Ephesians 4:6-15
New American Standard Bible
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.
14As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
15but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is, Christ,
King James Version
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:
14That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Christian Standard Bible
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.
14Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.
15But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head —Christ.
New Living Translation
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.
14Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
15Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
English Standard Version
Chapter 4
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,
14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
15Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
New International Version
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.
14Then 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 people in their deceitful scheming.
15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
New King James Version
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;
14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
