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Ephesians 4

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I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

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With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

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Endeavouring 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 ye are 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 above all, and through all, and in you all.

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But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

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Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

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(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

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He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

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And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

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For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

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Till 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:

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That 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;

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But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

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From 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.

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This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

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Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

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Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

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But ye have not so learned Christ;

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If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

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That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

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And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

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And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

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Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

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Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

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Neither give place to the devil.

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Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

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Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

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And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

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Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

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And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

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Ephesians 4

Having established the theological indicative, Paul now shifts to the ethical imperative: believers are called to walk worthy of their calling with humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance in love, preserving the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The foundation for this worthy conduct is christological and pneumatological: one body animated by one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all—a sevenfold unity that reflects and participates in the Trinitarian life. The ascended Christ distributes gifts to the church (citing Psalm 68:18 in its christological interpretation): apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers equip the saints for ministry, building up Christ's body until all attain to the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, growing up into Christ the head (kephalē), from whom the whole body is joined and knit together. The command to speak truth in love (alētheia in agapē) implies a transformation where falsehood, anger, corrupt speech, and grieving of the Holy Spirit—in whom they were sealed for the day of redemption—give way to kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness rooted in God's forgiveness in Christ. These specific imperatives form the pattern of the new humanity: let no lie pass the lips, resolve anger before sunset, speak only words that build up and give grace, refuse all bitterness and malice, and instead embody the compassion and mutual forgiveness that mirrors Christ's reconciling work.

Ephesians 4:1

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received — Paul's exhortation (parakalēo, 'I urge,' 'I beseech') from his imprisonment calls for peripateo ('to walk,' conduct) worthy of (axios) the klēsis ('calling') received, the ethical outworking of the cosmic and mystical truths proclaimed.

Ephesians 4:2

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love — the virtues pauline: tapeinos ('humility,' lowliness of mind), praytēs ('gentleness,' meekness), makrothumia ('patience,' long-suffering), anechō ('bearing with,' forbearing) in agapē ('love'), the dispositions of Christian community.

Ephesians 4:3

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace — the diachronic effort (spoudazō, 'make every effort,' 'be diligent') to tēreō ('keep,' 'maintain') the henotes tou pneumatos ('unity of the Spirit'), which is not created but conserved, bound together (syndesmō) by the eirēnē ('peace').

Ephesians 4:4

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope when you were called — the sevenfold declaration of unity: heis sōma ('one body,' the church), heis pneuma ('one Spirit,' the Holy Ghost), mia elpis ('one hope,' the eschatological expectation), the foundation of all practical unity.

Ephesians 4:5

One Lord, one faith, one baptism — heis kyrios ('one Lord,' Christ), mia pistis ('one faith,' the confession of Christ), hen baptisma ('one baptism,' the rite of initiation), the christological and sacramental basis of unity.

Ephesians 4:6

One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in you all — heis theos kai patēr pantōn ('one God and Father of all'), epi pantōn ('over all,' transcendent), kai dia pantōn ('through all,' immanent), kai en pasin hymin ('in you all,' indwelling), the trinitarian and monotheistic culmination of the unity formula.

Ephesians 4:7

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it — the charis ('grace') given idios ('individually,' uniquely) to hekastos ('each one') selon the metron ('measure') of Christos's dosis ('gift,' distribution), establishing that while unity is essential, diversity of grace-gifts is normative.

Ephesians 4:8

This is why it says: 'When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people' — the quotation of Psalm 68:18 applies to Christ's ascension (anabainō): he aichmalōteusas ('took captives,' or in Targum reading, 'led captivity captive,' despoiling enemy powers), and edōken domata ('gave gifts') tois anthrōpois ('to people'), establishing the ascended Christ as the distributive source of spiritual gifts.

Ephesians 4:9

What does 'he ascended' mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions — Paul's hermeneutical move: if Christ ascended, he must first have katabainō ('descended') to ta katōtera ('the lower parts'), interpreted variously as incarnation, descent to Hades, or the humiliation-exaltation narrative.

Ephesians 4:10

He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill all things — the one who katabainō ('descended') is the same who anabainō ('ascended') huperanō ('far above') pantōn tōn ouranōn ('all the heavens'), his purpose: hina plēroō ('that he might fill') ta panta ('all things'), cosmic fulfillment through exaltation.

Ephesians 4:11

So Christ himself gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers — the risen Christ gave (didōmi) the charismatic gifts (domata) to the church: apostoloi ('apostles,' sent ones), prophētai ('prophets,' God-speakers), euangelistai ('evangelists,' gospel-proclaimers), poimenes kai didaskaloi ('pastors and teachers,' shepherds and instructors), the fourfold or fivefold ministry.

Ephesians 4:12

To equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up — the ministers' task (katartizō, 'to equip,' 'to restore to full function') is the hagioi ('saints,' believers) for ergon diakoniās ('works of service,' ministry), resulting in oikodomeō ('building up,' strengthening) of the sōma Christou ('body of Christ').

Ephesians 4:13

Until 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 — the telos ('goal'): eis ēnotas ('into unity') of pistis ('faith') and epignōsis ('knowledge') of the Son of God, achieving teleiotes ('maturity,' completeness), the metron pleromatos Christou ('measure of the fullness of Christ'), the church's full corporate identity.

