Kretzmann's Popular Commentary
1 Corinthians 13:12
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known.
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known.
Verse 1 Corinthians 13:12. _NOW WE SEE THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY_] δι εσοπτρου εν αινιγματι. Of these words some _literal_ explanation is necessary. The word εσοπτρον which we translate a _glass_, lite...
FOR NOW WE SEE THROUGH A GLASS - Paul here makes use of another illustration to show the imperfection of our knowledge here. Compared with what it will be in the future world, it is like the imperfect...
3. THE NEED AND SUPERIORITY OF LOVE. CHAPTER 13 __ 1. The Preeminence of Love. (1 Corinthians 13:1 .) 2. Love described in its characteristics. (1 Corinthians 13:4 .) 3. Love never faileth; its Pe...
1 CORINTHIANS 13. ALL GIFTS AND SACRIFICES ARE WORTHLESS WITHOUT LOVE, WHICH IS SUPREME AND INCOMPARABLE. The chapter falls into three divisions: (_a)_ superlative gifts and costliest surrenders are v...
THE HYMN OF LOVE (1 Corinthians 13:1-13) 13 I may speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but if I have not love, I am become no better than echoing brass or a clanging cymbal. I may have the gi...
SEE. App-133. THROUGH. App-104. 1 Corinthians 13:1. GLASS. mirror. Greek. _esoptron._ Only here and James 1:23. DARKLY. Literally in (Greek. _en)_. riddle. Greek. _ainigma._ Only here in N.T. In the...
_For now we see through a glass_ Literally, BY MEANS OF A MIRROR. _Per speculum_, Vulgate. _Bi a mirour_, Wiclif. Meyer reminds us that we are to think rather of the mirrors of polished metal used in...
1 Corinthians 12:31 Ch. 1 Corinthians 13:13. The Excellencies of Love _and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way_ Literally, AND FURTHERMORE I SHEW YOU AN EMINENTLY EXCELLENT WAY, i.e. the way of l...
1 Corinthians 12:31 to 1 Corinthians 13:13. THE EXCELLENCIES OF LOVE ΚΑῚ ἜΤΙ ΚΑΘ' ὙΠΕΡΒΟΛῊΝ ὉΔῸΝ ὙΜΙ͂Ν ΔΕΊΚΝΥΜΙ. AND MOREOVER I SHEW YOU A WAY OF SUPERLATIVE EXCELLENCE. This, St Paul would have us un...
_THE PERMANENCE OF LOVE 1 CORINTHIANS 13:11-13:_ The miraculous spiritual gifts were not signs of maturity in Christ. Those gifts were only a means by which that maturity was pursued. The miraculous s...
ΆΡΤΙ (G737) теперь. Контраст между этим состоянием и будущим (Grosheide). ΈΣΟΠΤΡΟΝ (G2072) зеркало. В греческой литературе зеркало символизировало ясность и самопознание (Conzelmann). Древние зеркала...
DISCOURSE: 1987 THE SAINTS’ VIEWS IN HEAVEN 1 Corinthians 13:9. We know in part, and we prophecy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I...
FOR NOW WE SEE THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY— _For now we see in an ambiguous manner, by means of a mirror;_ δι εσοπτρου. The LXX. use this word for the women's looking-glasses, or mirrors of metal, out of w...
APPLEBURY'S COMMENTS _Text_ 1 Corinthians 13:8-12. Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge...
BUTLER'S COMMENTS SECTION 3 Giftedness is Temporary, Love is Eternal (1 Corinthians 13:8-13) 8 Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowle...
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. NOW, [ arti (G737)] - in our present state. SEE - appropriate in...
11 The time came when the apostle admonished and taught in order that he should present every man _ mature _ in Christ (Col_1:28). Epaphras struggled in prayers that they should stand mature and compl...
13:12 window (g-8) That is, through some medium which, in degree, hinders vision. The word means also 'a mirror,' but it is used for window, made, not of clear transparent glass, as now, but of semi-...
THROUGH A GLASS] RV 'in a mirror,' seeing only a reflection, not the actual reality. Ancient mirrors were of metal (cp. Exodus 38:8), often reflecting imperfectly. DARKLY] lit. 'in a riddle,' taught b...
_(e) Spiritual Gifts (ii) The most excellent Gift of Charity_ In this chapter we enter into the purest atmosphere and breathe the most fragrant odours. Passing from the previous Chapter s with their t...
LOVE IS ETERNAL. Other gifts, knowledge, prophecy, tongues serve but a temporary purpose. 'They are only means towards an end. Love remains the completion and perfection of our human being' (F. W. Rob...
