1 I therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to and beg you to walk (lead a life) worthy of the calling to which you have been called [with behavior that is a credit to the summons to God’s service,

I am being held in prison because of working for the Lord. I ask you from my heart to live and work the way the Lord expected you to live and work.

2 L iving as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another.

Live and work without pride. Be gentle and kind. Do not be hard on others. Let love keep you from doing that.

3 B e eager and strive earnestly to guard and keep the harmony and oneness of the Spirit in the binding power of peace.

Work hard to live together as one by the help of the Holy Spirit. Then there will be peace.

4 o ne body and one Spirit—just as there is also one hope to the calling you received—

There is one body and one Spirit. There is one hope in which you were called.

5 o ne Lord, one faith, one baptism,

There is one Lord and one faith and one baptism.

6 O ne God and Father of all, Who is above all, pervading all and in all.

There is one God. He is the Father of us all. He is over us all. He is the One working through us all. He is the One living in us all.

7 Y et grace (God’s unmerited favor) was given to each of us individually in proportion to the measure of Christ’s gift.

Loving-favor has been given to each one of us. We can see how great it is by the gift of Christ.

8 T herefore it is said, When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive '> vanquished foes] and He bestowed gifts on men.

The Holy Writings say, “When Christ went up to heaven, He took those who were held with Him. He gave gifts to men.”

9 N ow what can this, He ascended, mean but that He had previously descended from heaven into, the lower parts of the earth?

When they say, “He went up,” what does it mean but that He had first gone down to the deep parts of the earth?

10 H e Who descended is the same as He Who also has ascended high above all the heavens, that He might fill all things (the whole universe, from the lowest to the highest).

Christ Who went down into the deep also went up far above the heavens. He did this to fill all the world with Himself.

11 A nd His gifts were some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of His flock) and teachers.

Christ gave gifts to men. He gave to some the gift to be missionaries, some to be preachers, others to be preachers who go from town to town. He gave others the gift to be church leaders and teachers.

12 H is intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), the work of ministering toward building up Christ’s body (the church),

These gifts help His people work well for Him. And then the church which is the body of Christ will be made strong.

13 u ntil we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the '> full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ’s own perfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him.

All of us are to be as one in the faith and in knowing the Son of God. We are to be full-grown Christians standing as high and complete as Christ is Himself.

14 S o then, we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro between chance gusts of teaching and wavering with every changing wind of doctrine, the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men, in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors to mislead.

Then we will not be as children any longer. Children are like boats thrown up and down on big waves. They are blown with the wind. False teaching is like the wind. False teachers try everything possible to make people believe a lie,

15 R ather, let our lives lovingly express truth. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him Who is the Head, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

but we are to hold to the truth with love in our hearts. We are to grow up and be more like Christ. He is the leader of the church.

16 F or because of Him the whole body (the church, in all its various parts), closely joined and firmly knit together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, grows to full maturity, building itself up in love.

Christ has put each part of the church in its right place. Each part helps other parts. This is what is needed to keep the whole body together. In this way, the whole body grows strong in love. The Old and the New Life

17 S o this I say and solemnly testify in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the heathen (the Gentiles) do in their perverseness of their minds.

I tell you this in the name of the Lord: You must not live any longer like the people of the world who do not know God. Their thoughts are foolish.

18 T heir moral understanding is darkened and their reasoning is beclouded. alienated (estranged, self-banished) from the life of God because of the ignorance (the want of knowledge and perception, the willful blindness) that is deep-seated in them, due to their hardness of heart.

Their minds are in darkness. They are strangers to the life of God. This is because they have closed their minds to Him and have turned their hearts away from Him.

19 I n their spiritual apathy they have become callous and past feeling and reckless and have abandoned themselves to unbridled sensuality, eager and greedy to indulge in every form of impurity.

They do not care anymore about what is right or wrong. They have turned themselves over to the sinful ways of the world and are always wanting to do every kind of sinful act they can think of.

20 B ut you did not so learn Christ!

But you did not learn anything like this from Christ.

21 A ssuming that you have really heard Him and been taught by Him, as Truth is in Jesus,

If you have heard of Him and have learned from Him,

22 S trip yourselves of your former nature which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion;

put away the old person you used to be. Have nothing to do with your old sinful life. It was sinful because of being fooled into following bad desires.

23 A nd be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind,

Let your minds and hearts be made new.

24 A nd put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, in true righteousness and holiness.

You must become a new person and be God-like. Then you will be made right with God and have a true holy life.

25 T herefore, rejecting all falsity and being done now with it, let everyone express the truth with his neighbor, for we are all parts of one body and members one of another.

So stop lying to each other. Tell the truth to your neighbor. We all belong to the same body.

26 W hen angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down.

If you are angry, do not let it become sin. Get over your anger before the day is finished.

27 L eave no room or foothold for the devil.

Do not let the devil start working in your life.

28 L et the thief steal no more, but rather let him be industrious, making an honest living with his own hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need.

Anyone who steals must stop it! He must work with his hands so he will have what he needs and can give to those who need help.

29 L et no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk come out of your mouth, but only such as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God’s favor) to those who hear it.

Watch your talk! No bad words should be coming from your mouth. Say what is good. Your words should help others grow as Christians.

30 A nd do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God’s own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin).

Do not make God’s Holy Spirit have sorrow for the way you live. The Holy Spirit has put a mark on you for the day you will be set free.

31 L et all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind).

Put out of your life all these things: bad feelings about other people, anger, temper, loud talk, bad talk which hurts other people, and bad feelings which hurt other people.

32 A nd become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

You must be kind to each other. Think of the other person. Forgive other people just as God forgave you because of Christ’s death on the cross.