Ephesians 4:16

ἐξ οὗ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα συναρμολογούμενον καὶ συμβιβαζόμενον διὰ πάσης ἁφῆς τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας, κατ᾽ ἐνέργειαν ἐν μέτρῳ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου μέρους, τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ σώματος ποιεῖται εἰς οἰκοδομὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ.

RBT Greek Interlinear:

Strongs 1537; ex; ἐξ; from out; Prep

Strongs 3739; hou; οὗ; whose/whosoever; RelPro-GMS

Strongs 3956; pan; πᾶν; all; Adj-NNS

Strongs 3588; to; τὸ; the; Art-NNS

Strongs 4983; sōma; σῶμα; body; N-NNS

Strongs 4883; synarmologoumenon; συναρμολογούμενον; that which is being joined together; V-PPM/P-NNS

Strongs 2532; kai; καὶ; and; Conj

Strongs 4822; symbibazomenon; συμβιβαζόμενον; that which is being knit together; V-PPM/P-NNS

Strongs 1223; dia; διὰ; across; Prep

Strongs 3956; pasēs; πάσης; all/every; Adj-GFS

Strongs 860; haphēs; ἁφῆς; touch/point of contact; N-GFS

Strongs 3588; tēs; τῆς; the; Art-GFS

Strongs 2024; epichorēgias; ἐπιχορηγίας; support; N-GFS

Strongs 2596; kat’; κατ’; down/according to; Prep

Strongs 1753; energeian; ἐνέργειαν; energy; N-AFS

Strongs 1722; en; ἐν; within; Prep

Strongs 3358; metrō; μέτρῳ; measure; N-DNS

Strongs 1520; henos; ἑνὸς; one; Adj-GNS

Strongs 1538; hekastou; ἑκάστου; of each; Adj-GNS

Strongs 3313; merous; μέρους; part; N-GNS

Strongs 3588; tēn; τὴν; the; Art-AFS

Strongs 838; auxēsin; αὔξησιν; increase; N-AFS

Strongs 3588; tou; τοῦ; the; Art-GNS

Strongs 4983; sōmatos; σώματος; body; N-GNS

Strongs 4160; poieitai; ποιεῖται; makes for itself; V-PIM-3S

Strongs 1519; eis; εἰς; into; Prep

Strongs 3619; oikodomēn; οἰκοδομὴν; building/architecture; N-AFS

Strongs 1438; heautou; ἑαυτοῦ; his own self; RefPro-GN/M3S

Strongs 1722; en; ἐν; within; Prep

Strongs 26; agapē; ἀγάπῃ; agape-love; N-DFS

RBT Hebrew Literal:

The Architecture of the Body in Agapē

from out of whom the whole Body,⁴ that which is being interconnected and that which is being knit together across through every point of contact of the Support according to an energy within one measure of each portion, the Increase of the Body is making itself into an architecture of his own self within an agape-love,

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
From whom all the body fitted together and joined together by every touch of the expenditure, according to the energy in measure of one of each part, makes the increase of the body to the building up of itself in love.

LITV Translation:
from whom all the body, having been fitted and compacted together through every assisting bond, according to the effectual working of one measure in each part, produces the growth of the body to the building up of itself in love.

ESV Translation:
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Footnotes

4

The Agapē Principle in the Body

I. "From out of whom the whole Body"

ἐξ οὗ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα

Ex hou — “from out of whom”: The origin is personal, not abstract. It is from the Logos, the Head, the Anointed—yet not merely as source, but as ongoing emergence. In Aonic terms, this implies the emanation of multiplicity from unity, yet without separation. The whole body proceeds from Him, but remains in Him—eternally sourced, never alienated.

II. "That which is being interconnected and that which is being knit together"

συναρμολογούμενον καὶ συμβιβαζόμενον

Two participles (present middles):

• συναρμολογούμενον – “being jointed together”

• συμβιβαζόμενον – “being knit together,” or “co-instructed”

This is not static unity but dynamic coherence—a Möbius entanglement of parts without separation. The self in the Body is not individualistic, but symbiotic and recursive.

This evokes Wisdom’s architecture in Proverbs 8 and the New Jerusalem’s measurement (Rev. 21)—not just geometry, but divine ontology expressed through joined multiplicity.

III. "Across through every attachment of the Support"

διὰ πάσης ἁφῆς τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας

• ἁφή = a point of contact, touch, or joint

• ἐπιχορηγία = support, supply, or gracious provision

Here the Body is held together not by mechanical force but by touch, relationship, and gift—each connection is a graced junction, a point of communion, a liminal space through which divine energy flows.

This recalls agapē as the maternal matrix—the “touch” through which being is transmitted, sustained, and glorified.

IV. "According to an energy within one measure of each portion"

κατ᾽ ἐνέργειαν ἐν μέτρῳ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου μέρους

• ἐνέργεια – the active energy

• μέτρον – measure, limit, fitting portion

Here, the Body’s growth is not chaotic or uniform—it is proportional, particular, organic to the whole.

Each part receives energy in its own measure: i.e., a teleological fit, a customized telos.

V. "The Increase of the Body is making itself"

τὴν αὔξησιν τοῦ σώματος ποιεῖται

• ποιεῖται – middle voice: "is making itself"

Growth is not imposed from outside. The Body, in its reciprocity and inner communion, generates its own increase. This reflects a wombic logic again: a body gestating itself through shared energy, shared love.

This also aligns with Aonic temporality: the Body’s growth is not towards a linear telos, but is recursively generated from within.

VI. "Into an architecture of his own self within agape-love"

εἰς οἰκοδομὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ

• οἰκοδομή – building, edifice, architecture

• ἑαυτοῦ – of his own self

• ἐν ἀγάπῃ – within love (agapē)

This is the central image: The Body becomes a temple, a living architecture, a woman of his own self built up from within, by means of agapē.

In agapē (understood as the feminine principle, the Bride, the Mother Above, the Womb of Communion), the Christ-Body does not merely grow—it becomes His own self. He is building Himself through others, and others through Himself.

Aonic Interpretation: Möbius Love and Ecclesial Ontology

This verse presents a recursive anthropology:
Each part of the Body is energized according to its measure, and in mutual love, the Body becomes Christ—not symbolically, but ontologically.

Thus:

Christ is building Himself—in us, as us, through us—in agapē, which is not a sentiment but a generative matrix of ontological participation.

In the aion, this structure is not linear but eternal:

• The parts are born of the whole,

• The whole is generated by the parts,

• All this occurs in agapē, which is the feminine principle of divine containment, birthing, and unity.

The agapē principle in action, as written:

“He who loves his woman loves his own body” (Eph 5:28) — because she is the generative site of his becoming.

The Self in the Center, in the Feminine

Agapē-love is not optional to this cosmic Body. It is womb, structure, breath, and touch. Without her, there is no architecture of the self.

This verse, in the context of the aion, reveals that:

• The Body of Christ is not a static institution, but a womb of mutual becoming of oneself.

• It grows through reciprocity, energy, and agapē—that is, the feminine power of holding and giving being.

• It is a living temple, not just of memory or doctrine, but of ontological reentry into the eternal: the aion, the center, the divine womb.