Ephesians 4:1-16

4:1 Therefore I, the prisoner united with the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called.

² Always be humble, gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love, ³ and making every effort to preserve the unity the Spirit gives through the binding power of shalom. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as when you were called you were called to one hope. ⁵ And there is one Lord, one trust, one immersion, ⁶ and one God, the Father of all, who rules over all, works through all and is in all.

⁷ Each one of us, however, has been given grace to be measured by the Messiah’s bounty. ⁸ This is why it says,

“After he went up into the heights,
he led captivity captive
and he gave gifts to mankind.”^{[Psalm 68:18]}

⁹ Now this phrase, “he went up,” what can it mean if not that he first went down into the lower parts, that is, the earth? ¹⁰ The one who went down is himself the one who also went up, far above all of heaven, in order to fill all things. ¹¹ Furthermore, he gave some people as emissaries, some as prophets, some as proclaimers of the Good News, and some as shepherds and teachers. ¹² Their task is to equip God’s people for the work of service that builds the body of the Messiah, ¹³ until we all arrive at the unity implied by trusting and knowing the Son of God, at full manhood, at the standard of maturity set by the Messiah’s perfection.

¹⁴ We will then no longer be infants tossed about by the waves and blown along by every wind of teaching, at the mercy of people clever in devising ways to deceive. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in every respect grow up into him who is the head, the Messiah. ¹⁶ Under his control, the whole body is being fitted and held together by the support of every joint, with each part working to fulfill its function; this is how the body grows and builds itself up in love.