“For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:9-13
Many claim that the "perfect" in this passage is Christ Himself because this understanding supports their belief that the gifts of the Spirit have not ceased; that they are still here today until He comes. But there are four reasons why the "perfect" cannot be Jesus Christ Himself:
1. The Greek noun “teleion” is in the neuter gender. Therefore Paul could not be speaking about any person.
2. “Teleion” can be translated as either “perfect,” “complete,” or “mature” depending on its usage. Here it should be translated “mature” because the context of Paul speaking about a child maturing into an adult clearly favors this.
3.The analogy of a child growing into adulthood is a gradual process that takes time while on the other hand Christ's coming will be a sudden event.
4. After the gifts would eventually cease, Paul expected Christians to continue walking in faith, hope, and love. Now if the gifts would not cease until Christ returns then why would we still need to exercise these traits after we are glorified in Him? “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). We walk by faith because we can’t see Him. Once we see Him we will no longer need to believe. “But hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?” (Rom. 8:24). We only hope now because we don't see Him now. Also we are commanded to love because our sinful natures are inclined toward selfishness. Once we are resurrected at Christ's coming our very natures will be to love.
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.” Ephesians 4:11-14.
In this passage, Paul actually tells us what the “maturity” is that will come. It is the faith. Did the apostles instantly assimilate all the details of the Christian faith on the day of Pentecost or did it come to them gradually over time? It is obvious from reading the book of Acts that it took time. One example is that for the first few years they did not evangelize Gentiles because they had not yet learned God’s will in this matter. Another is the Jerusalem council recorded in Acts chapter 15 where they had to decide necessary practices for the newly converted Gentiles. If they had all knowledge of the faith already then they would not have needed to meet.
Paul used the analogy of a child maturing into an adult in both the Corinthian and Ephesian passages. His point is that similarly in which a child grows into an adult, the full understanding of the Christian faith developed gradually as the apostles and prophets of the early church taught and gave new revelation. “For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.” The full knowledge of the Christian faith did not come immediately but in parts. Every prophecy and every gift added to it. In fact, the New Testament itself was written in 27 parts. The completed canon of Scripture coincided with “the faith” finally reaching its maturity. Jude speaks of “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” And since the gifts of the Spirit were needed to deliver the faith, and the faith was delivered once and for all, then why would the gifts need to continue after this?
Now when Paul spoke of seeing “face to face” he was not referring to us beholding Christ at His return. This phrase was part of another analogy he used of looking into a mirror. We tend to miss his point because mirrors today give a very clear reflection but back then rather dimly since they were made of polished metal. He means that we see our own faces in a mirror distortedly but others see us clearly—looking at us face to face. So when the maturity has come then “I shall know just as I also am known.” I will see just as clearly as others see me. In other words, I have an immature understanding of the faith now which is like seeing my face in a mirror dimly but eventually I will have a mature knowledge which is like seeing face to face.
We might paraphrase what he was saying in the Corinthian passage like this: “The gifts of the Spirit are the means by which God is gradually revealing the Christian faith to our understanding. It is a process similarly to that of a child growing into adulthood. But mature adults do not continue to speak, think and act the way they did as children. Likewise the gifts will cease once our knowledge of the faith reaches the mature level God intends. Right now our limited understanding is like seeing our own faces dimly in a mirror but once we reach full knowledge then it will be as clear as when we see each other face to face. Though the gifts will cease at that point, faith, hope and love will continue. And the greatest of these is love.”
Now the argument will be made that because of the thousands of Protestant denominations, Christians today are not in unity as Paul said must happen; “till we all come to the unity of the faith.” But “the faith” is simply the foundational and fundamental doctrines of the faith that we all agree on, not our secondary beliefs that divide us. The fact is, if we take an average true believer out of every major denomination: one from the Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Church of Christ, etc. and join them into one group, there would be unity on the essentials. Just ask this eclectic group if Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are saved and we will get a unanimous answer of “No.” All true believers have an accurate “knowledge of the Son of God.” We agree on exactly who Jesus Christ is—this is the essence of true saving faith.
Some also may argue that reaching “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” is unattainable in our present state; it can only be reached after He returns and glorifies us. But Paul was not talking about us reaching the same sinless perfection as the Person of Jesus Christ Himself. He simply meant that our understanding of the faith was to reach the standard He set for us. And besides, will there be any “trickery of men,” “cunning craftiness,” and “deceitful plotting” in Christ’s Kingdom after He comes? No. A mature knowledge of the faith is what we need right now to stand against these things until He returns.
The faith was “once for all delivered to the saints.” The apostles laid the foundation (Matt. 16:18; 1 Cor. 3:10; Eph. 2:20; Rev. 21:14) which never needs to be repeated. Therefore the gifts served their intended purpose and then ceased.
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