Ephesians
4
New
American Standard Bible (NASB)
Unity
of the Spirit
4
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy
of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and
gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of
the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as
also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in
all.
7
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s
gift. 8 Therefore it says,
“When
He ascended on high,
He
led captive a host of captives,
And
He gave gifts to men.”
9
(Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had
descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself
also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all
things.) 11 And He gave some as apostles,
and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and
teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the
building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure
of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are
no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by
every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful
scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects
into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being
fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper
working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building
up of itself in love.
The
Christian’s Walk
17
So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just
as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in
their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance
that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having
become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of
every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not learn Christ in this
way, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth
is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside
the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new
self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and
holiness of the truth.
25
Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his
neighbor, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry, and yet do not sin;
do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an
opportunity. 28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor,
performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to
share with one who has need. 29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your
mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of
the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 Do not grieve the
Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let
all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you,
along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving
each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Ephesians
4
V
1–6: UNITY Paul urges the Ephesians to a worthy walk which reflects the oneness
of the body of Christ in spiritual unity. In so doing, he clearly emphasises
that there is only ‘one Lord, and one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of
all’. Unity for him does not mean sacrificing truth. It is because of his stand
for God’s truth that he writes as ‘the prisoner of the Lord’. V 7–10:
INDIVIDUALITY This unity does not detract from the fact that grace is
individually given to each person who trusts Christ, and that God gives
enabling gifts to individual believers. He is the universe’s highly ascended
Lord, and can do that easily! V 11–16:
COMMUNITY God has given certain gifted people to His church. They are apostles,
prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. His aim, through them, is to equip
and edify His people so, together, they know Christ, stand firm on biblical
doctrine against those who would deceive, and recognise how they all together
fit into the body of Christ of which He is head. V 17–19:
FUTILITY The
Christian Gentile is to be contrasted with the other Gentiles who, as
unbelievers, walk ignorantly, blindly, and in sin and greediness. V 20–24:
IDENTITY In coming to know Christ, their old ways are dispensed with and the
‘new man’ is put on, in righteousness and holiness. There is a spiritual
renewal of the mind and a radical change of identity for the born-again
Christian. V 25–32:
QUALITY There is a
new quality of life of the Christian which reflects the fact that he does not
‘grieve the Holy Spirit of God’. He rejects former sinful ways, words and
works, and applies himself to replacing them with positive good. He gives
the devil no place in his life and rejects his former negative behaviour and
sin. His new quality of life is shown by tender-heartedness, showing
forgiveness to others, and avoiding grieving the Spirit. The springboard for
this is that ‘God in Christ forgave you’.
The
Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.
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