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Ephesians 4

Ephesians 4 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Ephesians 4 calls believers to live in a way that matches their calling in Christ. It brings together unity, spiritual growth, and everyday character, showing how the church is strengthened when each person uses grace well and old patterns are replaced with a new way of life.

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What happens in Ephesians 4?

Paul urges the church to walk with humility, patience, and love, guarding the unity that comes from one Lord, one faith, and one God. He explains that Christ gives grace and ministry gifts to equip believers and build up the body until it reaches maturity. The chapter then turns to personal change: believers are told to put off the old self, renew their minds, and put on the new self. The passage closes with practical instructions about truth, anger, work, speech, kindness, and forgiveness.

Ephesians 4 begins the second half of the letter. After the earlier chapters focus on God's saving work and the believer's blessings in Christ, this chapter shows how that truth should shape daily life, relationships, and the shared life of the church.

Themes to notice

  • Unity in the churchBelievers are called to preserve peace and live as one body under one Lord.
  • Spiritual growthChrist gives gifts and leaders to equip the church for maturity and service.
  • New way of lifeFollowers of Jesus are told to leave behind old habits and practice truth, kindness, and forgiveness.

Questions for Ephesians 4

  • What does it look like to walk in a manner worthy of your calling in Christ?
  • How do Christ's gifts and the work of each believer help the church grow?
  • Which commands in the second half of the chapter speak most clearly to your daily relationships?

Read the full text of Ephesians 4 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Ephesians 4

Unity in the Body

1As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,3and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.4There is one body and 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.7Now to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

8This is why it says:

“When He ascended on high,

He led captives away,

and gave gifts to men.”

9What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended to the lower parts of the earth?10He who descended is the very One who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.

11And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,12to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ.14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.16From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the work of each individual part.

New Life in Christ

17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.18They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.19Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more.20But this is not the way you came to know Christ.21Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him—in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus—22to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;23to be renewed in the spirit of your minds;24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.26“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,27and do not give the devil a foothold.28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.29Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.32Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.

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