New Living Translation

Darby Bible Translation

Unity in the Body

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

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Unity in the Body

*I*, the prisoner in [the] Lord, exhort you therefore to walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye have been called,

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Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

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with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love;

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Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

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using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.

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For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

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[There is] one body and one Spirit, as ye have been also called in one hope of your calling;

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There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

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one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

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one God and Father of all,
who is over all, in all, and living through all.

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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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However, he has given each one of us a special gifta through the generosity of Christ.

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But to each one of us has been given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ.

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That is why the Scriptures say,
“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”b

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Wherefore he says, Having ascended up on high, he has led captivity captive, and has given gifts to men.

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Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.c

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

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And 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.

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He that descended is the same who has also ascended up above all the heavens, that he might fill all things;

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Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.

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and *he* has given some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers,

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Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

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for the perfecting of the saints; with a view to [the] work of [the] ministry, with a view to the edifying of the body of Christ;

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This 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.

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until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, at [the] full-grown man, at [the] measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ;

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Then 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.

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in order that we may be no longer babes, tossed and carried about by every wind of *that* teaching [which is] in the sleight of men, in unprincipled cunning with a view to systematized error;

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Instead, 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.

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but, holding the truth in love, we may grow up to him in all things, who is the head, the Christ:

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He 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.

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from whom the whole body, fitted together, and connected by every joint of supply, according to [the] working in [its] measure of each one part, works for itself the increase of the body to its self-building up in love.

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Living as Children of Light

With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.

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Living as Children of Light

This I say therefore, and testify in [the] Lord, that ye should no longer walk as [the rest of] the nations walk in [the] vanity of their mind,

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Their 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.

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being darkened in understanding, estranged from the life of God by reason of the ignorance which is in them, by reason of the hardness of their hearts,

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They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

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who having cast off all feeling, have given themselves up to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greedy unsatisfied lust.

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But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.

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But *ye* have not thus learnt the Christ,

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Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,

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if ye have heard him and been instructed in him according as [the] truth is in Jesus;

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throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.

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[namely] your having put off according to the former conversation the old man which corrupts itself according to the deceitful lusts;

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Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

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and being renewed in the spirit of your mind;

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Put on your new nature, created to be like God — truly righteous and holy.

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and [your] having put on the new man, which according to God is created in truthful righteousness and holiness.

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So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.

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Wherefore, having put off falsehood, speak truth every one with his neighbour, because we are members one of another.

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And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”d Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry,

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Be angry, and do not sin; let not the sun set upon your wrath,

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for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

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neither give room for the devil.

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If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.

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Let the stealer steal no more, but rather let him toil, working what is honest with [his] hands, that he may have to distribute to him that has need.

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Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

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Let no corrupt word go out of your mouth, but if [there be] any good one for needful edification, that it may give grace to those that hear [it].

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And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own,e guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

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And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which ye have been sealed for [the] day of redemption.

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Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.

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Let all bitterness, and heat of passion, and wrath, and clamour, and injurious language, be removed from you, with all malice;

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Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

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and be to one another kind, compassionate, forgiving one another, so as God also in Christ has forgiven you.

Parallel

New Living Translation

Darby Bible Translation

Ephesians 4

Ephesians 4