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Re: Ephesians 4:12-13

I appreciate the help offered so far by William R., Jonathan R., and James
V. The more I look at this, I think I'm inclined to understand the "work of
ministry" to be performed by the gifted ones of verse 11. In the archives, I
found reference to a couple of articles by H.P. Hamann who notes that

        "'equippping of the saints for work in His service' makes the noun carry
        its meaning through the dependent genitive to the following
prepositional
        phrase"

which, says Hamann, is an unprecedented use of the word. He doesn't say that
such a verbal use of the noun is impossible, only that "the probabilities
are all the other way."  (Henry P. Hamann "Church and Ministry: An Exegesis
of Ephesians 4:1-16," _Lutheran Theological Journal_ 16 (1982):121-28. Also
see "The Translation of Ephesians 4:12--A Necessary Revision," _Condordia
Journal_ 14 (1988): 42-29). Any comments on this point?

It's also interesting that Chrysostom regarded the three prepositional
phrases of verse twelve as parallel, and each being the work of the
apostles, prophets, et al., mentioned in verse eleven. He wrote "Perceive ye
the dignity of the office? Each one edifies, each one perfects, each one
ministers."

Jeff Smelser
Bristow, VA
NoVa Bible Study Page
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7939