Ephesians 4 NLT ISV Parallel

◄ Ephesians 4 ►

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1Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

1I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to live in a way that is worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

2Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

2demonstrating all expressions of humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another in love.

3Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.

3Do your best to maintain the unity of the Spirit by means of the bond of peace.

4For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

4There is one body and one Spirit. Likewise, you were called to the one hope of your calling.

5There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.

6one God and Father of all, who is above all, through all, and in all.

7However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.

7Now to each one of us grace has been given proportionate to the measure of the Messiah's gift.

8That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.”

8That is why God says, "When he went up to the highest place, he led captives into captivity and gave gifts to people."

9Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.

9Now what does this "he went up" mean except that he also had gone down into the lower parts of the earth?

10And 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.

10The one who went down is the same one who went up above all the heavens so that all things would be fulfilled.

11Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.

11And it is he who gifted some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, and still others to be pastors and teachers,

12Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

12to equip the saints, to do the work of ministry, and to build up the body of the Messiah

13This 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.

13until all of us are united in the faith and in the full knowledge of God's Son, and until we attain mature adulthood and the full standard of development in the Messiah.

14Then 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.

14Then we will no longer be little children, tossed like waves and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, or by clever strategies that would lead us astray.

15Instead, 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.

15Instead, by speaking the truth in love, we will grow up completely and become one with the head, that is, one with the Messiah,

16He 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. Living as Children of Light

16in whom the whole body is united and held together by every ligament with which it is supplied. As each individual part does its job, the body builds itself up in love.

17With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.

17Therefore, I tell you and insist on in the Lord not to live any longer like the gentiles live, thinking worthless thoughts.

18Their 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.

18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart.

19They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

19Since they have lost all sense of shame, they have abandoned themselves to sensuality and practice every kind of sexual perversion without restraint.

20But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.

20However, that is not the way you came to know the Messiah.

21Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,

21Surely you have listened to him and have been taught by him, since truth is in Jesus.

22throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.

22Regarding your former way of life, you were taught to strip off your old nature, which is being ruined by its deceptive desires,

23Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

23to be renewed in your mental attitude,

24Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

24and to clothe yourselves with the new nature, which was created according to God's image in righteousness and true holiness.

25So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.

25Therefore, stripping off falsehood, "let each of us speak the truth to his neighbor," for we belong to one another.

26And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry,

26"Be angry, yet do not sin." Do not let the sun set while you are still angry,

27for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

27and do not give the devil an opportunity to work.

28If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.

28The thief must no longer steal but must work hard and do what is good with his own hands, so that he might earn something to give to the needy.

29Don’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.

29Let no filthy talk be heard from your mouths, but only what is good for building up people and meeting the need of the moment. This way you will administer grace to those who hear you.

30And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

30Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.

31Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.

31Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, quarreling, and slander be put away from you, along with all hatred.

32Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

32And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another just as God has forgiven you in the Messiah.

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