Ephesians 4:14 (WEB)

Passage

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;

Nearby Context

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;

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

Ephesians 4:16 from whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "longer", "children", "tossed", "back", "forth", "carried", "wind", and "doctrine". 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 "until we all attain to 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.