Ephesians 4:11 (DBY)

Passage

and *he* has given some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers,

Nearby Context

Ephesians 4:9 But that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

Ephesians 4:10 He that descended is the same who has also ascended up above all the heavens, that he might fill all things;

Ephesians 4:11 and *he* has given some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers,

Ephesians 4:12 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;

Ephesians 4:13 until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, at [the] full-grown man, at [the] measure of the stature of the fulness of the Christ;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "given", "some", "apostles", "prophets", and "evangelists". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "given" and "some", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "He that descended is the same who..." into verse 12's "for the perfecting of the saints with...", so "given" and "some" 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 "given" and "some" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.