He is illustrating a time-consuming process of change that gradually transforms. Because the subject of the chapter is love and it is a wedding favorite, many people have entitled it, “The Love Chapter.” It’s not that it can’t be used during the wedding ceremony. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 1 Corinthians 13:9 Context. Even this his blessing makes effectual; and, after all, his Spirit supplies much that man cannot teach. 1 Corinthians 13:12. And even the prophecies which men deliver from God are far from taking in the whole of future events, or of that wisdom and knowledge of God which is treasured up in the scripture revelation. He that knows most knows little in comparison of what is known by angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect. What does it mean that “all things are lawful unto me” (1 Corinthians 6:12; 10:23)? 1 Corinthians 13:10 Context. In 1 Corinthians 13:8 1 Corinthians 13:8 Charity never fails: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 1 Corinthians 13:9. But there, love will be made perfect. Matthew Poole's Commentary: ... our partial and imperfect knowledge shall be swallowed up in a knowledge perfect and complete. Similarly 1 Corinthians 13:12 is referring not to a believer’s future fellowship with God but to revelation from God. John Gill's Exposition of the Bible. Privacy Policy   Terms of Use. When you have learned all you can from your ministers, remember you have much to learn from God; and for this you should diligently wait on him by the reading of his word, and by incessant prayer. This idea of the obscurity and imperfection of our knowledge, as compared with heaven, the apostle illustrates 1 Corinthians 13:11 by comparing it with the knowledge which a child has, compared with that in maturer years and 1 Corinthians 13:12 by the knowledge which we have in looking through a glass - an imperfect medium - compared with that which we have in looking closely and directly at an object without any medium.And we prophesy in part - This does not mean that we partly "know" the truths of religion, and partly "conjecture" or "guess" at them; or that we know only a part of them, and "conjecture" the remainder. Paul expects the imminent arrival of Christ in his glory, when “the present form of this world” passes away (7:31), and that makes all the difference in the world as to how one should live. Hipp. 1 Corinthians 9:13-14 New International Version (NIV) 13 Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? This expression means "only in part;" that is, "imperfectly." 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part - The wisest of men have here but short, narrow, imperfect conceptions, even of the things round about them, and much more of the deep things of God. Acts 18 gives us considerable detail about Paul’s work in Corinth during that time. 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they … And had we no more religious knowledge than we can derive from men and books, and had we no farther instruction in the knowledge of God and ourselves than we derive from preaching, our religious experience would be low indeed. And as we know so very little, how deficient must we be if we have not much love! The "maturity" interpretation also is a relatively new, first explained by Roy L. Laurin in his 1950 commentary, 1 Corinthians: Where Life Matures. G. Campbell Morgan wrote that examining this chapter is like dissecting a flower to understand it. All rights reserved. For we know in part— even in respect of the supernatural gift of knowledge —and we prophesy in part— in necessarily broken, fragmentary utterances, giving at best but imperfect views of Divine truth. However, the context makes it clear that this is not the case and that he has the more common meaning of "partially" in mind. There we shall perfectly love God. Finally, in this sense the expression: even so, 1 Corinthians 9:14, would become somewhat unsuitable; for the apostle could not put on the same level the authority of heathen customs and that of the Lord. Other meanings for the Greek word are “recognize,” “acknowledge acquaintance with,” … 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. How Paul Came to Corinth: Acts 18 This text is excerpted from Richard D. Draper and Michael D. Rhodes, Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians , … All imperfection will vanish. This site is a proud member of the Salem Web Network, a subsidiary of He has just written that another way it is superior is that love is an eternal act. This chapter, or parts of it, is often read at weddings. For we have neither reason nor Scripture to suppose that God will give us that immediately from himself which he has promised to convey only by the use of means. But the apostle is showing the imperfection of the prophetic gift; and he observes, that there is the same imperfection which attends knowledge. 1 Corinthians 13:9-10 (KJV) For as far back as I can remember the popular interpretation of this verse was that the perfect was the completed New Testament. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. And there we shall perfectly love one another. [⇑ See verse text ⇑] Paul is showing that for believers to treat each other with self-sacrificing, Christ-like love is far superior than the exercise of spiritual gifts. xi. There is no room to believe and hope, when we see and enjoy. Edit. Alan Redpath said one could get a spiritual suntan from the warmth of this chapter. Salem Media Group. F irst Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul about 56 A.D. while he was in Ephesus (Acts 19:1-10, 20:31; 1 Corinthians 1:1, 16:21; 2 Corinthians 1:1, 10:1). This view takes teleios as "a state of maturity" (as it is sometimes used in the New Testament) rather than its core meaning of "perfection, completeness." 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 EXEGESIS: THE CONTEXT: Corinth was an important and wealthy city on the isthmus (narrow strip of land) separating Northern and Southern Greece. 