Ephesians 4

1So I, a prisoner for the Lord, appeal to you: live in a way that is worthy of God’s call, the call that came to you. 2Be humble and gentle in every way, and be patient, putting up with one another in love. 3Spare no effort to keep the unity the Spirit gives, with peace as the bond that holds you together. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as there is one hope that belongs to the call you received. 5There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

7But grace was given to each one of us, in the measure in which Christ gave it. 8That is why it says, “When he went up on high, he led a band of captives, and he gave gifts to people.” 9Now what does “He went up” mean, if not that he had also come down into the lower parts of the earth? 10The one who came down is the very same one who went up, far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things. 11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers. 12He gave them to equip God’s holy people for the work of serving, so that the body of Christ would be built up, 13until all of us arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. Then we will be a mature adult, grown to the full measure of the stature that belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14We will no longer be infants, thrown about by the waves and driven this way and that by each new wind of teaching, at the mercy of people who play tricks and cunningly scheme to lead others astray. 15Instead, as we speak the truth in love, we must grow in every respect into him, the head, Christ. 16From him the whole body is joined and held together by every ligament that supplies it. As each part does its own work, the body grows and builds itself up in love.

17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, with their futile, empty thinking. 18Their understanding is darkened, and they are cut off from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because their hearts have grown hard. 19They have lost all feeling and have given themselves over to indecency, practicing every kind of impurity with an appetite that always wants more. 20But that is not how you learned Christ. 21You surely heard him and were taught as people who belong to him, in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught to strip off the old self, the self of your former way of life, which is being ruined by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the spirit of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created in God’s likeness, in the righteousness and holiness that come from the truth.

25So now that you have stripped off falsehood, each of you must tell your neighbor the truth, for we are members of one another. 26If you become angry, do not let it lead you into sin. Do not let the sunset find you still angry, 27and do not give the devil an opening. 28Thieves must steal no more. Instead they must work hard, doing something good with their own hands, so that they have something to share with anyone in need. 29Let no rotten word pass your lips. Say only what is good, what builds up and meets the need of the moment, so that your words bring grace to those who hear them. 30And do not grieve God’s Holy Spirit. It was with the Spirit that you were sealed, marked out for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, bursts of temper and anger, all shouting and slander, along with every kind of malice. 32Be kind to one another and full of compassion. Forgive each other freely, just as God has forgiven you in Christ.