12. to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
13. until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ,
14. so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.
15. Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ,
16. from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body’s growth and builds itself up in love.
17. So I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds;
18. darkened in understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance, because of their hardness of heart,