7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high,

he took many captives

and gave gifts to his people.”

9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,

and he gave gifts to men.”

9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,

“When he ascended to the heights,

he led a crowd of captives

and gave gifts to his people.”

9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says:

“When He ascended on high,

He led captivity captive,

And gave gifts to men.”

9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

7 Christ gave each one of us the special gift of grace, showing how generous he is. 8 That is why it says in the Scriptures,

“When he went up to the heights,

he led a parade of captives,

and he gave gifts to people.”

9 When it says, “He went up,” what does it mean? It means that he first came down to the earth. 10 So Jesus came down, and he is the same One who went up above all the heaven. Christ did that to fill everything with his presence. 11 And Christ gave gifts to people—he made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to have the work of caring for and teaching God’s people. 12 Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger.

7 But unto each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8 Wherefore he saith,

When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive,

And gave gifts unto men.

9 (Now this, He ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same also that ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ:

7 But to each one of us has been given grace according to the measure of the gift of the Christ. 8 Wherefore he says, Having ascended up on high, he has led captivity captive, and has given gifts to men. 9 But that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same who has also ascended up above all the heavens, that he might fill all things; 11 and he has given some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some shepherds and teachers, 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;

7 God’s favorhas been given to each of us. It was measured out to us by Christ who gave it. 8 That’s why the Scriptures say: 

“When he went to the highest place, 

he took captive those who had captured us 

and gave gifts to people.” 

9 Now what does it mean that he went up except that he also had gone down to the lowest parts of the earth? 10 The one who had gone down also went up above all the heavens so that he fills everything. 

11 He also gave apostles, prophets, missionaries, as well as pastors and teachers as gifts ⸤to his church⸥. 12 Their purpose is to prepare God’s people to serve and to build up the body of Christ.

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

When He ascended on high,

He took prisoners into captivity;

He gave gifts to people.

9 But what does “He ascended” mean except that He descended to the lower parts of the earth? 10 The One who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things. 11 And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,

7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it is said,

“When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;

he gave gifts to his people.”

9 (When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

7 Now to each one of us was given this grace, according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,

“Ascending on high he led captivity captive;

he gave gifts to men.”

9 Now “he ascended,” what is it, except that he also descended to the lower regions of the earth? 10 The one who descended himself is also the one who ascended above all the heavens, in order that he might fill all things.

11 And he himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers 12 for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

7 But each one of us has received a gift of grace, just as Christ wanted us to have it. 8 That is why Scripture says,

“When he went up to his place on high,

he led a line of prisoners.

He gave gifts to people.”

9 What does “he went up” mean? It can only mean that he also came down to the lower, earthly places. 10 The One who came down is the same as the One who went up higher than all the heavens. He did it in order to fill all of creation. 11 He is the One who gave some the gift to be apostles. He gave some the gift to be prophets. He gave some the gift of preaching the good news. And he gave some the gift to be pastors and teachers. 12 He did it so that they might prepare God’s people to serve. If they do, the body of Christ will be built up.