And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and
some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the
saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive(Eph 4:11-14)
This pericope is often used as a proof text by Latter-day Saints to
support our belief that the offices of "apostles" and
"prophets" were to continue in the post-New Testament era.
Interestingly, of one looks at the structure at verse 13, we see that this is
supported by Greek grammar, where the term "till we all come" is
μεχρι coupled by a verb in the subjunctive (here, καταντάω). When one examines
instances of this structure in the LXX and related literature, it teaches that
the main clause continues until the goal is reached, here, "we all come
into the unity of faith," something that has not yet happened. As one
Protestant commentator put it:
The goal is presented as the end of a journey; it has
not yet been attained (for μέχρι see BDR §383:2; 485 n. 6; MHT, 110f;
Robertson, 974f). Barth, 485f, rather fancifully envisages the journey as that
of the bride to meet the ἀνήρ, Christ the bridegroom . . . (Ernest Best, A
Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Ephesians [International Critical
Commentary; Edinburgh: T&T Clark International, 1998], 399)
Here are the instances of μεχρι coupled with a verb in the subjunctive in the LXX, Greek
New Testament, Greek pseudepigrapha, Josephus, Philo of Alexandria, and the
Apostolic Fathers:
LXX
and Greek New Testament:
For they declared that our
government would never be firmly established until (μέχρι ἂν συντελεσθῇ) this
was accomplished, because of the ill-will that these people had toward all
nations. (3 Maccabees 7:4 | NRSV)
"And he will act according to
his will. And the king will be exalted and will be magnified over every god and
will speak outlandish things. And he will prosper until (μέχρις οὗ συντελεσθῇ)
the wrath is completed, for it is coming to completion. (Dan 11:36 | NETS)
My little children, of whom I
travil in birth again until (μέχρις οὗ μορφωθῇ) Christ be formed in you. (Gal
4:19)
Till (μέχρι καταντήσωμεν) we all
come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (Eph
4:13)
Greek
Pseudepigrapha:
(translations come from The
Greek Pseudepigrapha. Electronic text prepared by Craig A. Evans.
Morphologically tagged by Rex A. Koivisto. Copyright © 2008 Craig A. Evans.
Copyright © OakTree Software, Inc.)
Therefore they all answered him:
"Let us swear an oath and let us all anathematize one another, not to turn
away from this plan, until we should complete it (μέχρις οὗ ἄν τελέσωμεν) and
should this deed." (1 Enoch 6:4)
But so long as the race of godless
men will exist, until the day of fate teaches its appointed end. You will not
sacrifice to God until all these things come to pass. (μέχρις πάντα γένηται)
(Sibylline Oracles 3:568-70)
An I commanded him to be with
Beelzebyl until the time when a friend of this one should arrive (μέχρι καὶ τούτου
φίλος παραγένηται)(Testament of Solomon [A] 9:8)
For it is the custom, as you know,
from the moment the king begins to transact business until the time when he
retires to rest (μέχρις οὗ κατακοιμηθῇ)for a record to be taken of all his
sayings and doings -- a most excellent and useful arrangement. (Letter of
Aristeas 1:298)
Josephus
So he committed these things to
Mithredath, the treasurer, to be sent away, with an order to give them to
Sheshbazzar, that he might keep them till the temple was built( φυλάττῃ μέχρι τῆς
οἰκοδομίας τοῦ ναου): and when it was finished, he might deliver them to the
priests and rulers of the multitude, in order to their being restored to the
temple. (Antiquities of the Jews 11:11)
But on the next day, when I had
laid an ambush in a certain valley, not far from the banks, I provoked those
who belonged to the king to come to a battle, and gave orders to my own
soldiers to turn their backs upon them, until they should have drawn the enemy
away (μέχρις ἂν ἐπισπάσωνται) from their camp, and brought them out into the
field, which was done accordingly; (Life of Flavius Josephus 1:400)
Philo
of Alexandria
And it is easy to learn this from
the way in which it is affected in practice. Thus the sight is affected by
these objects of sight which put it in motion, such as white and black, and the
other colors. Again, hearing is affected by sounds, and taste is disposed in
such or such a way by flavors; the sense of smell by scents; and that of touch
by hardness or softness. And, on the other hand all the outward senses are in a
state of tranquillity until each is approached (μέχρις ἂν προσέλθῃ) from
without by that which is to put it in motion. (Legum allegoriarum 2:39)
And it appears to me that some
lawgivers, having started from this point, have also promulgated the law about
condemned women, which commands that pregnant women, if they have committed any
offense worthy of death, shall nevertheless not be executed until they have
brought forth (μέχρις ἂν ἀποτέκωσιν), in order that the creature in their womb
may not be slain with them when they are put to death. (De virtutibus 1:139)
Those who contend for the virtues
of God seek to improve the intellect and the weak refract both the good and the
useless; and even when, like the present-day logophiles, they pretend to be
philosophers, until they try to overcome (μέχρι τοῦ δοκεῖν ὑπερμαχῶσιν) the
doctrines, but suffer from the truth with science traceable indeed. (Q&A on
Exodus - Fragments (Pet. 1:7)
Apostolic
Fathers
(translations taken from Kirsopp
Lake, ed. 1912-13, The Apostolic Fathers, 2 vols.)
Now I have not thought right to
put into writing their unbelieving names; but would that I might not even
remember them, until they (μέχρις οὗ
μετανοήσωσιν) concerning the Passion, which is our resurrection. (Ignatius to
the Smynaeans 5:3)
Give to everyone that asks thee,
and do not refuse, for the Father's will is that we give to all from the gifts
we have received. Blessed is he that gives according to the mandate; for he is
innocent. Woe to him who receives; for if any man receive alms under pressure
of need he is innocent; but he who receives it without need shall be tried as
to why he took and for what, and being in prison he shall be examined as to his
deeds, and "he shall not come out thence until he pay (μέχρις οὗ ἀποδῷ)
the last farthing." (Didache 1:5)
But concerning this it was also
said, "Let thine alms sweat into thine hands until thou knowest to whom
thou art giving (μέχρις ἂν γνῷς τίνι δῷς)." (Didache 1:6)
