Atlas Biblica

    Ephesians · 32 verses

    Ephesians 4

    Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.

    The chapter

    What happens here

    Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.

    Anger gets a curious curfew: it may appear, but the sun must not find it still in residence.

    One body, many giftsvv. 1–16

    The speaker, writing as a prisoner in the Lord, begins with humility, gentleness, patience, and the laborious art of bearing with one another in love. The unity is counted out with almost comic precision: one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father. Yet this perfect oneness has room for a splendid variety of gifts—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers—whose work is to equip the saints and build up the body of Christ. The body grows as each part does its share, which is a rather more active arrangement than a statue.

    Putting off the old selfvv. 17–24

    The old way of life is pictured as a bleak country of futile thinking, darkened understanding, hardness of heart, shameless sensuality, and an appetite that keeps asking for more. That is not how Christ was learned. The former self is to be put off like a worn and rather disreputable garment; the mind is to be renewed, and a new self put on, made like God in righteousness and holiness. The change is described less as polishing the old creature than as changing clothes altogether.

    A household of very specific repairsvv. 25–32

    The new self has practical habits. Falsehood gives way to truthful speech because the members belong to one another. Anger is not simply banished; it is given until sunset, after which the devil might find a foothold. The thief is not merely told to stop stealing but redirected towards honest work with his own hands, so that there may be something to share with the needy—a notably constructive career change. Speech must build up rather than rot the air, bitterness and malice must go, and kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness are to take their place.

    The text

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    Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

    1. Eph 4:1As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:

    2. Eph 4:2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

    3. Eph 4:3and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

    4. Eph 4:4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;

    5. Eph 4:5one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

    6. Eph 4:6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

    7. Eph 4:7Now to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

    8. Eph 4:8This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.”

    9. Eph 4:9What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended to the lower parts of the earth?

    10. Eph 4:10He who descended is the very One who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.

    11. Eph 4:11And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,

    12. Eph 4:12to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,

    13. Eph 4:13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ.

    14. Eph 4:14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.

    15. Eph 4:15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.

    16. Eph 4:16From Him the whole body, fitted and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love through the work of each individual part.

    17. Eph 4:17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.

    18. Eph 4:18They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.

    19. Eph 4:19Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more.

    20. Eph 4:20But this is not the way you came to know Christ.

    21. Eph 4:21Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him—in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus—

    22. Eph 4:22to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;

    23. Eph 4:23to be renewed in the spirit of your minds;

    24. Eph 4:24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

    25. Eph 4:25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.

    26. Eph 4:26“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger,

    27. Eph 4:27and do not give the devil a foothold.

    28. Eph 4:28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.

    29. Eph 4:29Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

    30. Eph 4:30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

    31. Eph 4:31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.

    32. Eph 4:32Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.

    01 — Also here

    Who else the chapter reaches

    Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

    Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

    02 — Read alongside

    Where this is echoed

    Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 757 passages were voted onto 32 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

    • 29Colossians 4:6Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
    • 291 Thessalonians 5:11Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing.
    • 32Colossians 3:12–13Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
    • 8Psalms 68:18You have ascended on high; You have led captives away. You have received gifts from men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.
    • 23Romans 12:2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
    • 29Ecclesiastes 10:12The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool consume him.
    • 1Colossians 1:10so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
    • 32Matthew 6:14–15For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
    • 23Romans 8:6The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace,
    • 32Mark 11:25And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”
    • 26James 1:19My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,
    • 11Jeremiah 3:15Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
    • 29Proverbs 15:7The lips of the wise spread knowledge, but not so the hearts of fools.
    • 29Colossians 3:8–9But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
    • 1Philippians 1:27Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending together as one for the faith of the gospel,
    • 26Psalms 4:4Be angry, yet do not sin; on your bed, search your heart and be still. Selah

    Onward

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