Ephesians 4
1I urge you, then, I the prisoner in the Lord, to walk in a way worthy of the summons to which you were called, 2with all lowliness of mind and gentle strength, with patience, bearing with one other in love, 3making every effort to guard the oneness of the Spirit in the binding-link of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were also called in one hope of your summons; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7But to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of the gift of the Christ. 8Therefore it says: “Having ascended to the height, he led a captive procession of captives; he gave gifts to humanity.” 9Now, what does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended into the lower regions of the earth? 10The one who descended is himself also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.
11And he himself gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be shepherds and teachers, 12for the purpose of equipping the holy ones for the work of service, for the building up of the body of the Christ, 13until we all reach the oneness of the faith and of the full, experiential knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ. 14This is so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching in the rigged dice-playing of men, in their craftiness for the scheming of error. 15Rather, being truthful in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head, the Christ. 16From him the whole body, being fitted together and held together through every ligament of supply, according to the operative power in the measure of each individual part, produces the growth of the body for its own building up in love.
17Therefore, this I say and testify in the Lord: you must no longer walk as the nations walk, in the futility of their minds, 18being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to the calloused-hardness of their hearts. 19Having become insensitive to pain, they handed themselves over to licentiousness for the practice of every kind of uncleanness with an insatiable greed. 20But that is not how you learned the Christ— 21if indeed you heard him and were taught in him, just as truth is in Jesus: 22that you strip off, according to your former way of life, the old humanity which is being corrupted according to the desires of deceit, 23and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24and clothe yourselves with the new humanity, created according to God in the justice and holiness of the truth.
25Therefore, having stripped off the lie, “Speak truth each one with his neighbor,” because we are members of one another. 26“Be angry and do not sin;” do not let the sun go down on your provocation, 27and do not give a foothold to the slanderer. 28The one who steals must steal no longer, but instead must labor, working with his own hands at what is good, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need. 29Let no rotten word come out of your mouth, 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, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness and rage and anger and shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 32Become kind to one another, compassionate, graciously forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also graciously forgave you.