Ephesians:4
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I ,
then ,
the prisoner for the Master '
s sake ,
entreat you to live and act as becomes those who have received the call that you have received –
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with all lowliness of mind and unselfishness ,
and with patience ,
bearing with one another lovingly ,
and earnestly striving to maintain ,
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in the uniting bond of peace ,
the unity given by the Spirit .
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There is but one body and but one Spirit ,
as also when you were called you had one and the same hope held out to you .
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There is but one Lord ,
one faith ,
one baptism ,
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and one God and Father of all ,
who rules over all ,
acts through all ,
and dwells in all .
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Yet to each of us individually grace was given ,
measured out with the munificence of Christ .
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For this reason Scripture says :
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Now this »
re-ascended « –
what does it mean but that He had first descended into the lower regions of the earth ?
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He who descended is the same as He who ascended again far above all the Heavens in order to fill the universe .)
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And He Himself appointed some to be Apostles ,
some to be Prophets ,
some to be evangelists ,
some to be pastors and teachers ,
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in order fully to equip His people for the work of serving –
for the building up of Christ '
s body –
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till we all of us arrive at oneness in faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God ,
and at mature manhood and the stature of full-grown men in Christ .
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So we shall no longer be babes nor shall we resemble mariners tossed on the waves and carried about with every changing wind of doctrine according to men '
s cleverness and unscrupulous cunning ,
making use of every shifting device to mislead .
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But we shall lovingly hold to the truth ,
and shall in all respects grow up into union with Him who is our Head ,
even Christ .
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Dependent on Him ,
the whole body –
its various parts closely fitting and firmly adhering to one another –
grows by the aid of every contributory link ,
with power proportioned to the need of each individual part ,
so as to build itself up in a spirit of love .
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Therefore I warn you ,
and I implore you in the name of the Master ,
no longer to live as the Gentiles in their perverseness live ,
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with darkened understandings ,
having by reason of the ignorance which is deep-seated in them and the insensibility of their moral nature ,
no share in the Life which God gives .
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Such men being past feeling have abandoned themselves to impurity ,
greedily indulging in every kind of profligacy .
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But these are not the lessons which you have learned from Christ ;
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if at least you have heard His voice and in Him have been taught –
and this is true Christian teaching –
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to put away ,
in regard to your former mode of life ,
your original evil nature which is doomed to perish as befits its misleading impulses ,
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and to get yourselves renewed in the temper of your minds and clothe yourselves
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with that new and better self which has been created to resemble God in the righteousness and holiness which come from the truth .
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For this reason ,
laying aside falsehood ,
every one of you should speak the truth to his fellow man ;
for we are ,
as it were ,
parts of one another .
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If angry ,
beware of sinning .
Let not your irritation last until the sun goes down ;
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and do not leave room for the Devil .
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He who has been a thief must steal no more ,
but ,
instead of that ,
should work with his own hands in honest industry ,
so that he may have something of which he can give the needy a share .
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Let no unwholesome words ever pass your lips ,
but let all your words be good for benefiting others according to the need of the moment ,
so that they may be a means of blessing to the hearers .
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And beware of grieving the Holy Spirit of God ,
in whom you have been sealed in preparation for the day of Redemption .
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Let all bitterness and all passionate feeling ,
all anger and loud insulting language ,
be unknown among you –
and also every kind of malice .
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On the contrary learn to be kind to one another ,
tender-hearted ,
forgiving one another ,
just as God in Christ has also forgiven you .