In this present mortal life all knowing and foretelling of God's truth is only fragmentary and immature, like childhood sight through a dim glass while walking by faith. That which is perfect is still to come at Christ's glorious appearing, when believers are made mature and immortal, see face to face and know even as they are known, and faith and hope reach their consummation while love endures forever. Prophecies, tongues, gifted knowledge, and even faith and hope, are done away only then because they are no longer needed, so God has not removed the gifts He set in the church and they continue to serve it, with their end placed at the coming of perfection and not at the death of the first apostles. Even after a lifetime of study many portions of Scripture and the knowledge of God remain mysterious and unharmonized, to be made plain only when Christ explains them in the life to come. This calls for the teaching to be believed, digested and lived daily in humbled self surrender, with divisions and criticism put away in united Christlike love that blesses and strengthens others.
Partial Knowledge Until Perfection
In the present mortal state knowing and prophesying are only in part, partial and imperfect and immature, like childhood seeing through a glass darkly. They come as light from heaven through a dim medium while walking by faith. That which is perfect is still future, the perfect day of glory at Christ's glorious appearing and second coming. It is the glorious immortal condition of manhood, with maturity and strength and clearer vision and perfect knowledge, when the just are made perfect. Then believers no longer see through a glass darkly but face to face and know even as they are known. Then they talk with God and Christ and angels as Adam and Eve talked with God in Eden before sin entered. Then faith and hope reach consummation, and the surpassing glory of the immortal state eclipses the most brilliant displays of spiritual power and knowledge ever manifested in this mortal state, while love never fails but endures forever as the crowning glory of the eternal world.
Prophecies and tongues and gifted knowledge, and also faith and hope, fail and cease and vanish away and are done away only then, because no longer needed or exercised, superseded by face-to-face knowledge. Until then God has not removed or abolished the spiritual gifts He set and placed and fixed in the church, and they serve and help the church. The verse therefore places the end of prophecy and the other gifts at the coming of perfection, not at the death of the first apostles or in the apostolic age. The gifts were not given only for planting the gospel and did not disappear then, but are needed even more afterward against grievous wolves and perverse teachers drawing away disciples and amid the perils of the last days.
To say they ceased would make the apostolic age the inferior dark childish age and the following age the age of perfect light and knowledge, which is false, since the apostolic age was not inferior in spiritual elevation to any age that followed it, so if prophecy and the other gifts were needed then they are certainly needed now.
Limits of Present Understanding
Knowledge of Scripture in this life remains only in part, so that even when men of ability devote a lifetime of study and prayer to searching it, many portions are still not fully explored. There are mysteries yet to be unraveled and statements that human minds cannot harmonize. Such passages will never be perfectly comprehended until Christ Himself explains them in the future life. Unclear points of this kind should remain undiscussed and not be made the ground of argument, for the enemy seeks to stir strife over them, while a devoted worker avoids bringing up minor theoretical differences and gives energies to proclaiming the great testing truths to be given to the world, pointing people to the work of redemption, the commandments of God, and the near coming of Christ, in which there is food enough for thought.
Knowledge of God also is now partial and imperfect. Even at Pentecost the disciples received only all they could bear, not the complete fulfillment of Christ's promise to show them plainly of the Father. That complete fulfillment comes when the conflict is ended and the Man Christ Jesus acknowledges before the Father His faithful workers who bore true witness for Him in a world of sin, and then what are now mysteries will be understood clearly.
Present knowledge is partial yet increasing like the rising sun. The seal truth began with only a little light in the east, at first cold, then warmer and stronger, sending forth its rays that bring healing. It carries the greatest weight and light because it lasts forever when the Bible is no longer needed, and it stands highest after entrance into the goodly land. It keeps on its course like the sun but never sets, continuing to increase until the saints are made immortal.
