As
Paul the apostle continued to share with the church members in
Corinth about “love” he declared, “When
I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought
as a child”.
He added, “but when I became a man, I
put away childish things”,
and in chapter thirteen and verse twelve
of First Corinthians, Paul shared with the Corinthian church how
love, “we see
through a glass darkly”,
where we read:
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.
The
verse begins, “For
now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:”.
Paul began
with the word, “for”
which means “even as, indeed, no doubt, seeing then, verily and
therefore” “now”
or “at this very moment and time” “we
see” which
refers to “Paul and the church members discern, perceive, feel,
discover and know by experience” “through”
or “by reason and account of” “a
glass”
which refers to “a mirror which was not of glass but of steel”
“darkly”
or “in obscurity, as an enigma or riddle”; “but”
which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be
written takes precedence over what was just stated “then”
or “at that time” “face to face”
which means “from the front of the face or countenance to the front
of the face or countenance”. Paul shared how he and the church
members at the current time “perceived and knew things by
experience” in an obscure way, but they were promised there would
be a day where they would be “face to
face” with
that which is “perfect”.
The
verse goes on to say, “now
I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
Paul
continued with the words, “now”
which means
“at this very moment and time” “I
know” or
“Paul learned, came to perceive, feel and have knowledge of” “in
part” which
means “to some degree, severally and individually”; “but”
which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be
written takes precedence over what was just stated
“then”
or “at that time” “shall I know”
which means “will Paul learn, perceive, feel and have knowledge”
“even as”
or “according to, in proportion and in the degree that” “also”
which means “even and indeed” “I
am known” or
“as Paul was learned, perceived, felt and had knowledge”. For the
time being, Paul did not know everything as he could, but there would
be a time in the future when he would be “perceived and felt” in
a manner in which he was already “known”.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we recognize for the current time,
we do not see everything as clearly as we might. In fact, many things
are “obscure” to us. However, this shall not be forever. Jesus
Christ came to save people from their sins and to allow them to be
part of His church. Although they do not see everything as He does at
the present time, when Jesus returns, all believers in Jesus shall
“know even as they are known”, and they shall see Him
“face to face”.
Next
time Paul tells the church members, “when
I was a child, I spoke as a child”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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