Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Ephesians 4:12

"for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ:" — Ephesians 4:12 (ASV)

The aim of the ministries mentioned in v.11 is now disclosed: to equip all God’s people for service. “To prepare” (GK 2938) is “to put right.” In the NT this verb is used for the mending of nets (Matthew 4:21) and the restoration of the lapsed (Galatians 6:1). It may also signify the realization of purpose and the completion of what is already good as far as it goes (1 Corinthians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 3:10). Such preparation is needed to inspire God’s people to do the work “of service” (GK 1355). Service is what unites all the members of Christ’s body from the apostles to the most apparently insignificant disciple (1 Corinthians 12:22). Christ himself set the example (Mark 10:45). It is by this means that the body of Christ will be consolidated (cf. Ephesians 2:21).