We Know in Part

Some passages of Scripture contain ideas that are so great they blow me away. Consider the text below:

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:8-13 NIV)

Knowledge

Paul makes three key points about knowledge in this fascinating section:

1. “We know”—we don’t have to be agnostic or clueless about everything. We do have accurate knowledge about certain things and for that we should be grateful.
2. “We know in part.” We don’t know everything and we don’t know fully. Paul makes this idea personal when he says, “Now I know in part” (v. 12). Remember who is writing. This is the same guy who enjoyed “visions and revelations of the Lord” (2 Cor. 12:1). He was even “caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell” (v. 4). If Paul only knows in part, how much do the rest of us know? The history of human knowledge demonstrates its incompleteness. Scientists used to think the atom was the smallest and most fundamental element in the universe. Then they discovered the electron. Then they discovered the quark. Then they said all particles come from fields, which are fluid-like substances spread out throughout the universe. And today the exploration continues. We still don’t have the full picture of the physical world. This same process applies to every area of human knowledge. Our current knowledge is like an incomplete puzzle. We are missing pieces, big pieces.
3. At some point in the future, partial knowledge will pass away. Paul says, “where there is knowledge, it will pass away” (v. 8). And “we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears” (v. 10). Why will partial knowledge pass away or disappear? Because completeness or “the perfect” (ESV) is coming. When we have the complete puzzle directly in front of us, we will no longer need the partial puzzle we have been working on for millennia. The incomplete puzzle will be swept off the table with the pieces falling to the ground. Partial knowledge is good, but it’s destined to be swallowed up by full knowledge. Here’s another analogy: We now hold the key of knowledge which we should cherish. But after settling in to the house of knowledge, we will throw away the key.

The Future

What did Paul mean when he said, “when completeness comes”? The future state of perfection that Paul was anticipating is not a point in time as we know it. The Bible promises that when Jesus returns, his followers will receive new, imperishable bodies (Phil. 3:20–21; 1 Cor. 15:53) making their home with God in his new creation without tears, pain, or death (Rev. 21:1–4). Human history doesn’t end with this world as we know it. God is taking his people to an eternal destination of rest and enjoyment.

Two Illustrations

In verse 11 Paul uses an illustration: our journey from partial to perfect knowledge is like a child maturing into adulthood. The speaking, thinking, and reasoning abilities of the child are left in childhood. Think of yourself as a five-year-old child: how you talked, played, laughed and cried. Does that person seem anything like the person you are today?

I remember staring at the fish in an aquarium and wanting to be one because they didn’t have homework. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t a fish. I also failed to understand how to pay someone a compliment. After carefully preparing a compliment for my Aunt, I told her, “You looked better in the picture than you do now.” She left the room in tears.

Paul is saying that when we mature into adulthood our childish way of being is left behind; it passes away. We are not that little kid any longer. And here’s the crazy part. Compared to what we will be and what we will know, we’re only little children now.

In verse 12 Paul uses a second illustration: looking at a blurry reflection verses seeing face to face. “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.” Ancient mirrors were not nearly as clear as modern mirrors. Paul’s illustrations highlight the point that partial and blurry knowledge will be superseded by full, clear, and direct knowledge.

Love

While Paul has said a lot about knowledge, his main point is actually about something else—love. He starts with “Love never fails” (v. 8) and ends with “the greatest of these is love” (v. 13). Prophecies, tongues, and knowledge will pass away, but love will remain. When we move from this world into the next world, knowledge will be drastically different. In fact, the difference will be so great that our current knowledge will “pass away” or “disappear.” We will look back on ourselves and be amazed at how little we knew.

But love is not like knowledge. Love is not partial. We know in part, but we don’t love in part. When we love, truly love, we love in full. Love, true love, is already complete. Thus there is no need for it to be replaced by something superior. Love is consistent between this world and the world to come, and, therefore, “love never fails.”

Les Bridgeman

After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. My latest book focuses on Paul’s work as a tentmaker and what it means for today.