Love, Humility, and Unity
The instruction of 1 Corinthians 12 and especially 13 is to be believed and obeyed, not ignored, but studied and digested, committed to memory and written in mind and heart. It was placed before the church through Paul for consideration so that those brought together in church capacity will be united, understandingly and intelligently. Its figure of the members which compose the body represents the church of God and the relation its members should sustain to one another. Those who believe the truth must not separate into factions, because such division bears a false witness and does not testify to the power of the truth.
It is a message from God to those who claim to be servants of God, especially responsible men in publishing institutions. It calls them to humility and to become learners in the school of Christ, so the softening, subduing power of God can come into their lives and the Spirit can work with them. Church members need to study and apply chapters 12 and 13 for the continuous humbling of individual self and taking self critically in hand, beginning with self-examination.
It must be brought into daily experience through surrender of self to God, with self crucified. Then strong, steady belief in broad and comprehensive truth takes possession of the life, casting out all enmity and petty differences from the heart and transforming coldness into Christlike affection. Believers are to have a stronger love for one another and a growing interest in one another, with strong love for Christ and for one another growing in the heart. Love for Christ and love for one another grow together, so it is impossible to love Christ while acting discourteously, drawing apart, and showing no love or sympathy, and the deeper the love for Christ the deeper the love for one another.
Living it as fervent charity among believers reveals God's unceasing tenderness toward them and His desire that they reveal the same tenderness in dealing with one another. When coming together for counsel believers are to use the talent of speech aright to speak only good words that bless and strengthen hearers and brethren, to help and strengthen them, instead of standing afar off watching to criticize and condemn. Living it means encouraging peace, thinking healthful thoughts, fighting the good fight of faith with steady purpose while keeping periods of rest and quietness of mind against failure and discouragement, and bringing sunlight into life to bless others as well as oneself. Genuine Christians who are true to faith and duty unite with one another in service and jealously guard one another's interests even though mistakes are made, for self-confidence that stands apart is wrong. This teaching of chapters 12 and 13 should have more weight with those who are being tried and tested, that they may be shut in with the Lord of heaven so the wicked one may have no power over them.
In this present mortal life all knowing and foretelling of God's truth is only fragmentary and immature, like childhood sight through a dim glass while walking by faith. That which is perfect is still to come at Christ's glorious appearing, when believers are made mature and immortal, see face to face and know even as they are known, and faith and hope reach their consummation while love endures forever. Prophecies, tongues, gifted knowledge, and even faith and hope, are done away only then because they are no longer needed, so God has not removed the gifts He set in the church and they continue to serve it, with their end placed at the coming of perfection and not at the death of the first apostles. Even after a lifetime of study many portions of Scripture and the knowledge of God remain mysterious and unharmonized, to be made plain only when Christ explains them in the life to come. This calls for the teaching to be believed, digested and lived daily in humbled self surrender, with divisions and criticism put away in united Christlike love that blesses and strengthens others.
Partial Knowledge Until Perfection
In the present mortal state knowing and prophesying are only in part, partial and imperfect and immature, like childhood seeing through a glass darkly. They come as light from heaven through a dim medium while walking by faith. That which is perfect is still future, the perfect day of glory at Christ's glorious appearing and second coming. It is the glorious immortal condition of manhood, with maturity and strength and clearer vision and perfect knowledge, when the just are made perfect. Then believers no longer see through a glass darkly but face to face and know even as they are known. Then they talk with God and Christ and angels as Adam and Eve talked with God in Eden before sin entered. Then faith and hope reach consummation, and the surpassing glory of the immortal state eclipses the most brilliant displays of spiritual power and knowledge ever manifested in this mortal state, while love never fails but endures forever as the crowning glory of the eternal world.
Prophecies and tongues and gifted knowledge, and also faith and hope, fail and cease and vanish away and are done away only then, because no longer needed or exercised, superseded by face-to-face knowledge. Until then God has not removed or abolished the spiritual gifts He set and placed and fixed in the church, and they serve and help the church. The verse therefore places the end of prophecy and the other gifts at the coming of perfection, not at the death of the first apostles or in the apostolic age. The gifts were not given only for planting the gospel and did not disappear then, but are needed even more afterward against grievous wolves and perverse teachers drawing away disciples and amid the perils of the last days.
