EFE. 4
Umoja katika Mwili wa Kristo
1 tKwa hiyo nawasihi, mimi niliye mfungwa katika Bwana, mwenende kama inavyoustahili wito wenu mlioitiwa; 2 tkwa unyenyekevu wote na upole, kwa uvumilivu, mkichukuliana katika upendo; 3 tna kujitahidi kuuhifadhi umoja wa Roho katika kifungo cha amani.
4 tMwili mmoja, na Roho mmoja, kama na mlivyoitwa katika tumaini moja la wito wenu.
5 tBwana mmoja, imani moja, ubatizo mmoja. 6 tMungu mmoja, naye ni Baba wa wote, aliye juu ya yote na katika yote na ndani ya yote. 7 tLakini kila mmoja wetu alipewa neema kwa kadiri ya kipimo cha kipawa chake Kristo.
8 tHivyo husema,
Alipopaa juu aliteka mateka,
Akawapa wanadamu vipawa.
9 tBasi neno hilo, Alipaa, maana yake nini kama siyo kusema kwamba yeye naye alishuka mpaka pande zilizo chini za nchi? 10 Naye aliyeshuka ndiye yeye aliyepaa juu sana kupita mbingu zote, ili avijaze vitu vyote. 11 tNaye alitoa wengine kuwa mitume, na wengine kuwa manabii; na wengine kuwa wainjilisti na wengine kuwa wachungaji na waalimu; 12 tkwa kusudi la kuwakamilisha watakatifu, hata kazi ya huduma itendeke, hata mwili wa Kristo ujengwe; 13 thata na sisi sote tutakapoufikia umoja wa imani na kumfahamu sana Mwana wa Mungu, hata kuwa mtu mkamilifu, hata kufika kwenye cheo cha kimo cha utimilifu wa Kristo; 14 tili tusiwe tena watoto wachanga, tukitupwa huku na huku, na kuchukuliwa na kila upepo wa elimu, kwa hila ya watu, kwa ujanja, tukizifuata njia za udanganyifu. 15 tLakini tuishike kweli katika upendo na kukua hata tumfikie yeye katika yote, yeye aliye kichwa, Kristo.
16 tKatika yeye mwili wote ukiungamanishwa na kushikanishwa kwa msaada wa kila kiungo, kwa kadiri ya utendaji wa kila sehemu moja moja, huukuza mwili upate kujijenga wenyewe katika upendo.Maisha ya Zamani na Mapya
17 tBasi nasema neno hili, tena nashuhudia katika Bwana, tangu sasa msienende kama Mataifa waenendavyo, katika ubatili wa nia zao; 18 tambao; akili zao zimetiwa giza, nao wamefarikishwa na uzima wa Mungu, kwa sababu ya ujinga uliomo ndani yao, kwa sababu ya ugumu wa mioyo yao; 19 tambao wakiisha kufa ganzi wanajitia katika mambo ya ufisadi wapate kufanyiza kila namna ya uchafu kwa kutamani. 20 Bali ninyi, sivyo mlivyojifunza Kristo; 21 ikiwa mlimsikia mkafundishwa katika yeye, kama kweli ilivyo katika Yesu, 22 tmvue kwa habari ya mwenendo wa kwanza utu wa zamani, unaoharibika kwa kuzifuata tamaa zenye kudanganya; 23 tna mfanywe wapya katika roho ya nia zenu;
24 tmkavae utu mpya, ulioumbwa kwa namna ya Mungu katika haki na utakatifu wa kweli.Amri za Maisha Mapya
25 tBasi uvueni uongo, mkaseme kweli kila mtu na jirani yake; kwa maana tu viungo, kila mmoja kiungo cha wenzake. 26 tMwe na hasira, ila msitende dhambi; jua lisichwe na uchungu wenu bado haujawatoka; 27 wala msimpe Ibilisi nafasi. 28 tMwibaji asiibe tena; bali afadhali afanye juhudi, akitenda kazi iliyo nzuri kwa mikono yake mwenyewe, apate kuwa na kitu cha kumgawia mhitaji. 29 tNeno lo lote lililo ovu lisitoke vinywani mwenu, bali lililo jema la kumfaa mwenye kuhitaji, ili liwape neema wanaosikia. 30 tWala msimhuzunishe yule Roho Mtakatifu wa Mungu; ambaye kwa yeye mlitiwa muhuri hata siku ya ukombozi. 31 tUchungu wote na ghadhabu na hasira na kelele na matukano yaondoke kwenu, pamoja na kila namna ya ubaya; 32 ttena iweni wafadhili ninyi kwa ninyi, wenye huruma, mkasameheane kama na Mungu katika Kristo alivyowasamehe ninyi.
EPHESIANS 4
Unity with Christ
1 As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own. 2 t Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other. 3 Try your best to let God's Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace. 4 All of you are part of the same body. There is only one Spirit of God, just as you were given one hope when you were chosen to be God's people. 5 We have only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.
6 There is one God who is the Father of all people. Not only is God above all others, but he works by using all of us, and he lives in all of us.
7 Christ has generously divided out his gifts to us.
8 t As the Scriptures say,
“When he went up
to the highest place,
he led away many prisoners
and gave gifts to people.”
9 When it says, “he went up,” it means that Christ had been deep in the earth.
10 This also means that the one who went deep into the earth is the same one who went into the highest heaven, so he would fill the whole universe.
11 Christ chose some of us to be apostles, prophets, missionaries, pastors, and teachers, 12 so his people would learn to serve and his body would grow strong.
13 This will continue until we are united by our faith and by our understanding of the Son of God. Then we will be mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him.t
14 We must stop acting like children. We must not let deceitful people trick us by their false teachings, which are like winds that toss us around from place to place. 15 Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head
16 t of the body. Christ holds it together and makes all of its parts work perfectly, as it grows and becomes strong because of love.The Old Life and //the New Life
17 As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people. 18 Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right,
19 and they are so greedy they do all kinds of indecent things.
20-21 But this isn't what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about him and learned about him. 22 t You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. 23 Let the Spirit change your way of thinking
24 t and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy.Rules for the New Life
25 t We are part of the same body. Stop lying and start telling each other the truth. 26 t Don't get so angry that you sin. Don't go to bed angry
27 and don't give the devil a chance.
28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Be honest and work hard, so you will have something to give to people in need.
29 Stop all your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say.
30 Don't make God's Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins.
31 Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. 32 t Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.