1 I therefore,mSee ch. 3:1 a prisoner for the Lord, urge you tonCol. 1:10; 2:6; 1 Thess. 2:12; [Phil. 1:27] walk in a manner worthy ofoSee Rom. 8:28 the calling to which you have been called,
2 with allpActs 20:19; Phil. 2:3; Col. 3:12; 1 Pet. 3:8; 5:5; [Col. 2:18, 23] humility andqGal. 5:23 gentleness, withrCol. 1:11 patience,sCol. 3:13 bearing with one another in love,
3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit intCol. 3:14; [Acts 8:23] the bond of peace.
4 There isuch. 2:16 one body andvSee ch. 2:18 one Spirit—just as you were called to the onewch. 1:18 hope that belongs to your call—
5 xZech. 14:9; See 1 Cor. 1:13; 8:6 one Lord,y[ver. 13; Jude 3] one faith,zSee Gal. 3:27, 28 one baptism,
6 a1 Cor. 12:5, 6 one God and Father of all,bRom. 9:5 who is over all and through all and in all.
7 ButcSee ch. 3:2 grace was givend[Matt. 25:15; 1 Cor. 12:7] to each one of useRom. 12:3; [ver. 16] according to the measure of Christ's gift.
8 Therefore it says,
fCited from Ps. 68:18 “When he ascended on highgJudg. 5:12; [Col. 2:15] he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men. ”
9 (hSee John 3:13 In saying, “He ascended, ” what does it mean but that he had also descended intoiPs. 63:9; Isa. 44:23 the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who alsojSee Mark 16:19 ascendedkHeb. 4:14; 7:26; 9:24 far above all the heavens, that he mightlch. 1:23 fill all things.) 11 Andm[1 Cor. 12:5, 6] he gave thenSee 1 Cor. 12:28 apostles, the prophets, theoActs 21:8; 2 Tim. 4:5 evangelists, thepJer. 3:15; [Acts 20:28] pastors and teachers,1Or the pastor-teachers 12 qSee 2 Cor. 13:9 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, forrver. 16, 29 building upsSee 1 Cor. 12:27 the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain tot[ver. 5] the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,uHeb. 5:14 to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature ofvch. 1:23 the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children,w[Matt. 11:7; Heb. 13:9; James 1:6; Jude 12] tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness inxch. 6:11 deceitful schemes. 15 Rather,y1 John 3:18; [ver. 25] speaking the truth in love, we are tozch. 2:21 grow up in every way into him who isaSee ch. 1:22 the head, into Christ, 16 bCol. 2:19 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped,c[ver. 7] when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
17 Now this I say andd1 Thess. 2:12 testify in the Lord,ever. 22; ch. 2:1-3; Col. 3:7; 1 Pet. 4:3 that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do,fRom. 1:21; 1 Pet. 1:18; [Col. 2:18; 2 Pet. 2:18] in the futility of their minds. 18 Theyg[Rom. 11:10] are darkened in their understanding,hSee ch. 2:12 alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due toiSee Mark 3:5 their hardness of heart. 19 Theyj[Prov. 23:35]; 1 Tim. 4:2 have become callous andk[1 Kgs. 21:25; Rom. 1:24, 26, 28] have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way youlSee Matt. 11:29 learned Christ!— 21 assuming thatmch. 1:13 you have heard about him andnCol. 2:7 were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 tooCol. 3:8; Heb. 12:1; James 1:21; 1 Pet. 2:1 put offpRom. 6:6; Col. 3:9 your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt throughq[Heb. 3:13] deceitful desires, 23 andrSee Rom. 12:2 to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put onsSee Rom. 6:4 the new self,tSee ch. 2:10 created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of youuZech. 8:16; Col. 3:9; [ver. 15] speak the truth with his neighbor, forvRom. 12:5 we are members one of another. 26 w[Ps. 37:8] Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 andxSee James 4:7 give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but ratheryActs 20:35; Gal. 6:10 let him labor,z1 Thess. 4:11; 2 Thess. 3:8, 11, 12 doing honest work with his own hands, soa[Prov. 21:26] that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 bch. 5:4; Col. 3:8; [Matt. 12:34] Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may givecCol. 4:6; [Eccles. 10:12] grace to those who hear. 30 AnddIsa. 63:10; [1 Thess. 5:19] do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,ech. 1:13 by whom you were sealed for the day offSee ch. 1:7 redemption. 31 gCol. 3:8, 19 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 hCol. 3:12, 13; 1 Pet. 3:8 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,i[2 Cor. 2:7, 10]; See Matt. 6:14 forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.