But this is not what Ephesians 4:13 means at all...you are speaking a falsely...stop it! This is corrupting the meaning of scripture.
It means that the gospel shall be continually preached and shared until the Body of Christ is in full agreement in the same faith, in the faith in the only perfect man, Yahshua our Christ, AND until the Body of Christ, the elect, will be literally gathered in as the completed Body in Christ at that point.
and then in the next verse, 14 it says this process is necessary (critical) in verse 13 to make us mature and secure in Christ, and that it will insulate us from listening and then believing in false doctrines devised by cunning and deceitful men, or false prophets, as we now ALL understand this one true gospel, as one Body.
4:11
NASB"He gave"
NKJV"He Himself gave"
NRSV"the gifts He gave"
TEV"It was he who gave gifts to men,"
NJB"and to some, his gift was"
Christ Himself, (cf. Eph. 4:4-6; 1 Cor. 12:4-6), gives spiritual gifts to His/their people. Believers are all gifted ministers. Some are leaders, but all are ministers. We are saved to serve.
There are several lists of spiritual gifts in Paul's writing (cf. 1 Cor. 12: 8-10, 28-30; Rom. 12:6-8; Eph. 4:11). These lists are not identical. This implies that these lists are not exhaustive, but representative.
For Paul the gifts are aspects of Jesus' ministry given to His body (the church) to continue His ministry.
The NT never gives a definitive list of the gifts or a guideline for believers' knowing which gifts they are given. The focus is not on identifying gifts, but on the diverse aspect of ministry. One of the best practical guidelines for knowing one's spiritual gift is found in an IVP booklet called "Affirming the Will of God" by Paul Little. The same guidelines for knowing God's will apply to discovering one's spiritual gift.
"apostles" This is the ongoing usage of the term beyond "The Twelve" (cf. Acts 14:4, 14, Barnabas; Rom. 16:7, Andronicus and Junias; 1 Cor. 4:6, 9; 12:28-29; 15:7, Apollos; Phil. 2:25, Epaphroditus; 1 Thess. 2:6, Silvanus and Timothy). Their exact task is uncertain, but it involves proclamation of the gospel and servant leadership of the church. It is even possible that Rom. 16:7 (KJV "Junia") refers to a feminine apostle!
"prophets" The exact function of these gifted believers is also uncertain (cf. Acts 11:28; 21:9-11; 15:32). They are not the same as OT prophets who wrote Scripture. New Testament prophets apply Scripture to new and different situations. They are linked with apostles, evangelists, pastors and teachers because they all proclaim the gospel, but with different emphases.
"evangelists" Surprisingly, in light of Matt. 28:19-20, this gift is mentioned only three times in the NT. Their task in the early church, like the previous two, is uncertain (cf. Acts 21:8; 2 Tim. 4:5), but again obviously involved proclamation of the gospel and servant leadership. It is possible that these first three gifted leaders had itinerant or regional ministries.
"pastors and teachers" The titles "elders" (presbuteroi), "bishops" (episkopoi), and "pastors" (poimenas) all refer to one function and later office (cf. Acts 20:17, 28; and Titus 1:5-7). The term "elder" had an OT background, while the term "bishop" or "overseer" had a Greek city-state background. The Greek syntax (one conjunction [de] and one article [tous]) links these two titles together as one function, one gifted person who proclaims and explains the gospel to a local situation.
It is interesting that in Rom. 12:7 and 12:28 teachers are listed as a separate gift and pastors are not mentioned at all (unless it is "he who exhorts" in Rom. 12:8).
There is so much we moderns do not know about the early church.
4:12
NASB"for the equipping of the saints for the work of service"
NKJV"For the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry"
NRSV"to equip the saints for the work of ministry"
TEV"He did this to prepare all God's people for the work of Christian service"
NJB"so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service"
Leaders are God's gifts given to train the Body of Christ for the work of ministry! The church needs to recapture the power, giftedness and biblical assignment of all the members of the church (clergy - laity, old - young, male - female, cf. Joel 2:28 quoted in Peter's Pentecost sermon in Acts 2). Every Christian is a full-time, God-called, God-gifted minister.
The term "equip" means to cause something to be ready for its assigned purpose. It is used of:
1. broken limbs being healed and made useful again
2. torn fishing nets being mended and thereby able to catch fish
3. ships being fitted with ropes and sails and tacked for sea
4. chicks who had grown large enough to be taken to market
Also, notice the goal is not that only some believers became mature, but all (cf. Eph. 4:13). For "saints"
The gifts are given to every believer for the common good (cf. 1 Cor. 12:7,11). Every believer is a called, gifted, full-time minister of Christ. Not all are "vocational" ministers, but all are servants. The modern church is crippled by (1) a clergy/laity mentality and (2) the concept of salvation as a product instead of a relational process of servanthood!!!
"to the building up of the body of Christ" Paul mixes his building metaphor (cf. Eph. 2:20-27) with his body metaphor (cf. Eph. 1:23; 4:12; 5:30). Believers are gifted for the common good, not for individual acclaim (1 Cor. 12:7). The focus is not on the individual but on the body (cf. Eph. 4:4-6). Spiritual gifts are servant towels, not merit badges! Believers are worker bees!
4:13 "until we all attain" This is an Aorist active subjunctive which denotes an aspect of contingency. It literally means "to arrive at a destination." Note that "all" speaks of our corporate responsibility. Notice the three aspects of maturity mentioned: (1) unity of the faith; (2) knowledge of the Son of God; unto a (3) Christlike maturity. Also, notice the goal is not that some mature, but all!
"the knowledge" This is the compound Greek term (epiginōskō), which implies a full experiential knowledge. This was an obvious rejection of the Gnostic false teachers' emphasis on secret, exclusive knowledge. The believers' knowledge is complete in Christ. This may be a play on the Hebrew concept of "know" as personal relationship (cf. Gen. 4:1; Jer. 1:5; Phil. 3:8,10) versus the Greek concept known as cognitive information. Both are needed for a mature Christianity.
"mature man" This is in contrast to "children" of verse 14. The Greek root (telos) means "complete," "fully equipped," not sinless or perfect (KJV).
4:14 "as a result, we are no longer to be children" This implies that many believers were saved but immature (cf. 1 Cor. 3:1-3; Heb. 5:11-14). They still did not sense the necessary submission and dedication needed to be servant ministers. Believers must die to self and be alive to God (cf. Rom. 6:1-14; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Gal. 2:20; 1 John 3:16).