SERVANTS OF CHRIST 1 CORINTHIANS _HILDA BRIGHT_ CHAPTER 13 LOVE 13:1-13 1. THE ABSENCE OF LOVE 13:1-3 V1 Suppose that I speak in the languages of people and *angels. If I have no love, I am onl...
FOR NOW — _i.e.,_ in this earthly life, the “for” connecting the previous statement with that which it illustrates. THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY. — Better, _through a mirror in a dark saying._ The illustra...
CHAPTER 19 NO GIFT LIKE LOVE THIS is one of the passages of Scripture which an expositor scruples to touch. Some of the bloom and delicacy of surface passes from the flower in the very handling whic...
§ 43. THE QUALITIES OF CHRISTIAN LOVE. The previous vv. have justified the καθʼ ὑπερβολὴν of 1 Corinthians 12:31. The loftiest human faculties of man are seen to be frustrate without love; by its aid...
figures in another way the contrast between the present partial and the coming perfect Christian state, in respect particularly of _knowledge_ : it is the diff [2000] between discernment by broken ref...
THE ONE ESSENTIAL FOR ALL 1 Corinthians 13:1 With what wonder his amanuensis must have looked up, as the Apostle broke into this exquisite sonnet on love! His radiant spirit had caught a glimpse of t...
The apostle dealt with love, its values (verses 1Co 13:1-3), its virtues (verses 1Co 13:4-7), and its victory (verses 1Co 13:8-13). The values of love are discovered in the fact that, apart from it, a...
The Permanence of Love There is a strong parallel between 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 and Ephesians 4:7-15. Thus, it seems the "perfect" is the "unity of the faith." The parts of verse 9 were used to confir...
(6) For (i) now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. (6) The applying of the similitude of our childhood to this pr...
1 Corinthians 13:8-13 . The absolute duration of charity is developed in these last verses: first, in opposition to gifts, then even in contrast to the other two fundamental virtues, faith and hope....
“For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I have been known.” The ordinary application of the two parts of this verse to the...
II. THE WAY PAR EXCELLENCE. CHAP. 13. This chapter has been called a hymn. In tone indeed it is truly lyrical, especially in the first verses. Charity is poetically personified. In this respect the pa...
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. For we know in part, and we proph...
As usual, the introductory words (1 Corinthians 1:1-3) of the epistle give us no little intimation of that which is to follow. The apostle speaks of himself as such "called [to be] an apostle of Jesus...
_PRESENT AND FUTURE VISION_ ‘For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.’ 1 Corinthians 13:12 This fragment of...
12._We now see through a glass _Here we have the application of the similitude. “The measure of knowledge, that we now have, is suitable to imperfection and childhood, as it were; for we do not as yet...
Nevertheless there was something more excellent than all gifts. They were the manifestations of the power of God and of the mysteries of His wisdom; love, that of His nature itself. They might speak w...
FOR NOW WE SEE THROUGH A GLASS,.... In this present life, they that are enlightened by the Spirit of God, see God, the perfections and glory of his nature, the riches of his grace and goodness, as dis...
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. Ver. 12. _In a glass, &c._] SeeNumbers 12:8 . _ But then face to fac...
1 Cor. 13:8-12. "Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; - For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in...
_When I was a child_, &c. The difference between our present and future conceptions of spiritual things may be illustrated by the knowledge of a child compared to that of a man. For in our present sta...
NOW; in our present earthly state. WE SEE THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY; our knowledge of God and divine truth is indirect and obscure, like that of a man who looks not directly on the object itself, but o...
Verses 1 Timothy 3 of this chapter show the necessity of love; verses 4 to 7 the characteristics of love; and verses 8 to 13 its permanence. And in the first section, verse I deals with what I speak;...
DARKLY: _ Gr._ in a riddle...
FOR NOW WE SEE IN. MIRROR, DARKLY; BUT THEN FACE TO FACE: NOW. KNOW IN PART; BUT THEN SHALL. KNOW FULLY EVEN AS ALSO. WAS FULLY KNOWN. 'For now' -during the time when the gifts are operational. When...
8-13 Charity is much to be preferred to the gifts on which the Corinthians prided themselves. From its longer continuance. It is a grace, lasting as eternity. The present state is a state of childhoo...
The apostle pursues his former theme, comparing the imperfect state of believers, as to knowledge in this life, with what shall be in the life that is to come. In this life it is as in a looking glass...
For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known. [The superlative excellence of love is here shown in that it...
