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Bible / Ephesians

Ephesians 4

World English Bible, Catholic edition, in plain modern English. About the translations

1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, CCC

2 with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love, CCC

3 being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. CCC

4 There is one body and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling, 1 CCC

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, CCC · Fathers

6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in us all. CCC · Fathers

7 But to each one of us, the grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. CCC

8 Therefore he says, “When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to people.” CCC

9 Now this, “He ascended”, what is it but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? CCC · Fathers

10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. CCC · Fathers

11 He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers; CCC

12 for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ, CCC

13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, CCC

14 that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; CCC

15 but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ, CCC

16 from whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love. CCC · Fathers

17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,

18 being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts.

19 They, having become callous, gave themselves up to lust, to work all uncleanness with greediness. CCC

20 But you didn’t learn Christ that way,

21 if indeed you heard him and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus:

22 that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit, CCC

23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, CCC

24 and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth. CCC

25 Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. CCC · Fathers

26 “Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath, Fathers

27 and don’t give place to the devil.

28 Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, producing with his hands something that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need. CCC

29 Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.

30 Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. CCC

31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander be put away from you, with all malice.

32 And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you. CCC

Where our lessons quote this chapter

  1. Verses 4–6: What we share

This chapter in the Catechism and the early Church

Where the Catechism of the Catholic Church cites these verses (from its footnotes on vatican.va), and where the earliest Church Fathers quote them (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, public domain). Short quotes only; follow the links for the full text.

  1. Verse 1CCC 957
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 957 “Communion with the saints. "It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish the memory of those in heaven;…”
  2. Verse 2CCC 957 CCC 2219
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 957 “Communion with the saints. "It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish the memory of those in heaven;…”
    • CCC 2219 “Filial respect promotes harmony in all of family life; it also concerns relationships between brothers and sisters. Respect toward parents fills the…”
  3. Verse 3CCC 814 CCC 957
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 814 “From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God's gifts…”
    • CCC 957 “Communion with the saints. "It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish the memory of those in heaven;…”
  4. Verse 4CCC 172 CCC 249 CCC 957 CCC 2790
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 172 “Through the centuries, in so many languages, cultures, peoples and nations, the Church has constantly confessed this one faith, received from the…”
    • CCC 249 “From the beginning, the revealed truth of the Holy Trinity has been at the very root of the Church's living faith, principally…”
    • CCC 957 “Communion with the saints. "It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish the memory of those in heaven;…”
    • CCC 2790 “Grammatically, "our" qualifies a reality common to more than one person. There is only one God, and he is recognized as Father…”
  5. Verse 5CCC 172 CCC 249 CCC 957 CCC 2790
    Read the Catechism and Fathers
    • CCC 172 “Through the centuries, in so many languages, cultures, peoples and nations, the Church has constantly confessed this one faith, received from the…”
    • CCC 249 “From the beginning, the revealed truth of the Holy Trinity has been at the very root of the Church's living faith, principally…”
    • CCC 957 “Communion with the saints. "It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish the memory of those in heaven;…”
    • CCC 2790 “Grammatically, "our" qualifies a reality common to more than one person. There is only one God, and he is recognized as Father…”

    • “… the Gospel, "All things were made by Him; and without Him was nothing made;" and the Apostle Paul [says] in like manner, "There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father, who is above all, and through all, and in us all”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  6. Verse 6CCC 172 CCC 249 CCC 957 CCC 2790
    Read the Catechism and Fathers
    • CCC 172 “Through the centuries, in so many languages, cultures, peoples and nations, the Church has constantly confessed this one faith, received from the…”
    • CCC 249 “From the beginning, the revealed truth of the Holy Trinity has been at the very root of the Church's living faith, principally…”
    • CCC 957 “Communion with the saints. "It is not merely by the title of example that we cherish the memory of those in heaven;…”
    • CCC 2790 “Grammatically, "our" qualifies a reality common to more than one person. There is only one God, and he is recognized as Father…”

    • “Have we not all one Father?" In accordance with this, too, does the apostle say, "There is one God, the Father, who is above all, and in us all.”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

    • “… the Gospel, "All things were made by Him; and without Him was nothing made;" and the Apostle Paul [says] in like manner, "There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father, who is above all, and through all, and in us all”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

    • “… the Spirit is in us all, and He is the living water, which the Lord grants to those who rightly believe in Him, and love Him, and who know that "there is one Father, who is above all, and through all, and in us all.”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XVIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  7. Verse 7CCC 913
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 913 “Thus, every person, through these gifts given to him, is at once the witness and the living instrument of the mission of…”
  8. Verse 8CCC 661
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 661 “This final stage stays closely linked to the first, that is, to his descent from heaven in the Incarnation. Only the one…”
  9. Verse 9CCC 631 CCC 633 CCC 635 CCC 661 CCC 2795
    Read the Catechism and Fathers
    • CCC 631 “Jesus "descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens."…”
    • CCC 633 “Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, "hell" - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in…”
    • CCC 635 “Christ went down into the depths of death so that "the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and…”
    • CCC 661 “This final stage stays closely linked to the first, that is, to his descent from heaven in the Incarnation. Only the one…”
    • CCC 2795 “The symbol of the heavens refers us back to the mystery of the covenant we are living when we pray to our…”

