"The Perfect" - I Corinthians 13:8-13

In I Corinthians 13:8 Paul predicts that there is coming a time when the gift of prophecy will "be done away", the gift of tongues will "cease" and the gift of knowledge will also "be done away". All of these spiritual gifts have to do with the imparting of revelation from God. When will these revelatory gifts be finished and no longer necessary? Verse ten makes it clear that "..when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away". So the question is, what is "the perfect"?

There are at least seven distinct interpretations of "the perfect" that I am aware of. Myron Houghton in his BibSac article (July-Sept. '96) lists all seven of them. But basically they all boil down to two views. Either "the perfect" is something that has already come and the revelatory gifts are already done, or "the perfect" is still yet to come and it will come sometime in the future. Obviously, one's interpretation of this phrase has a lot to do with whether we believe these revelatory gifts are around today or not. Verse twelve is the key to understanding the timing of "the perfect". In this verse Paul says,

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known."

The word "mirror" here is very important to a proper understanding of this verse. This particular word is only used one other time in the New Testament, and that is in James 1:23, where it refers to the Word of God being like a "mirror". This leads very naturally to some important conclusions. First of all, since the only other use of this term is in reference to God's Word, there is a very strong probability that it refers to the Word of God here as well. Second, the idea of looking in the mirror is that it allows us to see ourselves, not look at someone else. All of this goes along with the concept that the Word of God is a mirror that allows us to see clearly what "kind of person" we are (see James 1:24).

The other important phrase is "face to face". A lot of people interpret this to be a reference to the second coming of Christ or to death when we see Him "face to face", and this makes a lot of sense until we look again at the immediate context and recognize that the verse is talking about us seeing ourselves "face to face" in a mirror, not seeing someone else. When "the perfect comes" we will no longer see ourselves "in a mirror dimly", but "face to face". In other words, we will see ourselves much more clearly, like we are looking at ourselves "face to face".

This fits perfectly, no pun intended, with the rest of this verse, "...then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known". When the completed canon of Scripture comes, and we have all the special revelation that God intends for us to have, then we can look in the "mirror" of God's Word and understand fully who we are. We can see ourselves as God sees us.

I believe that this interpretation of "the perfect" fits the words and context of I Corinthians 13:8-13 much better than any of the other interpretations, especially those saying that this refers to seeing Christ at some point in the future.

"The perfect" literally refers to that which is complete or final. Assuming that the canon of Scripture has been completed (and I for one believe it has), then we have all the revelation we need to see ourselves as God sees us, and we also have everything we need to live holy and fruitful lives for Jesus Christ! Therefore, the revelatory gifts are no longer needed and have ceased. I realize that this interpretation is not going to satisfy everyone, but no one can say that "the perfect" is still future without seriously interacting with this passage again.