Ephesians 4,12. A Revised Reading Eph 4,12 is a sequence of three prepositional phrases, the first beginning with prov and followed by a noun katartismov with the definite article ¥ ¥ ton, the second and third beginning with eıv, followed by nouns ergon ¥ ß ¶ and oıkodomh without definite articles and in asyndetic coordination. The ß ¥ sequence has been traditionally interpreted as indicating the purpose of the ministries enunciated in 4,11, but the interrelationship between these three purposes, as well as between these and the ministries in 4,11, is still discussed 1. Could the change of preposition indicate a modification of the purpose ? Should the reader introduce a comma after each prepositional phrase ? Are they coordinated with or subordinated to one another? This paper proposes a new interpretation of this sequence based on a rhetorical analysis of the thought in the section: the prepositional phrases express a relationship of agreement between Christ’s gift and the ministry of the word for building up his body. I. The Recent Debate on Eph 4,12 The starting point of the most recent debate on Eph 4,12 involves the distinction between the recipients (“saints” and “ministers”) in the text. M. Barth discusses the theological consequences of putting a comma after twn ag¥wn. Separating the first prepositional phrase from the second ˜ Ωı means that all the saints receive the benefit from the ministries (4,11), but only a few ministers are called to build up the body of Christ. For him such an interpretation distorts the text. He proposes, therefore, a reading in which the prepositional phrases describe the singular purpose of the ministries 2. This “revisionist” understanding of the text appears in several With good reason recently published commentaries on Ephesians consider 1 the text a “battleground”. “Die Zuordnung der drei Präpositionalausdrücke ist freilich nicht eindeutig und in der Exegese umstritten”. G. SELLIN, Der Brief an die Epheser (KEK ; Göttingen 2008) 342. See also CH.H. TALBERT, Ephesians and Colossians (Grand Rapids, MI 2007) 113. This interpretation challenges both the aristocratic-clerical and the tri- 2 umphalistic-ecclesiastical exposition of 4:11-12. M. BARTH, Ephesians. Trans- lation and Commentary on Chapters 4–6 (AB 34A; Garden City, NY 1974) 478-479.