    • “… state of slumber in which men lay; but coming the second time, He aroused them, and made them stand up, in token that His passion is the arousing of His sleeping disciples, on whose account "He also descended into the lower parts of the earth,”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

    • “… days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth." Then also the apostle says, "But when He ascended, what is it but that He also descended into the lower parts of the earth?”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

    • “If, then, the Lord observed the law of the dead, that He might become the first-begotten from the dead, and tarried until the third day "in the lower parts of the earth;”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  10. Verse 10CCC 631 CCC 661 CCC 2795
    Read the Catechism and Fathers
    • CCC 631 “Jesus "descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens."…”
    • CCC 661 “This final stage stays closely linked to the first, that is, to his descent from heaven in the Incarnation. Only the one…”
    • CCC 2795 “The symbol of the heavens refers us back to the mystery of the covenant we are living when we pray to our…”

    • “But what Isaiah said, "From the height above, or from the depth beneath," was meant to indicate, that "He who descended was the same also who ascended.”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book III, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  11. Verse 11CCC 669 CCC 794 CCC 1575
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 669 “As Lord, Christ is also head of the Church, which is his Body. Taken up to heaven and glorified after he had…”
    • CCC 794 “Christ provides for our growth: to make us grow toward him, our head, he provides in his Body, the Church, the gifts…”
    • CCC 1575 “Christ himself chose the apostles and gave them a share in his mission and authority. Raised to the Father's right hand, he…”
  12. Verse 12CCC 669 CCC 794
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 669 “As Lord, Christ is also head of the Church, which is his Body. Taken up to heaven and glorified after he had…”
    • CCC 794 “Christ provides for our growth: to make us grow toward him, our head, he provides in his Body, the Church, the gifts…”
  13. Verse 13CCC 669 CCC 674 CCC 695 CCC 794 CCC 2045
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 669 “As Lord, Christ is also head of the Church, which is his Body. Taken up to heaven and glorified after he had…”
    • CCC 674 “The glorious Messiah's coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by "all Israel", for "a hardening has come…”
    • CCC 695 “Anointing. the symbolism of anointing with oil also signifies the Holy Spirit, to the point of becoming a synonym for the Holy…”
    • CCC 794 “Christ provides for our growth: to make us grow toward him, our head, he provides in his Body, the Church, the gifts…”
    • CCC 2045 “Because they are members of the Body whose Head is Christ, Christians contribute to building up the Church by the constancy of…”
  14. Verse 14CCC 794
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 794 “Christ provides for our growth: to make us grow toward him, our head, he provides in his Body, the Church, the gifts…”
  15. Verse 15CCC 794
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 794 “Christ provides for our growth: to make us grow toward him, our head, he provides in his Body, the Church, the gifts…”
  16. Verse 16CCC 794 CCC 798 CCC 954
    Read the Catechism and Fathers
    • CCC 794 “Christ provides for our growth: to make us grow toward him, our head, he provides in his Body, the Church, the gifts…”
    • CCC 798 “The Holy Spirit is "the principle of every vital and truly saving action in each part of the Body." He works in…”
    • CCC 954 “The three states of the Church. "When the Lord comes in glory, and all his angels with him, death will be no…”

    • “… from the dead, so also the remaining part of the body – [namely, the body] of everyman who is found in life – when the time is fulfilled of that condemnation which existed by reason of disobedience, may arise, blended together and strengthened through means of joints and bands”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book III, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XIX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

    • “… first of all "hold the head, from which the whole body is compacted and bound together, and, through means of every joint according to the measure of the ministration of each several part, maketh increase of the body to the edification of itself in love.”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  17. Verse 19CCC 2518
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 2518 “The sixth beatitude proclaims, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." "Pure in heart" refers to those who…”
  18. Verse 22CCC 1473
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 1473 “The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment…”
  19. Verse 23CCC 1695
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 1695 “Justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God," "sanctified . . . (and) called…”
  20. Verse 24CCC 1473 CCC 2475
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 1473 “The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment…”
    • CCC 2475 “Christ's disciples have "put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." By "putting away…”
  21. Verse 25CCC 1267 CCC 2475
    Read the Catechism and Fathers
    • CCC 1267 “Baptism makes us members of the Body of Christ: "Therefore . . . we are members one of another." Baptism incorporates us…”
    • CCC 2475 “Christ's disciples have "put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." By "putting away…”

    • “And again he says, "Speak ye every man truth with his neighbour.”

      Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXVII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  22. Verse 26
    Read the Fathers

    • “not," and, "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”

      Quoted in Letter to the Philippians, St. Polycarp of Smyrna (early 2nd century), Chapter XII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1

  23. Verse 28CCC 2444
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 2444 “The Church's love for the poor . . . is a part of her constant tradition." This love is inspired by the…”
  24. Verse 30CCC 698 CCC 1274
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 698 “The seal is a symbol close to that of anointing. "The Father has set his seal" on Christ and also seals us…”
    • CCC 1274 “The Holy Spirit has marked us with the seal of the Lord ("Dominicus character") "for the day of redemption." "Baptism indeed is…”
  25. Verse 32CCC 2842
    Read the Catechism
    • CCC 2842 “This "as" is not unique in Jesus' teaching: "You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect"; "Be merciful, even…”
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