1 Corinthians 13 Part 18: For We Know in Part

I Corinthians 13:9-10, Romans 11:33-36. The Perfect love completes our spiritual journey.

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“For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

We do not know everything and we can’t envision everything or have a prophesy of future events that is complete and understandable. These verses follow on to the idea from Paul that the spiritual gifts we have in this life are temporary and only partial and foggy, tiny windows peeking into the divine. The Perfect is coming for believers and those fragmented gifts will go away, except for love!

Let’s do a word study (of course) on the word perfect. According to the Blue Letter Bible, the Greek word for perfect is teleios. The definitions for teleios are as follows:

1. brought to its end, finished

2. wanting nothing necessary to completeness

3. perfect

4. that which is perfect

5. consummate human integrity and virtue

6. of men

   1. full grown, adult, of full age, mature

In all its meanings teleios carries the underlying idea is that a purpose has been achieved or that a thing or person has reached its intended goal or end and is complete, with nothing more that is necessary for that completeness and perfection. When Jesus told us to be perfect, like His father is perfect (Matthew 5:48), He is wanting us to continually mature (become as complete as possible) in our sanctification and obedience, knowing that none of us can ever reach true perfection in this life.

The debate among Biblical scholars (at least the ones I read for this passage) is when this Perfect comes and removes the need for the partial and incomplete views. Some scholars (this goes back to cessationist versus continuationist from the last devotional) believe that this state of perfection happened with the completion of the New Testament in the early Apostolic church. Others believe this will not happen until the Second Coming of Jesus. I really don’t want to get into debates about eschatology, which usually give me a splitting headache, but I personally believe, from what I’ve read and learned, that our souls enter an eternal state at the moment of death (one with Christ or one without). I know there are others that believe our souls “sleep” until the Second Coming, but I’m not one of them because of this: Jesus promised the repentant thief on the cross that he would be in paradise that very day, not some undefined day in the far future (Luke 23:39-43).

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I like what David Guzik says in his Enduring Word commentary:

That which is perfect: Paul says when that which is perfect has come, then the gifts will be “discontinued.” But what is that which is perfect? Though some that believe the miraculous gifts ceased with the apostles say it refers to the completion of the New Testament, they are wrong. Virtually all commentators agree that which is perfect is fulfilled when we are in the eternal presence of the Perfect One, when we are with the Lord forever, either through the return of Christ or graduation to the eternal.

We are looking at spiritual things through blurry telescopes and and wholly inadequate microscopes and have not even begun to fathom the depth of knowledge that will be instantly apparent to us when we are with the Perfect. And prophecies will be complete! Paul sums this up best in Romans 11:33-36:

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭11‬:‭33‬-‭36‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

My next devotional examines 1 Corinthians 13:11 Putting Away Childish Things

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Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:

Dear Lord - We eagerly anticipate being in the presence of the Perfect One, being surrounded by that complete love that does away with our restless searching and lack of understanding. Please guide us to that moment by helping us to become mature in our obedience and sanctification. Amen.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.