The Greek verb ektrepho means to nourish to full growth or maturity — to rear, bring up, or feed to completion. The prefix ek- adds a sense of 'all the way out' to nourishing: to nourish until the thing is fully grown or mature.
Ektrepho appears in two of Paul's most important texts on human relationships. In Ephesians 5:29, Paul argues that husbands should love their wives as they care for their own bodies: 'for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes (ektrepho) and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.' The church-husband parallel is direct: Christ nourishes the church to her full eschatological maturity. In Ephesians 6:4, fathers are commanded not to provoke their children to anger but to 'bring them up (ektrepho) in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.' Both uses ground daily relational ethics in Christ's patient, maturing care for his people.