Unity and Diversity in the Body of Christ

1Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord,a urge you to •walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2with all humilityb and gentleness, with patience,c acceptingd, e one another in love,f 3diligently keeping the unityg of the Spirith with the peacei that binds us. 4There is one body and one Spiritj — just as you were called to one hopek, l at your calling — 5one Lord,m one faith,n one baptism, 6one Godo and Fatherp of all, who is above all and through all and in all.q

7Now grace was given to each one of usr according to the measure of the •Messiah’s gift. 8For it says:

When He ascendeds on high,

He took prisoners into captivity;t

He gave gifts to people.u, v

9But what does “He ascended” mean except that Hew descended to the lower parts of the earth?x, y 10The One who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens,z that He might fillaa all things.ab 11And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12for the training of the •saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,ac 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son,ad growing into a mature man with a statureae measured by Christ’s fullness. 14Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching,af by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the headag — Christ. 16From Him the whole body, fitted and knit togetherah by every supporting ligament, promotes the growthai of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.

Living the New Life

17Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their thoughts. 18They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. 19They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurityaj with a desire for more and more.ak

20But that is not how you learned about the Messiah, 21assuming you heard about Him and were taught by Him, because the truthal is in Jesus. 22You took offam, an your former way of life,ao the old selfap, aq that is corrupted by deceitful desires; 23you are being renewedar in the spiritas of your minds; 24you put onat, au the new self, the one createdav according to God’s likenessaw in righteousness and purity of the truth.

25Since you put awayax lying, Speak the truth, each one to his neighbor,ay, az because we are members of one another. 26Be angry and do not sin.ba, bb Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, 27and don’t give the Devil an opportunity. 28The thief must no longer steal. Instead, he must do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to sharebc with anyone in need. 29No foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need,bd so that it gives grace to those who hear. 30And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit.be You were sealed by Himbf for the day of •redemption.bg 31All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. 32And be kindbh and compassionatebi to one another, forgivingbj one another, just as God also forgave youbk in Christ.