Ephesians 4:7–16

⁷Now grace was given to each one of us^g according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸For it says:

When he ascended^h on high,

he took the captives captive;

he gave gifts to people.^Ei

⁹But what does “he ascended” mean except that he^A also descended to the lower parts of the earth?^{Bj 10}The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens,^k to fill all things.^{l 11}And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹²to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,^{m 13}until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son,ⁿ growing into maturity with a stature^o measured by Christ’s fullness. ¹⁴Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching,^p by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. ¹⁵But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head^q—Christ. ¹⁶From him the whole body, fitted and knit together^r by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth^s of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.