1 Corinthians 13:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

NIV: but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.

NASB: but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with.

CSB: but when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end.

NLT: But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.

KJV: But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

NKJV: But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

Paul is showing that love is eternal, while spiritual gifts are temporary. This is a reference to godly love: from the Greek agape, meaning sacrificial and selfless active love. What we know about God and what He will do in the world is relatively limited. Even through the revelation given to prophets and those with the "gift of knowledge" in Paul's day, what is revealed to us even in Scripture is a tiny slice of what is knowable. For now, we know only "in part" (1 Corinthians 13:9).

That will change one day. When the perfect comes, Paul writes, the partial will pass away. We will no longer need to work to understand and wonder over the bit of knowledge we have about God and His ways. The perfect, which is Jesus Christ, will bring about the day when all is revealed to God's children. When Christ returns, we will "know fully" (1 Corinthians 13:12).

First Corinthians 13:1–13 is one of the most loved and well-known passages in the Bible, but Paul places it after his teaching on the spiritual gifts for a specific reason. Some of the gifts may seem impressive, but if attempted without self-sacrificing love for others, they become meaningless, even destructive. Paul uses 14 verbs to describe what love does and does not do. Love is the foundation for Paul's teaching in the following chapter on prophecy, tongues, and even orderly worship. While this section is often quoted in romantic settings, such as a wedding, the concept in mind is that of agape: a self-sacrificing, godly love.

Paul responds to the Corinthians' over-emphasis on certain spiritual gifts by showing them that all gifts are worthless if not practiced through godly love. Paul provides 14 descriptors of love, all action verbs, all choices made out of a commitment to set self aside and serve others. Choosing to love each other in this way would solve many of the problems Paul has confronted in this letter. The spiritual gifts provide a glimpse of what is knowable, but when the perfect comes, we will know all. Love is the greatest of all the virtues.

Paul's teaching on love fits firmly into the context of 1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 14. These sentences have a somewhat different style than the surrounding words, suggesting Paul might have inserted something he'd written previously into this section. These are not meant to be a diversion, however. Lack of love was at the heart of most of the Corinthians' problems and divisions. As Paul describes it, God's kind of love sets self aside, over and over, endlessly, for the good of others. Spiritual gifts exist for the building up of the church now, but believers will live in love for eternity. Christ-like love is the greatest of all the virtues, and it should be the priority of every Christian.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.

Accessed 5/3/2024 3:12:57 AM