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Ephesians 4:1–9

Unity in the Body of Christ

I therefore, ma prisoner for the Lord, urge you to nwalk in a manner worthy of othe calling to which you have been called, with all phumility and qgentleness, with rpatience, sbearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in tthe bond of peace. There is uone body and vone Spirit—just as you were called to the one whope that belongs to your call— xone Lord, yone faith, zone baptism, aone God and Father of all, bwho is over all and through all and in all. But cgrace was given dto each one of us eaccording to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says,

f“When he ascended on high ghe led a host of captives,

and he gave gifts to men.”1

(hIn saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into ithe lower regions, the earth?2

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Ephesians 4:1–9 — The New International Version (NIV)

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high,

he took many captives

and gave gifts to his people.”

(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions?

Ephesians 4:1–9 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

Ephesians 4:1–9 — New Living Translation (NLT)

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.

However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. That is why the Scriptures say,

“When he ascended to the heights,

he led a crowd of captives

and gave gifts to his people.”

Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.

Ephesians 4:1–9 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says:

“When He ascended on high,

He led captivity captive,

And gave gifts to men.”

(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?

Ephesians 4:1–9 — New Century Version (NCV)

I am in prison because I belong to the Lord. Therefore I urge you who have been chosen by God to live up to the life to which God called you. Always be humble, gentle, and patient, accepting each other in love. You are joined together with peace through the Spirit, so make every effort to continue together in this way. There is one body and one Spirit, and God called you to have one hope. There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. There is one God and Father of everything. He rules everything and is everywhere and is in everything.

Christ gave each one of us the special gift of grace, showing how generous he is. That is why it says in the Scriptures,

“When he went up to the heights,

he led a parade of captives,

and he gave gifts to people.”

When it says, “He went up,” what does it mean? It means that he first came down to the earth.

Ephesians 4:1–9 — American Standard Version (ASV)

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all. But unto each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith,

When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive,

And gave gifts unto men.

(Now this, He ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

Ephesians 4:1–9 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you therefore to walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye have been called,

with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love; using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, as ye have been also called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all. But to each one of us has been given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ. Wherefore he says, Having ascended up on high, he has led captivity captive, and has given gifts to men. But that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

Ephesians 4:1–9 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

I, a prisoner in the Lord, encourage you to live the kind of life which proves that God has called you. Be humble and gentle in every way. Be patient with each other and lovingly accept each other. Through the peace that ties you together, do your best to maintain the unity that the Spirit gives. There is one body and one Spirit. In the same way you were called to share one hope. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over everything, through everything, and in everything. 

God’s favorhas been given to each of us. It was measured out to us by Christ who gave it. That’s why the Scriptures say: 

“When he went to the highest place, 

he took captive those who had captured us 

and gave gifts to people.” 

Now what does it mean that he went up except that he also had gone down to the lowest parts of the earth?

Ephesians 4:1–9 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love, diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us. There is one body and one Spirit —just as you were called to one hope at your calling— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of the Messiah’s gift. For it says:

When He ascended on high,

He took prisoners into captivity;

He gave gifts to people.

But what does “He ascended” mean except that He descended to the lower parts of the earth?

Ephesians 4:1–9 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said,

“When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;

he gave gifts to his people.”

(When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

Ephesians 4:1–9 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to live in a manner worthy of the calling with which you were called: with all humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love, being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; one body and one Spirit (just as also you were called with one hope of your calling), one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.

Now to each one of us was given this grace, according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says,

“Ascending on high he led captivity captive;

he gave gifts to men.”

Now “he ascended,” what is it, except that he also descended to the lower regions of the earth?

Ephesians 4:1–9 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

I am a prisoner because of the Lord. So I am asking you to live a life worthy of what God chose you for.

Don’t be proud at all. Be completely gentle. Be patient. Put up with one another in love. The Holy Spirit makes you one in every way. So try your best to remain as one. Let peace keep you together.

There is one body. There is one Spirit. You were appointed to one hope when you were chosen. There is one Lord. There is one faith and one baptism. There is one God and Father of all. He is over everything. He is through everything. He is in everything.

But each one of us has received a gift of grace, just as Christ wanted us to have it. That is why Scripture says,

“When he went up to his place on high,

he led a line of prisoners.

He gave gifts to people.”

What does “he went up” mean? It can only mean that he also came down to the lower, earthly places.

Ephesians 4:1–9 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,

being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;

one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

Therefore it says,

When He ascended on high,

He led captive a host of captives,

And He gave gifts to men.”

(Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?


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