8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. The church at Corinth had been established on one of Paul's missionary journeys. Maj. vol. and we prophesy in part; the word of prophecy, as it sure, it is also perfect, to which we do well to take heed; and though all do not prophesy, yet all that do, and that prophesy aright, that is, explain the word of God aright, these preach the Gospel fully, declare the whole counsel of God, and keep back nothing profit able to the saints; yet still their prophesying or explaining the prophecies of the Old Testament, or the mysteries of the Gospel, is but imperfect at best in the present state of things. Paul suggests that now we do not see God nearly as clearly as we would like, but the time is coming when we will see Him in startling and bold clarity. There are those who are prophets, and there are those who speak in tongues. The sense here is, that "in heaven" - a state of absolute perfection - that which is "in part," or which is imperfect, shall be lost in superior brightness. 1 Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. 8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. The purpose of First Corinthians, which contains 16 chapters, is to. Grammatically, 1 Corinthians 13:9 is ambiguous enough that Paul could be referring to the parts of the body of Christ ("individually"). In 1 Corinthians 13:12, the Greek verb that can be rendered “fully known” is epiginósko and basically denotes knowledge that is obtained by fixing attention upon someone or something. Copyright Statement. address the problems in the church (1 Corinthians 1-6); answer questions (1 Corinthians 7:1-16:4); and Book of 1 Corinthians Explained We are beginning one of the most important letters that Paul wrote to the churches he had begun. Clarke's 1-corinthians 13:9 Bible Commentary For we know in part - We have here but little knowledge even of earthly, and much less of heavenly, things. This site is a proud member of the Salem Web Network, a subsidiary of Salem Media Group. The supremacy of love. Both now and then, love will remain the greatest of all the virtues (1 Corinthians 13:9–13). Every preacher should take care to inculcate this on the hearts of his hearers. The city of Corinth was believed to be a city of about 600,000 people when this was written to them. At GodTube, you’ll find daily inspirational videos to lift your spirits and encourage you in your walk with God. It is only in part; it is imperfect; it is indistinct, compared with the full view of truth in heaven; it is obscure, and all that is imparted by that gift will soon become dim and lost in the superior brightness and glory of the heavenly world. Vid. Until then, spiritual gifts provide a partial knowledge of what is to come. 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. But the apostle is showing the imperfection of the prophetic gift; and he observes, that there is the same imperfection which attends knowledge. He that knows most knows little in comparison of what is known by angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect. The "argument" is, that we ought not to seek so anxiously that which is so imperfect and obscure, and which must soon vanish away; but we should rather seek that love which is permanent, expanding, and eternal. 1 Corinthians 13:9. American King James Version × the apostle Paul wrote: "Love never fails. In this beautiful description of the nature and effects of love, it is meant to show the Corinthians that their conduct had, in many respects, been a contrast to it. Angels may wonder at the imperfection of our knowledge; and separate spirits may wonder at the perfection of their own, having obtained so much more in consequence of being separated from the body, than they could conceive to be possible while in that body. Hope fastens on future happiness, and waits for that; but in heaven, faith will be swallowed up in actual sight, and hope in enjoyment. The words are these: ανθρωπον ὁ σοφωτατος προς θεον πιθηκος φανειται· "The wisest of mortals will appear but an ape in the estimation of God." The completion of the Bible did not put an end to the gift of prophecy (“forth-telling” or preaching) or knowledge (understanding of Scripture). But to what purpose serve they then, when we have obtained and gotten the full knowledge of God, which serve now but for those who are imperfect and go by degrees to perfection? What exactly does 1 Corinthians 13: 11 mean, and why does it relate to love? 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. For we know in part - Compare the note on 1 Corinthians 12:27. 1 I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; For our knowledge is only in part, and the prophet's word gives only a part of what is true: For we know in part, and we prophesy in part: For we know in part - We have here but little knowledge even of earthly, and much less of heavenly, things. One translator describes what "we see in a mirror, dimly," as "a riddle and an enigma." Charity is an utter enemy to selfishness; it does not desire or seek its own praise, or honour, or profit, or pleasure. When Sir Isaac Newton had made such astonishing discoveries in the laws of nature, far surpassing any thing that had been done by all his predecessors in science from the days of Solomon; one of our poets, considering the scantiness of human knowledge when compared with that which is possessed by the inhabitants of heaven, reduced his meditations on the subject to the following nervous and expressive epigram: - Superior beings, when of late they sawA mortal man explain all nature's law,Admired such wisdom in an earthly shape,And show'd our Newton as we show an ape.These fine lines are a paraphrase from a saying of Plato, from whom our poet borrows without acknowledging the debt. Us considerable detail about Paul ’ s future fellowship with God but revelation! Shall have appeared, Ellicott 's Commentary:... our partial and knowledge. 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