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1As a prisoner of the Lord, I ask you to live a life worthy of the purposes God has chosen you to fulfill.
2Be completely humble and gentle. Be patient and bear with one another in love.
3Do everything you can to stay united in the Spirit and at peace with one another.
4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called.
5There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.
6There is one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7But each one of us has received the grace that Christ has chosen to give us.
8That’s why Scripture says,
“When he went up to his place on high,
he brought many prisoners
and gave gifts to his people.”
9What does “he went up” mean? It can only mean that he also went down to the lower, earthly places.
10The one who came down is the same one who went up. He went up higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole creation.
11So Christ himself has given apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers as gifts to the church.
12They all train God’s people to serve so that the body of Christ will be built up,
13until we are all united in our faith and our knowledge of God’s Son and we become grown up, mature, and completely filled with Christ.
14Then we won’t be babies in the faith anymore. We won’t be like ships tossed around by the waves and blown here and there by every new teaching. We won’t be fooled by the tricks that people use to hide their real plans.
15Instead, we’ll speak the truth in love and grow up in every way to become the body of Christ. Christ is the head
16who makes the whole body grow and build itself up in love. Each part of the body does its work in connection and cooperation with all the other parts.
17So let me tell you—and I’m speaking for the Lord as I warn you: You must not live the way the Gentiles do any longer. They’re not able to think things through correctly.
18They have only a dim understanding, and they don’t appreciate what it’s like to follow God. They’re ignorant because their hearts are stubborn.
19They’ve lost all feeling for what is right, and so they allow themselves to indulge in all kinds of wrong pleasures. They take part in every kind of unclean act, and they’re full of greed.
20But that’s not the way of life you learned
21when you heard about Christ and were taught about him, according to the truth that is in Jesus.
22You were taught not to live the way you used to, but to get rid of that old way of life, which was corrupted by its deceptive desires.
23You were taught to be made new in your thinking
24and start living a new life, one created to be truly good and holy like God.
25So each of you must stop lying, and you must speak the truth to your neighbor, because we are all part of the same body.
26Scripture says, “If you get angry, don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down while you’re still angry.
27If you stay mad at someone all night long, that will give the devil an opportunity.
28Anyone who used to steal must never steal again. Instead, they should work, doing something useful with their own hands, so that they will have something to share with people in need.
29Don’t let any foul language come out of your mouths. Say only what will help build others up and meet their needs. Then what you say will help those who are listening.
30Do not grieve God’s Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the proof that you belong to God and that God will set you completely free one day.
31Get rid of all bitterness, anger, rage, fighting, lying, and any kind of hatred.
32Instead, be kind and merciful to one another. Forgive one another, just as God has forgiven you in Christ.