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Unity of the Spirit

¹ So I, ^(C1)the prisoner for the Lord, ^(C2)appeal to you to ^(C3)live a life worthy of the ^(C4)calling to which you have been ^(C5)called that is, to live a life that exhibits godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, and mature behavior—a life that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation,² with all ^(C1)humility forsaking self-righteousness, and gentleness maintaining self-control, with patience, bearing with one another ^(F1)(C2)in unselfish love.³ Make every effort to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the ^(C1)bond of peace each individual working together to make the whole successful.⁴ There is ^(C1)one body of believers and one Spirit—just as you were called to one ^(C2)hope when called to salvation—^5 (C1)one Lord, one faith, one baptism,⁶ one God and Father of us all ^(C1)who is sovereign over all and working through all and living in all.

⁷ Yet ^(C1)grace God's undeserved favor was given ^(C2)to each one of us not indiscriminately, but in different ways ^(C3)in proportion to the measure of Christ's rich and abundant gift.⁸ Therefore it says,

"^(C1)WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH,
HE ^(C2)LED CAPTIVITY CAPTIVE,
AND HE BESTOWED GIFTS ON MEN." ^(VR1)

The Christian's Walk

^17 (C1)So this I say, and solemnly affirm together with the Lord as in His presence, ^(C2)that you must no longer live as the unbelieving Gentiles live, in the ^(C3)futility of their minds and in the foolishness and emptiness of their souls,¹⁸ for ^(C1)their moral understanding is darkened and their reasoning is clouded; they are ^(C2)alienated and self-banished from the life of God with no share in it; this is because of the willful ^(C3)ignorance and spiritual blindness that is deep-seated within them, because of the ^(C4)hardness and insensitivity of their heart.¹⁹ And they, the ungodly in their spiritual apathy, having ^(C1)become callous and unfeeling, ^(C2)have given themselves over as prey to unbridled ^(C3)sensuality, eagerly craving the practice of every kind of impurity that their desires may demand.²⁰ But you did not ^(C1)learn Christ in this way!²¹ If in fact you ^(C1)have really heard Him and have ^(C2)been taught by Him, just as truth is in Jesus revealed in His life and personified in Him,²² that, regarding your previous way of life, you ^(C1)put off your ^(C2)old self completely discard your former nature, which is being corrupted through ^(C3)deceitful desires,²³ and be continually ^(C1)renewed in the spirit of your mind having a fresh, untarnished mental and spiritual attitude,²⁴ and ^(C1)put on the ^(C2)new self the regenerated and renewed nature, created ^(C3)in God's image, godlike in the righteousness and holiness of the truth living in a way that expresses to God your gratitude for your salvation.

²⁵ Therefore, ^(C1)rejecting all falsehood whether lying, defrauding, telling half-truths, spreading rumors, any such as these, ^(C2)SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are all ^(C3)parts of one another and we are all parts of the body of Christ. ^{(VR1)26 (C1)}BE ANGRY at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior, YET DO NOT SIN; do not let your anger cause you shame, nor allow it to last until the sun goes down. ^(VR1)27 And do not ^(C1)give the devil an opportunity to lead you into sin by holding a grudge, or nurturing anger, or harboring resentment, or cultivating bitterness.²⁸ The thief who has become a believer must no longer steal, but instead ^(C1)he must work hard making an honest living, ^(C2)producing that which is good with his own hands, ^(C3)so that he will have something to share with those in need.²⁹ Do not let ^(C1)unwholesome foul, profane, worthless, vulgar words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for ^(C2)building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear you speak.³⁰ And ^(C1)do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God but seek to please Him, by whom you were ^(C2)sealed and marked branded as God's own for the day of redemption the final deliverance from the consequences of sin. ^{(VR1)31 (C1)}Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding and slander be ^(C2)put away from you, along with every kind of ^(C3)malice all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence.^32 (C1)Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted compassionate, understanding, forgiving one another readily and freely, ^(C2)just as God in Christ also forgave ^(F1)you.