Ephesians 4:12,16 - Compare All Versions

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to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ

from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ

From him the whole body, fitted and knit together  by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth  of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.

for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ

from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ

from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. The text for this is, He climbed the high mountain, He captured the enemy and seized the plunder, He handed it all out in gifts to the people. Is it not true that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are easy prey for predators. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ

from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

[and He did this] to fully equip and perfect the saints (God’s people) for works of service, to build up the body of Christ [the church]

From Him the whole body [the church, in all its various parts], joined and knitted firmly together by what every joint supplies, when each part is working properly, causes the body to grow and mature, building itself up in [unselfish] love.

to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ

From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body grows in love.