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 led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men."
It was he who gave some to be apostles,
some to be prophets, some to be evangelists,
and some to be pastors and teachers,
To prepare God's people
for works of service,
so that the body of Christ may
be built up until we all reach unity
in the faith and in the knowledge of the
Son of God and become mature,
attaining to the whole measure
of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants,
tossed back and forth by the waves,
and blown here and there
by every wind of teaching and by
the cunning and craftiness of
men in their deceitful scheming.
Instead, speaking the truth in love,
we will in all things grow up into
him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
From him the whole body,
joined and held together
by every supporting ligament,
grows and builds itself up in love,
as each part does its work.
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