not learn to do things like that! 21 I am sure that you have heard about him properly. People taught you the true message that comes from Jesus. 22 They taught you to change the way that you live. You must put away the nature that you had before. That old nature deceived you. As a result, you wanted to do things that would destroy you. 23 Instead, let God's Spirit make you think in a new way. 24 Take up the new nature that God has prepared for you. That nature is like God's own nature. Then you will live in a truly good way that pleases God.
25 So you must stop telling lies. Each of you must say only true things to one another. Remember that all of us belong to one another, like parts of the same body. 26 When you are angry, do not do anything bad as a result. Once the day comes to an end, do not continue to be angry. 27 Do not give the Devil a chance to hurt you like that.
28 Any of you who robbed people before must now stop taking things. Instead, you should work hard with your own hands. Then you will be able to share what you have with people who are poor.
29 Do not say bad things that hurt or insult people. Instead, say only good things that will help people. Your words should help people to become strong when they hear them.
30 Do not do anything that will make God's Holy Spirit sad. God gave his Holy Spirit to you to show that you belong to him. As a result you know that God will make you completely free one day.
31 Do not be jealous of other people. Do not become angry or shout at them. Do not quarrel with other people or insult them. Do not do anything or say anything that will hurt other people. 32 Instead, help one another and be kind to each other. Forgive one another. Remember that God has forgiven you because of what Christ has done.
Footnotes
- 4:5 Baptism shows that a Christian has been united with Christ. All Christians have died with Christ and they have risen up to a new life, as Christ did. This is the same for all Christians, so there is only one kind of baptism.
- 4:8 This is like Psalms 68:18. Or it may have been a song that the Christians sang. Christ takes things from his enemies and he gives them to his own people.
Ephesians 4
Living Bible
4 I beg you—I, a prisoner here in jail for serving the Lord—to live and act in a way worthy of those who have been chosen for such wonderful blessings as these. 2 Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Try always to be led along together by the Holy Spirit and so be at peace with one another.
4 We are all parts of one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. 5 For us there is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and we all have the same God and Father who is over us all and in us all, and living through every part of us. 7 However, Christ has given each of us special abilities—whatever he wants us to have out of his rich storehouse of gifts.
8 The psalmist tells about this, for he says that when Christ returned triumphantly to heaven after his resurrection and victory over Satan, he gave generous gifts to men. 9 Notice that it says he returned to heaven. This means that he had first come down from the heights of heaven, far down to the lowest parts of the earth. 10 The same one who came down is the one who went back up, that he might fill all things everywhere with himself, from the very lowest to the very highest.
11 Some of us have been given special ability as apostles; to others he has given the gift of being able to preach well; some have special ability in winning people to Christ, helping them to trust him as their Savior; still others have a gift for caring for God’s people as a shepherd does his sheep, leading and teaching them in the ways of God.
12 Why is it that he gives us these special abilities to do certain things best? It is that God’s people will be equipped to do better work for him, building up the Church, the body of Christ, to a position of strength and maturity; 13 until finally we all believe alike about our salvation and about our Savior, God’s Son, and all become full-grown in the Lord—yes, to the point of being filled full with Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. 15-16 Instead, we will lovingly follow the truth at all times—speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly[a]—and so become more and more in every way like Christ who is the Head of his body, the Church. Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly, and each part in its own special way helps the other parts, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
17-18 Let me say this, then, speaking for the Lord: Live no longer as the unsaved do, for they are blinded and confused. Their closed hearts are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds against him, and they cannot understand his ways. 19 They don’t care anymore about right and wrong and have given themselves over to impure ways. They stop at nothing, being driven by their evil minds and reckless lusts.
20 But that isn’t the way Christ taught you! 21 If you have really heard his voice and learned from him the truths concerning himself, 22 then throw off your old evil nature—the old you that was a partner in your evil ways—rotten through and through, full of lust and sham.
23 Now your attitudes and thoughts must all be constantly changing for the better. 24 Yes, you must be a new and different person, holy and good. Clothe yourself with this new nature.
25 Stop lying to each other; tell the truth, for we are parts of each other and when we lie to each other we are hurting ourselves. 26 If you are angry, don’t sin by nursing your grudge. Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry—get over it quickly; 27 for when you are angry, you give a mighty foothold to the devil.
28 If anyone is stealing he must stop it and begin using those hands of his for honest work so he can give to others in need. 29 Don’t use bad language. Say only what is good and helpful to those you are talking to, and what will give them a blessing.
30 Don’t cause the Holy Spirit sorrow by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who marks you to be present on that day when salvation from sin will be complete.[b]
31 Stop being mean, bad-tempered, and angry. Quarreling, harsh words, and dislike of others should have no place in your lives. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 4:15 speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly, Amplified New Testament.
- Ephesians 4:30 he is the one . . . salvation from sin will be complete, literally, “he is the one in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption.”
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