11 And he gave cthe apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds1 and teachers,2 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the dbody of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to emature manhood,3 to the measure of the stature of the ffullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be gchildren, htossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, iby human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the jhead, into Christ, 16 kfrom whom the whole body, ljoined and mheld together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Warning Against Apostasy
11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become jdull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the kbasic principles of the oracles of God. You need lmilk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a mchild. 14 But solid food is for the nmature, for those who have their powers of discernment otrained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
