Ephesians 4:1-25
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 4
1Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
9(Now this expression, 'He ascended,' what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)
11And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers,
12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ;
13until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
14As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
15but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is, Christ,
16from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
17So I say this, and affirm in the Lord, that you are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their minds,
18being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;
19and they, having become callous, have given themselves up to indecent behavior for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
20But you did not learn Christ in this way,
21if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
22that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
23and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
24and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
King James Version
Chapter 4
1I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
8Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
17This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
18Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
19Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20But ye have not so learned Christ;
21If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 4
1Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to live worthy of the calling you have received, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit —just as you were called to one hope at your calling— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
9But what does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the earth?
10The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things.
11And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,
12equipping the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,
13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.
14Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.
15But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head —Christ.
16From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.
17Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their thoughts.
18They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts.
19They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.
20But that is not how you came to know Christ,
21assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus,
22to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires,
23to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
24and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.
New Living Translation
Chapter 4
1Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
5There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.
9Notice that it says 'he ascended.' This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.
10And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
11Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
12Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
13This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
14Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
15Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
16He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
17With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.
18Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.
19They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
20But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.
21Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,
22throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.
23Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
24Put on your new nature, created to be like God — truly righteous and holy.
English Standard Version
Chapter 4
1I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — 5one 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 according to the measure of Christ 's gift. 8Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men."
9(In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?
10He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
15Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
16from whom the whole body, joined and held 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.
17Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.
18They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
19They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
20But that is not the way you learned Christ! —
21assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,
22to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
24and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
New International Version
Chapter 4
1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
9(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions ?
10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
11So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
12to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
20That, however, is not the way of life you learned
21when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.
22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
23to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
New King James Version
Chapter 4
1I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
9(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
16from 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.
17This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
18having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
19who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20But you have not so learned Christ,
21if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:
22that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
23and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