Ephesians 4:14

Then 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 — Paul's warning against nepios ('infants,' spiritual immaturity) subject to kumat ('waves,' the tossing of false doctrine), every pneuma didaskaliās ('wind of teaching'), the methodeia ('craftiness') and polutechia ('cunning') of deceitful persons.

Ephesians 4:15

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all respects grow up into him who is the head, that is, Christ — the antidote: alētheuō ('speak truth') en agapē ('in love'), the community auxanō ('grows') eis auton ('into him'), its kephalē ('head'), Christus, the organic maturation toward Christ as the integrating principle.

Ephesians 4:16

From 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 — the sōma continues to grow, united by every syndesmō ('ligament,' connecting tissue), each meros ('member') energeō ('working') kata metron ('according to measure') of dunamis ('power'), the entire ekklēsia oikodomē ('edifying itself') in agapē ('love'), a vivid image of organic, interdependent growth.

Ephesians 4:17

So 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 — Paul's stern command (oun legō, 'I say then,' 'I insist') forbids the Gentile believers to peripateo ('walk,' conduct themselves) as the ethnē ('nations,' pagan Gentiles), en mataiotes ('in futility,' emptiness) of their dianoia ('thinking,' their distorted understanding).

Ephesians 4:18

They 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 — the pagan condition: the nous ('mind') is eskotemenos ('darkened,' morally blinded), apoallotriōō ('separated,' alienated) from the zōē tou theou ('life of God'), dia tēn agnoian ('because of ignorance'), the pōrōsis ('hardening,' callousness) of the kardia ('heart').

Ephesians 4:19

Having 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 — the result: apēlgeō ('lost sensitivity,' abandoned shame), paradidōmi ('given themselves over') to aselgeia ('sensuality,' licentiousness), the ergon akatharsias ('work of uncleanness') en pleonexia ('in greed,' covetousness).

Ephesians 4:20

That, however, is not the way of Christ — Paul's sharp contrast: hymeis de ouch houtos ('you, however, not this way') emathete Christon ('learned Christ,' received Christ as teaching and teacher).

Ephesians 4:21

Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus — the Ephesians akouo ('heard') Christos ('Christ') and didaskō ('were taught') en autō ('in him'), the didachē ('teaching') of alētheia ('truth') that characterizes Iēsous ('Jesus').

Ephesians 4:22

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires — the ethical imperative begins with apotithēmi ('put off,' 'remove like a garment') the palaios anthrōpos ('old self,' the former humanity), defined as phtharō ('corrupted') by epithumia ('desire') planos ('deceitful,' seductive).

Ephesians 4:23

To be made new in the attitude of your minds — the transformation: ananeōō ('be made new,' rejuvenated) of the pneuma ('spirit') of the nous ('mind'), the interior renewal preceding behavioral change.

Ephesians 4:24

And to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness — the positive command: endyō ('put on,' 'clothe yourselves in') the kainos anthrōpos ('new self'), ktizō ('created') kata theon ('after God,' in God's image), en dikaiosynē ('in righteousness') kai hosiotes ('and holiness,' sanctification), the resurrection-anthropology of the justified.

Ephesians 4:25

Therefore each of you must put away falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body — the virtue commands begin with the negation of pseudos ('falsehood'): laleo alētheia ('speak truth') prosthe plēsion ('to each neighbor,' the community), justified by the metaphor of the body's interdependence.

Ephesians 4:26

'In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry — Paul cites Psalm 4:4, orgizomai ('be angry') without hamartia ('sin'), the temporal limit: mē syllambano ('let not pass') to helio dounai ('the sun going down') upon ormē ('wrath,' lingering anger), the daily rhythm of reconciliation.

Ephesians 4:27

And do not give the devil a foothold — the warning topos ('foothold,' 'opportunity,' 'room') should not be given to diabolos ('the devil'), anger creating the opening for Satanic influence.

Ephesians 4:28

Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need — the thief must cease pleonexia ('stealing,' taking more than one's share) and instead ergazō ('work') ergon agathon ('good work') with chersin ('hands'), accumulating to metadidōmi ('share with') those in need.

Ephesians 4:29

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen — the control of speech: no saperou logos ('corrupt word') but only agathos ('good word') proximo ('for edification'), according to tēn chreian ('the need'), conferring eulogia ('blessing') to listeners.

Ephesians 4:30

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption — the paramount warning: mē lypeō ('do not grieve') to pneuma hagion ('the Holy Spirit') by whom esphragisthēte ('you were sealed') eis hēmeran apolutrōseōs ('until the day of redemption,' the eschatalogical completion).

Ephesians 4:31

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, and every form of malice — the catalog of vices to be apotithēmi ('put away'): pikria ('bitterness,' harsh resentment), thymos ('rage,' passion), orgē ('anger,' settled wrath), kraygē ('clamor,' brawling), blasphemia ('slander,' abusive speech), pasa kakia ('all malice,' wickedness in all its forms).

Ephesians 4:32

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you — the virtue replaces vice: chrestos ('kind,' useful, fitting), eusplaghnos ('compassionate,' tender-hearted), charizomai ('forgive') allelon ('one another'), grounded in the cosmic paradigm: kathos kai theou en Christō echaristate hymin ('just as God in Christ forgave you'), the cross as the measure of community forgiveness.