Ephesians 4:12
10 He who descended is the very One who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.
11 And 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 equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,
13 until 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 Then 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.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,
- KJV
- For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
- WEB
- for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ,
- ASV
- for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ:
- DARBY
- for the perfecting of the saints; with a view to [the] work of [the] ministry, with a view to the edifying of the body of Christ;
- BLB
- toward the perfecting of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ,
- ÅB
- for at de hellige kunne bli fullkommengjort til tjenestegjerning, til Kristi legemes oppbyggelse,
- OTB
- for å utruste Guds folk til tjeneste, for å styrke Kristi legeme,
- B1930
- forat de hellige kunde bli fullkommengjort til tjenestegjerning, til Kristi legemes opbyggelse,
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
1 Thessalonians 5:11–14
Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing.
Read in contextEphesians 4:16
From 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.
Read in context1 Corinthians 12:27
Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it.
Read in contextRomans 15:14
I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, brimming with knowledge, and able to instruct one another.
Read in context1 Corinthians 14:4–5
The one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.
Read in contextRomans 14:19
So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Read in context1 Corinthians 14:26
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a psalm or a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. All of these must be done to build up the church.
Read in context1 Corinthians 14:12
It is the same with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, strive to excel in gifts that build up the church.
Read in context