To say they ceased would make the apostolic age the inferior dark childish age and the following age the age of perfect light and knowledge, which is false, since the apostolic age was not inferior in spiritual elevation to any age that followed it, so if prophecy and the other gifts were needed then they are certainly needed now.
Limits of Present Understanding
Knowledge of Scripture in this life remains only in part, so that even when men of ability devote a lifetime of study and prayer to searching it, many portions are still not fully explored. There are mysteries yet to be unraveled and statements that human minds cannot harmonize. Such passages will never be perfectly comprehended until Christ Himself explains them in the future life. Unclear points of this kind should remain undiscussed and not be made the ground of argument, for the enemy seeks to stir strife over them, while a devoted worker avoids bringing up minor theoretical differences and gives energies to proclaiming the great testing truths to be given to the world, pointing people to the work of redemption, the commandments of God, and the near coming of Christ, in which there is food enough for thought.
Knowledge of God also is now partial and imperfect. Even at Pentecost the disciples received only all they could bear, not the complete fulfillment of Christ's promise to show them plainly of the Father. That complete fulfillment comes when the conflict is ended and the Man Christ Jesus acknowledges before the Father His faithful workers who bore true witness for Him in a world of sin, and then what are now mysteries will be understood clearly.
Present knowledge is partial yet increasing like the rising sun. The seal truth began with only a little light in the east, at first cold, then warmer and stronger, sending forth its rays that bring healing. It carries the greatest weight and light because it lasts forever when the Bible is no longer needed, and it stands highest after entrance into the goodly land. It keeps on its course like the sun but never sets, continuing to increase until the saints are made immortal.
Love, Humility, and Unity
The instruction of 1 Corinthians 12 and especially 13 is to be believed and obeyed, not ignored, but studied and digested, committed to memory and written in mind and heart. It was placed before the church through Paul for consideration so that those brought together in church capacity will be united, understandingly and intelligently. Its figure of the members which compose the body represents the church of God and the relation its members should sustain to one another. Those who believe the truth must not separate into factions, because such division bears a false witness and does not testify to the power of the truth.
It is a message from God to those who claim to be servants of God, especially responsible men in publishing institutions. It calls them to humility and to become learners in the school of Christ, so the softening, subduing power of God can come into their lives and the Spirit can work with them. Church members need to study and apply chapters 12 and 13 for the continuous humbling of individual self and taking self critically in hand, beginning with self-examination.
It must be brought into daily experience through surrender of self to God, with self crucified. Then strong, steady belief in broad and comprehensive truth takes possession of the life, casting out all enmity and petty differences from the heart and transforming coldness into Christlike affection. Believers are to have a stronger love for one another and a growing interest in one another, with strong love for Christ and for one another growing in the heart. Love for Christ and love for one another grow together, so it is impossible to love Christ while acting discourteously, drawing apart, and showing no love or sympathy, and the deeper the love for Christ the deeper the love for one another.
Living it as fervent charity among believers reveals God's unceasing tenderness toward them and His desire that they reveal the same tenderness in dealing with one another. When coming together for counsel believers are to use the talent of speech aright to speak only good words that bless and strengthen hearers and brethren, to help and strengthen them, instead of standing afar off watching to criticize and condemn. Living it means encouraging peace, thinking healthful thoughts, fighting the good fight of faith with steady purpose while keeping periods of rest and quietness of mind against failure and discouragement, and bringing sunlight into life to bless others as well as oneself. Genuine Christians who are true to faith and duty unite with one another in service and jealously guard one another's interests even though mistakes are made, for self-confidence that stands apart is wrong. This teaching of chapters 12 and 13 should have more weight with those who are being tried and tested, that they may be shut in with the Lord of heaven so the wicked one may have no power over them.