Ephesians 4:14 (ASV)

Passage

that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;

Nearby Context

Ephesians 4:12 for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ:

Ephesians 4:13 till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Ephesians 4:14 that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;

Ephesians 4:15 but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, [even] Christ;

Ephesians 4:16 from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in [due] measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "longer", "children", "tossed", "carried", "wind", "doctrine", "sleight", and "craftiness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "longer" and "children", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "till we all attain unto the unity..." into verse 15's "but speaking truth in love we may...", so "longer" and "children" belong inside that flow. In Ephesians context, the local focus is grace, union with Christ, the church, and new creation.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "longer" and "children" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.