Ephesians 4:12 (WEB)

Passage

for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ;

Nearby Context

Ephesians 4:10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.

Ephesians 4:11 He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers;

Ephesians 4:12 for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ;

Ephesians 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "perfecting", "saints", "serving", "building", "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 "He gave some to be apostles and..." into verse 13's "until we all attain to 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.