Ephesians 4:2-13
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 4
2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
9(Now this expression, 'He ascended,' what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)
11And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers,
12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ;
13until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
King James Version
Chapter 4
2With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
8Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
9Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 4
2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit —just as you were called to one hope at your calling— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
9But what does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the earth?
10The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things.
11And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,
12equipping the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,
13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.
New Living Translation
Chapter 4
2Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
5There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.
9Notice that it says 'he ascended.' This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.
10And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
11Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.
12Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
13This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
English Standard Version
Chapter 4
2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ 's gift. 8Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men."
9(In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?
10He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.)
11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
New International Version
Chapter 4
2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
9(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions ?
10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
11So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
12to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
13until 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.
New King James Version
Chapter 4
2with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
9(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;