Ephesians 4
New King James Version
Walk in Unity
4 I, therefore, the prisoner [a]of the Lord, [b]beseech you to (A)walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit (B)in the bond of peace. 4 (C)There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 (D)one Lord, (E)one faith, (F)one baptism; 6 (G)one God and Father of all, who is above all, and (H)through all, and in [c]you all.
Spiritual Gifts
7 But (I)to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says:
(J)“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”
9 (K)(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also [d]first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One (L)who ascended far above all the heavens, (M)that He might fill all things.)
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, (N)for the [e]edifying of (O)the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith (P)and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to (Q)a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be (R)children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of (S)deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the (T)head—Christ— 16 (U)from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
The New Man
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should (V)no longer walk as [f]the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the (W)blindness of their heart; 19 (X)who, being past feeling, (Y)have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you (Z)put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and (AA)be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you (AB)put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Do Not Grieve the Spirit
25 Therefore, putting away lying, (AC)“Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for (AD)we are members of one another. 26 (AE)“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 (AF)nor give [g]place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather (AG)let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something (AH)to give him who has need. 29 (AI)Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but (AJ)what is good for necessary [h]edification, (AK)that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And (AL)do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 (AM)Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, [i]clamor, and (AN)evil speaking be put away from you, (AO)with all malice. 32 And (AP)be kind to one another, tenderhearted, (AQ)forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 4:1 Lit. in
- Ephesians 4:1 exhort, encourage
- Ephesians 4:6 NU omits you; M us
- Ephesians 4:9 NU omits first
- Ephesians 4:12 building up
- Ephesians 4:17 NU omits the rest of
- Ephesians 4:27 an opportunity
- Ephesians 4:29 building up
- Ephesians 4:31 loud quarreling
Ephesians 4
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
Therefore I Exhort You To Walk Worthily of Your Calling, Keeping The Unity of The Spirit
4 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all humblemindedness and gentleness, with patience bearing-with one another in love, 3 being diligent to keep[a] the unity of [b] the Spirit in the bond of [c] peace—
God Made Us One, And Gave Gifts And Grace To Each One of Us
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, the One over all and through all and in all; 7 and to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
For Scripture Says Jesus Ascended On High And Gave Gifts To His People
8 For this reason it says, “having ascended to on-high, He led captivity captive[d], He gave gifts to people” [Ps 68:18].
9 Now what does the “He ascended” mean except that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth[e]? 10 The One having descended is Himself also the One having ascended far above all the heavens, in order that He might fill all things.
He Gave Gifted People To Equip The Saints To Build Up The Body of Christ To Maturity
11 And He Himself gave some as apostles, and others as prophets, and others as evangelists, and others as shepherds and teachers, 12 for[f] the equipping[g] of the saints for the work of ministry[h], for the building-up of the body of Christ 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature[i] man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, being tossed-about and carried-around by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of people, by craftiness with-regard-to[j] the scheme of [k] error[l], 15 but that while speaking-the-truth in love, we may grow as to all things into Him Who is the head— Christ, 16 from Whom the whole body, being fitted-together[m] and held-together by every joint of supply according to the working in measure of each individual part, is producing the growth of the body for the building-up of itself in love.
So Walk No Longer In The Futile Darkness of The Gentiles, As They Pursue Impurity
17 Therefore this I say and testify in the Lord, that you be walking no longer as indeed the Gentiles are walking, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, having been excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance being in them, because of the hardness of their hearts— 19 who, having become callous, gave themselves over to sensuality for the practice[n] of every impurity with greed.
Lay Aside The Old Person. Be Renewed In Your Mind And Put On The New Person
20 But you did not learn Christ in this manner, 21 if indeed you heard Him and were taught in Him, even as it is the truth in Jesus 22 that in-relation-to your former way-of-life you lay-aside the old person being corrupted[o] in-accordance-with the desires of [p] deception, 23 and that you be being renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put-on the new person having been created in accordance with God, in righteousness and holiness of [q] truth.
Live Out Righteousness And Truth
25 Therefore, having laid-aside the lie[r], each of you be speaking truth with his neighbor, because we are body-parts of one another. 26 Be angry and-yet do not be sinning. Do not let the sun go down upon your angriness[s], 27 nor give a place[t] to the devil. 28 Let the one stealing be stealing no longer. But rather let him be laboring, working the good thing with his own hands in order that he might have something to give to the one having a need. 29 Let every bad[u] word not proceed out of your mouth, but if there is something good for edification of the need, speak in order that it may give grace to the ones hearing. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with[v] Whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and anger and wrath and clamor and blasphemy[w] be taken-away[x] from you, along-with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other just as God in Christ also forgave you.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 4:3 Or, preserve, protect, guard.
- Ephesians 4:3 That is, produced by.
- Ephesians 4:3 That is, consisting of; or, leading to.
- Ephesians 4:8 led captivity captive. Or, took-prisoner prisoners of war.
- Ephesians 4:9 This may refer to Christ’s incarnation, or to His descent into Hades after His death.
- Ephesians 4:12 Or, with a view to. Not the same word as in the next two phrases.
- Ephesians 4:12 Or, preparing, furnishing, training.
- Ephesians 4:12 Or, service.
- Ephesians 4:13 Or, finished, complete.
- Ephesians 4:14 Or, with a view to.
- Ephesians 4:14 That is, leading to; or, proceeding from; or, characterized by.
- Ephesians 4:14 Or, deception.
- Ephesians 4:16 See 2:21.
- Ephesians 4:19 Or, pursuit, business, working.
- Ephesians 4:22 Or, corrupting itself.
- Ephesians 4:22 That is, proceeding from; or, belonging to; or, characterized by.
- Ephesians 4:24 That is, characterized by truth (true holiness); or, belonging to the truth.
- Ephesians 4:25 the lie. Or, falsehood. That is, the lie of the Gentile way of thinking and living, v 17-19 (introducing v 25-32); or, falsehood in general, in direct contrast to speaking truth next (and part of that point only).
- Ephesians 4:26 Or, irritation, exasperation, angry mood.
- Ephesians 4:27 That is, opportunity, chance.
- Ephesians 4:29 Or, corrupt, worthless, unfit.
- Ephesians 4:30 Or, by, in.
- Ephesians 4:31 Or, harmful speech.
- Ephesians 4:31 Or, removed.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
