Unity in the Body of Christ
1 I therefore,
1a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to
2walk in a manner worthy of
3the calling to which you have been called,
2
with all
4humility and
5gentleness, with
6patience,
7bearing with one another in love,
3
eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in
8the bond of peace.
4
There is
9one body and
10one Spirit--just as you were called to the one
11hope that belongs to your call--
5
12one Lord,
13one faith,
14one baptism,
6
15one God and Father of all,
16who is over all and through all and in all.
7
But
17grace was given
18to each one of us
19according to the measure of Christ's gift.
8
Therefore it says,
20"When he ascended on high
21he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men."
9
(
22In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into
23the lower regions, the earth?
10
He who descended is the one who also
24ascended
25far above all the heavens, that he might
26fill all things.)
11
And
27he gave the
28apostles, the prophets, the
29evangelists, the
30shepherds and teachers,
12
31to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for
32building up
33the body of Christ,
13
until we all attain to
34the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
35to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of
36the fullness of Christ,
14
so that we may no longer be children,
37tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in
38deceitful schemes.
15
Rather,
39speaking the truth in love, we are to
40grow up in every way into him who is
41the head, into Christ,
16
42from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped,
43when 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
44testify in the Lord,
45that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do,
46in the futility of their minds.
18
They
47are darkened in their understanding,
48alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to
49their hardness of heart.
19
They
50have become callous and
51have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
20
But that is not the way you
52learned Christ!--
21
assuming that
53you have heard about him and
54were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,
22
to
55put off
56your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through
57deceitful desires,
23
and
58to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
24
and to put on
59the new self,
60created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
25
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you
61speak the truth with his neighbor, for
62we are members one of another.
26
63Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
27
and
64give no opportunity to the devil.
28
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather
65let him labor,
66doing honest work with his own hands, so
67that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
29
68Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give
69grace to those who hear.
30
And
70do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
71by whom you were sealed for the day of
72redemption.
31
73Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
32
74Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
75forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.