Ephesians 4

1So I, a prisoner in the Lord, urge you to live in a way 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 in 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.

7But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

8That is why it says, “When he ascended on high, he led captives away, and he gave gifts to people.”

9Now what does “he ascended” mean, except that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

10The one who descended is the very one who also ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.

11And he himself gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,

12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

13until we all reach the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature adulthood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

14Then we will no longer be children, tossed back and forth by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching, by human trickery, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.

16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows as each part does its work, and builds itself up in love.

17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds.

18They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to the hardness of their hearts.

19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality, practicing every kind of impurity with greed.

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 way of life and is being corrupted by its deceitful desires,

23to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,

24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

25Therefore, having put away falsehood, each of you must speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.

26“Be angry, and do not sin.” Do not let the sun set on your anger,

27and do not give the devil a foothold.

28The one who steals must steal no longer; instead, he must labor, doing good work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

29Let no rotten talk come out of your mouths, but only what is good for building up as the need arises, so that it may give grace to those who hear.

30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

31Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, shouting, and slander, along with all malice.

32Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving each other just as God also forgave you in Christ.