Ephesians 4:12 (DBY)

Passage

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;

Nearby Context

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;

Ephesians 4:14 in order that we may be no longer babes, tossed and carried about by every wind of *that* teaching [which is] in the sleight of men, in unprincipled cunning with a view to systematized error;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "perfecting", "saints", "view", "ministry", "edifying", "body", and "christ". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "perfecting" and "saints", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "and he has given some apostles and..." into verse 13's "until we all arrive at the unity...", so "perfecting" and "saints" 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 "perfecting" and "saints" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.