Chapter 4

25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfullyto your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.26In your anger do not sin[a]:Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,27and do not give the devil a foothold.28Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work,doing something useful with their own hands,that they may have something to share with those in need.

29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,but only what is helpful for building others upaccording to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,with whom you were sealedfor the day of redemption.31Get rid ofall bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.32Be kind and compassionate to one another,forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Chapter 5

1Follow Gods example,therefore, as dearly loved children2and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved usand gave himself up for usas a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Instructions for Christian Living

17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longerlive as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.18They are darkened in their understandingand separated from the life of Godbecause of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.19Having lost all sensitivity,they have given themselves overto sensualityso as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

20That, however, is not the way of life you learned21when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put offyour old self,which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;23to be made new in the attitude of your minds;24and to put onthe new self,created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Instructions for Christian Living

17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longerlive as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.18They are darkened in their understandingand separated from the life of Godbecause of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.19Having lost all sensitivity,they have given themselves overto sensualityso as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

20That, however, is not the way of life you learned21when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put offyour old self,which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;23to be made new in the attitude of your minds;24and to put onthe new self,created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ

4As a prisonerfor the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthyof the callingyou have received.2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one anotherin love.3Make every effort to keep the unityof the Spirit through the bond of peace.4There is one bodyand one Spirit,just as you were called to one hope when you were called;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 usgracehas been givenas Christ apportioned it.8This is why it[a]says:

When he ascended on high,he took many captivesand gave gifts to his people.[b]

9(What does he ascended mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions[c]?10He who descended is the very one who ascendedhigher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)11So Christ himself gavethe apostles,the prophets,the evangelists,the pastors and teachers,12to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christmay be built up13until we all reach unityin the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of Godand become mature,attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14Then we will no longer be infants,tossed back and forth by the waves,and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.15Instead, speaking the truth in love,we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head,that is, Christ.16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, growsand builds itself upin love,as each part does its work.

A Prayer for the Ephesians

14For this reason I kneelbefore the Father,15from whom every family[a]in heaven and on earth derives its name.16I pray that out of his glorious richeshe may strengthen you with powerthrough his Spirit in your inner being,17so that Christ may dwell in your heartsthrough faith. And I pray that you, being rootedand established in love,18may have power, together with all the Lords holy people,to grasp how wide and long and high and deepis the love of Christ,19and to know this love that surpasses knowledgethat you may be filledto the measure of all the fullness of God.

20Now to him who is ableto do immeasurably more than all we askor imagine, according to his powerthat is at work within us,21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Gods Marvelous Plan for the Gentiles

3For this reason I, Paul, the prisonerof Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles

2Surely you have heard about the administration of Gods grace that was given to mefor you,3that is, the mysterymade known to me by revelation,as I have already written briefly.4In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insightinto the mystery of Christ,5which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to Gods holy apostles and prophets.6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirstogether with Israel, members together of one body,and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

7I became a servant of this gospelby the gift of Gods grace given methrough the working of his power.8Although I am less than the least of all the Lords people,this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentilesthe boundless riches of Christ,9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery,which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of Godshould be made knownto the rulers and authoritiesin the heavenly realms,11according to his eternal purposethat he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.12In him and through faith in him we may approach Godwith freedom and confidence.13I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ

11Therefore, remember that formerlyyou who are Gentiles by birth and called uncircumcised by those who call themselves the circumcision (which is done in the body by human hands)12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreignersto the covenants of the promise,without hopeand without God in the world.13But now in Christ Jesus you who oncewere far away have been brought nearby the blood of Christ.

14For he himself is our peace,who has made the two groups oneand has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,15by setting aside in his fleshthe law with its commands and regulations.His purpose was to create in himself onenew humanity out of the two, thus making peace,16and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross,by which he put to death their hostility.17He came and preached peaceto you who were far away and peace to those who were near.18For through him we both have accessto the Fatherby one Spirit.

19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers,but fellow citizenswith Gods people and also members of his household,20builton the foundationof the apostles and prophets,with Christ Jesus himselfas the chief cornerstone.21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy templein the Lord.22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

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https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%202%3A11-22version=NIV

Thanksgiving and Prayer

15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesusand your love for all Gods people,16I have not stopped giving thanks for you,remembering you in my prayers.17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,may give you the Spirit[a]of wisdomand revelation, so that you may know him better.18I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightenedin order that you may know the hope to which he has calledyou, the richesof his glorious inheritancein his holy people,19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That poweris the same as the mighty strength20he exerted when he raised Christ from the deadand seated him at his right handin the heavenly realms,21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion,and every namethat is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.22And God placed all things under his feetand appointed him to be headover everything for the church,23which is his body,the fullness of himwho fills everything in every way.

1Paul, an apostleof Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To Gods holy peoplein Ephesus,[a]the faithfulin Christ Jesus:

2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,who has blessed us in the heavenly realmswith every spiritual blessing in Christ.4For he chose usin him before the creation of the worldto be holy and blamelessin his sight. In love5he[b]predestinedus for adoption to sonship[c]through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasureand will6to the praise of his glorious grace,which he has freely given us in the One he loves.7In him we have redemptionthrough his blood,the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the richesof Gods grace8that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,9he[d]made known to us the mysteryof his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposedin Christ,10to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillmentto bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

11In him we were also chosen,[e]having been predestinedaccording to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purposeof his will,12in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.13And you also were included in Christwhen you heard the message of truth,the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal,the promised Holy Spirit,14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritanceuntil the redemptionof those who are Gods possessionto the praise of his glory.