Clement of Alexandria The Instructor Book I In saying, therefore, "I have given you milk to drink," has he not indicated the knowledge of the truth, the perfect gladness in the Word, who is the milk?...
1 Corinthians 13:12 For G1063 now G737 see G991 (G5719) in G1223 mirror G2072 dimly G1722 G135 but...
LOVE MUST LIE AT THE ROOT OF ALL WE DO ESPECIALLY OUR MINISTRY TO THE CHURCH (13:1-13). Paul now deals with what must lie behind the use of spiritual gifts, if they are to be truly spiritual. And in s...
'For now we see in (literally 'through') a mirror, obscurely; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known.' For now we see things obscurely as...
LOVE WILL INDEED OUTLIVE ALL SPIRITUAL GIFTS, AND IS EVEN GREATER THAN FAITH AND HOPE (13:8B-13). For then we are brought back to how such love compares with the subject in hand. Prophecies, tongues...
1 Corinthians 13:12. FOR NEW WE SEE IN A MIRROR [1] DARKLY or ‘dimly:' _Gr._ ‘in a riddle.' The mirrors of those days were not like ours, but polished metallic surfaces, reflecting objects but imperfe...
IN A MIRROR (δι' εσοπτρου). By means of a mirror (εσοπτρον, from οπτω, old word, in papyri). Ancient mirrors were of polished metal, not glass, those in Corinth being famous.DARKLY (εν αινιγματ)....
1 Corinthians 13:12 The First Five Minutes after Death. I. At our entrance on another state of existence we shall know what it is to exist under entirely new conditions. What will it be to find ourse...
1 Corinthians 13:1. _Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal._ If there be no love to God, and no love to man,...
CONTENTS: Love, the supreme gift of the Spirit, and its governing power over other gifts. CHARACTERS: Paul. CONCLUSION: Love alone can give value to any service rendered in Christ's name, and it is...
The apostle having spoken of the adornings of the church, which is the body of Christ, proceeds now to treat of her internal glory; and that glory is charity, for without this, all other endowments ar...
LIKE THE DIM IMAGE IN A MIRROR. This is another example. Mirrors then were polished metal, and gave only a dim reflection. The _Expositor's Greek Testament_ says: "Divine revelation opens up fresh mys...
_Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal._ CHARITY Each of the apostles had a predominant feature of character....
_For now we see through a glass darkly._ SEEING DARKLY I. We see through a glass darkly. 1. There is a literal significance in these words. With our physical organs of vision we do not see essentia...
1 CORINTHIANS—NOTE ON 1 CORINTHIANS 13:12 MIRROR DIMLY. Ancient mirrors were made from polished metal. Thus one’s reflection was more “dim” than in modern mirrors. FACE TO FACE seems to refer to Chris...
CHAPTER 13 SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTER i. He points out that of all gifts and graces, charity is the first, and that without charity no gift or virtue is of any use. II. He enumerates (ver. 4) the sixt...
_For now we see through a glass in an enigma: but then face to face._ We see, _i.e._, God and heavenly things, by which we may be saved and be happy, as appears from what follows. You will say: If we...
_CRITICAL NOTES_ 1. THESE NEED BE VERY FEW; the language of the chapter is of the simplest, the thought inexhaustibly full. 2. Note, Paul, not John, writes this chapter on LOVE. 3. The “I” is not s...
EXPOSITION 1 CORINTHIANS 13:1 _The supremely excellent way of Christian love. _This chapter has been in all ages the object of the special admiration of the Church. Would that it had received in all...
Let's turn to the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians. The thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians actually begins with chapter 12. Paul was talking in chapter 12 about the various gifts of the Holy Spiri...
1 Corinthians 13:10; 1 Corinthians 13:9; 1 John 3:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18;...
Through a glass [δ ι ε σ ο π τ ρ ο υ]. Rev., in a mirror. Through [δ ι α] is by means of. Others, however, explain it as referring to the illusion by which the mirrored image appears to be on the othe...
THE MORE EXCELLENT WAY 1 Corinthians 13:1 INTRODUCTORY WORDS 1. The love of God. The great love of God verse is John 3:16. Another great love verse is Romans 5:8. The whole Bible is, however, one st...
Now we see — Even the things that surround us. But by means of a glass — Or mirror, which reflects only their imperfect forms, in a dim, faint, obscure manner; so that our thoughts about them are puzz...
As if the apostle had said, Now in our minority we see divine revelations, as the prophets did of old, in. dark enigmatical manner, and by symbolical representations of things upon the fancy, as in. g...