Wednesday, January 11, 2023

S. Kent Brown on Ephesians 4:12 and καταρτισμος ("perfecting")

  

perfecting: The noun καταρτισμος (katartismos) presents an interesting picture. First, it appears only here in the New Testament. Second, its meanings range from equipping to preparing to training. In a related verb form in Luke 6:40, it bears the sense “fully trained” rather than “perfect” as in the KJV: “Everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40 NR). In our passage, 4;12, the noun paints the portrait of thoroughly preparing the Saints for their ministries, folding in all members, women and men alike, “till we all come in the unity of the faith” (4:12). That is, church leaders never assumed that recent converts had grasped all that they needed to while investigating the gospel; everyone required continuous training and education in doctrine and accepted procedures. (S. Kent Brown, The Epistle to the Ephesians [Brigham Young University New Testament Commentary; Provo, Utah: BYU Studies, 2023], 306)