1 Corinthians 13:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For we know in part and we prophesy in part,

NIV: For we know in part and we prophesy in part,

NASB: For we know in part and prophesy in part;

CSB: For we know in part, and we prophesy in part,

NLT: Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!

KJV: For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

NKJV: For we know in part and we prophesy in part.

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. He has just written that another way it is superior is that love is an eternal act. Spiritual gifts will eventually cease to be necessary and "pass away."

Now Paul begins a thought that he will conclude in the following verse. For now, "we know in part and we prophesy in part." He is referring to the spiritual gifts of knowledge and prophecy and showing that they are only partially effective.

Any knowledge given to the church by God through someone with the gift of knowledge is just a tiny slice of all there is to know of God. In a similar way, any revelation from God to the church through someone with the gift of prophecy only reveals a small window on the enormous picture of all there is to be told about who God is and what He will accomplish.

Our understanding of what is knowable, even as Christians in churches with gifted prophets during Paul's day, is incredibly small. We know only "in part."

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 5/6/2024 12:56:57 AM