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Ephesians 4
Here the letter turns the corner. "I therefore... beg you to walk worthily" — the doctrine of chapters 1-3 now becomes conduct. The opening plea is for unity, built on a sevenfold "one": one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God. Watch the logic: diversity of gifts (apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers) serves a single goal — that the body grow up and stop being "tossed back and forth" by every wind of doctrine.
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I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
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with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
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being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
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There is one body and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling,
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one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
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one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in us all.
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But to each one of us, the grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
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Therefore he says, “When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to people.”
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Now this, “He ascended”, what is it but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
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He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.
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He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers;
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for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ,
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until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
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that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;
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but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ,
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from whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love.
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This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,
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being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts.
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They, having become callous, gave themselves up to lust, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
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But you didn’t learn Christ that way,
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if indeed you heard him and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus:
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that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit,
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and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
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and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
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Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.
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“Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath,
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and don’t give place to the devil.
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Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, producing with his hands something that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need.
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Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.
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Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
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Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander be put away from you, with all malice.
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And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
Old self, new self
From verse 17 the tone sharpens into specifics. The readers are told not to "walk as the rest of the Gentiles," to put off the "old man" and put on the "new" — and then the abstraction lands in concrete commands.
Speak truth, not falsehood; be angry without sinning; the thief should work and give; let no "corrupt speech" out; don't "grieve the Holy Spirit." The chapter closes on kindness and forgiveness, grounded in how God forgave in Christ.
Context layers
Keep these closed by default and open them only when you want more context.
- BaptismWhat baptism means in the Bible, how it relates to Christ and the church, and which passages frame it most clearly.
- BitternessIn Scripture bitterness is both a taste of grief (Naomi, Job, Hannah) and a root that can spread if untended (Hebrews 12:15). The Bible lets it be felt, then asks it be pulled.
- FaithWhat faith means in the Bible, how it differs from vague belief, and how to read it without turning it into self-confidence.
- GraceWhat grace means in the Bible, how it differs from vague kindness, and which passages help define it clearly.
- Genesis 2:18Related through the topic "Loneliness in the Bible".
- Ruth 1:20Key passage connected to Bitterness.
- Acts 20:19Related through the topic "Humility".
- Psalms 68:6Related through the topic "Loneliness in the Bible".
- Lamentations 3:19Related through the topic "Bitterness in the Bible".
- 1 Peter 5:5Related through the topic "Humility".
- Hebrews 12:14Related through the topic "Bitterness in the Bible".
- 2 Corinthians 10:1Related through the topic "Humility".
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