1 Corinthians 13:10
ESV
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
NIV
but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.
NASB
but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with.
CSB
but when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end.
NLT
But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
KJV
But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
NKJV
But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
What does 1 Corinthians 13:10 mean?
Paul is showing that love is eternal, while spiritual gifts are temporary. This is a reference to godly love: from the Greek agape, meaning sacrificial and selfless active love. What we know about God and what He will do in the world is relatively limited. Even through the revelation given to prophets and those with the "gift of knowledge" in Paul's day, what is revealed to us even in Scripture is a tiny slice of what is knowable. For now, we know only "in part" (1 Corinthians 13:9).That will change one day. When the perfect comes, Paul writes, the partial will pass away. We will no longer need to work to understand and wonder over the bit of knowledge we have about God and His ways. The perfect, which is Jesus Christ, will bring about the day when all is revealed to God's children. When Christ returns, we will "know fully" (1 Corinthians 13:12).
