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¹ I therefore the prisoner for the Lord, beseech you to live suitably to the offers that have been made to you:

² with all humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another in love; ³ endeavouring to preserve the spiritual union by your affectionate attachment to one another. ⁴ Being one body, acted by one spirit, since you all have but one expectation in view; ⁵ there is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all. ⁷ but to every one of us a different charge is given, according to the distribution which Christ has made; ⁸ wherefore 'tis said, " when he ascended up on high, he made a number of captives, and gave gifts to men." ⁹ now his having ascended, what does it mean, but that he had descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ he that descended, is the same too that ascended far above all heavens, to perfect all things. ¹¹ It is he then that made some, apostles: some, prophets: some, evangelists: and others, pastors, and teachers: ¹² thus fitly qualifying his servants for their respective offices, in order to build up the body of Christ: ¹³ till being united in a perfect belief, and acknowledgment of the son of God, we grow up to that full state of maturity required by Christ: ¹⁴ that we should be no longer children, fluctuating, and carried about with every empty doctrine, by men vers'd in sleight and the crafty arts of deceit: ¹⁵ but being sincere in mutual love, may be entirely united to Christ, who is the head: ¹⁶ from which the whole body fitly framed, and compacted by the entire adherence and contribution of every part performing its respective function, increases and improves itself by the mutual concern of the parts.

¹⁷ This I say therefore, and conjure you by the Lord not to live for the future as other Gentiles do, in the vanity of their minds, ¹⁸ which are overspread with darkness, and averse to a religious life, thro' their innate ignorance and obduracy: ¹⁹ who without remorse, have abandon'd themselves to brutality, in gratifying every lewd unnatural passion. ²⁰ but you have learned other things from Christ, ²¹ if you have heard of him, and have been taught the truth as he preach'd it: ²² to quit the vicious habits of your former conversation, corrupted by deceitful passions: ²³ and to be renewed in your mind, by living like men formed anew, ²⁴ after the image of God, in justice, sanctity, and truth. ²⁵ Wherefore leave off the practice of lying, and let every man speak truth to his neighbour: for we are all members of one society. ²⁶ are you angry? have a care you don't sin. "let not the sun go down upon your wrath," ²⁷ lest the devil take hold of the opportunity. ²⁸ let him that stole, steal no more: but rather let him labour, to encrease his fortune with his own hands, that he may have wherewithal to relieve the needy: ²⁹ let no obscene language defile your mouth, use only such as tends to edification, that it may be beneficial to the hearers. ³⁰ grieve not the holy spirit of God, by whom you are sealed against the day of deliverance: ³¹ banish all resentment and indignation, anger, vehemence, detraction, and every thing like malice. ³² be mutually kind, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.