1 Corinthians 13: 8-13:
8 Love never ends. As for the prophecies, they will come to pass; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When he was a child, he spoke as a child, he thought as a child, he reasoned as a child. When I became a man, I abandoned childish customs. 12 Because now we see in a mirror vaguely, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I will know fully, as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope and love remain, these three; But the greatest of these is love
When will we see “face to face”? What is meant by this and when will it happen?
According to Myron J. Houghton, in his article A Reexamination of 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 (available here):
Therefore, when the full (revelation) comes, the partial (communicating gifts) (revelation) disappear (no longer needed). Both complete and partial are revealing. So “the perfect one” refers to the complete revelation.
“Face to face” describes the clear and direct revelation of oneself that believers today possess when they look into the mirror of Scripture, the full revelation of God.
Emphasis mine. Notice how Houghton (a cessationist) claims that believers are already able to see eye to eye today. According to Houghton, the ability to see eye to eye and perfection is already here, available to us through the entire canon of Scripture. There is no need to wait for a second coming.
Similar views are shared, for example, by Andy Woods, in his article The Meaning of “The Perfect” on 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 (available here), and by Bruce Compton, in his article 1 Corinthians 13:8 -13 and the cessation of miraculous gifts (available here).
Does this point of view have merit? Are there other more or less convincing opinions?
Earlier in the same book, we have 1 Corinthians 8:3:
But if someone loves God, God knows him.
1 Corinthians 13:
12 Because now we see in a mirror vaguely, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I will know fully, as I have been fully known.
That is, fully known by God. I think Paul is expressing the idea of seeing God face to face. John expresses a similar idea in 1 John 3:
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. But we know that when Christ appears, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is.
When will we see “face to face”?
Ultimately when Christ appears at his second coming after we are resurrected with a new body and new sight.
Moses was said to know God face to face in Deuteronomy 34:
10b no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face
Before that happens, I have no problem agreeing to:
“Face to face” describes the clear and direct revelation of oneself that believers today have when they look into the mirror of the Scriptures, the complete revelation of God.
When will we see Jesus “face to face”? The simplest direct answer is found in Revelation 22:3, 4 –
There will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be within the city, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads.
Being with Jesus is the main reward of God’s saved saints. There are a number of references that support this idea as well:
Job 19:25-27 – I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will be on earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see it with my own eyes, I, and no other. How my heart yearns within me!
Isa 25:9 – And on that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for him and he has saved us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited. Let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”
John 14: 1-3 – “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do you believe in God to; believe in me too. My Father’s house has many rooms; If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you with me so that you can also be where I am.
1 Cor 13:12 – Because now we only see a reflection as in a mirror; then we will see face to face. Now I know in part; then I will know fully, as I am fully known.
Col 3:4 – When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Heb 9:28 – so that Christ was once sacrificed to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who wait for him.
1 John 3:2 – Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. But we know that when Christ appears, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is.
APPENDIX – The wicked.
Obviously, the above refers to the righteous. Rather, the wicked will ask to be destroyed when Jesus appears the second time, as recorded in Revelation 6:15-17. This is consistent with the Bible’s teaching that only the righteous will be with God and the Lamb forever, Revelation 21:7, 8, 27, 2 Peter 3:13.
I note that the comments of some are helpful here, but before I consider them, let me list another parallel use of the same word translated “perfect,” τέλειος, in 1 Cor 13:10. Ephesians 4:13 –
until we all reach the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, in a complete man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
Ellicott notes this about 1 Cor 13:10 –
(10) That which is perfect—This verse shows, by the emphatic “then,” that the time when the gifts will cease is the end of this dispensation. The imperfect will not cease until the perfect is introduced (see Ephesians 4:11-13).
The question then revolves around, when does the completion or refinement occur? Note the comments of Albert Barnes:
But when the perfect comes, it will come; or will come This proposition is worded in a general way. It means that when something that is perfect is seen or enjoyed, that which is imperfect is forgotten, cast aside, or fades away. Thus, in the full and perfect light of day, the imperfect and weak light of the stars vanishes. The sense here is that “in heaven” – a state of absolute perfection – what is “in part”, or what is imperfect, will be lost in a higher brightness. Every imperfection will disappear. And all that we possess here that is dark will be lost in the superior and perfect glory of that eternal world. All our current unsatisfactory ways of gaining knowledge will be unknown. Everything will be clear, bright and eternal.
Gill is more succinct:
But when the perfect comes… When the perfect knowledge of God, of Christ and of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven takes place; which will not be in this life, but in the life to come. So the Jews say that in the resurrection, in the reunion of the soul and the body
That is, in this sinful, imperfect, and incomplete life, we are imperfectly seen and known and imperfectly see and understand Christ (1 Cor 13:12). In the next life, all this will change. Until then, we must rely on divine providence and revelation to fill the void with spiritual gifts.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
APPENDIX – Alternative Views
The above position suggests that “perfect” is associated with the great eschaton, the second coming of Jesus, because it is at this time that all things will be new (Revelation 21:1-4). Other views (according to the links provided by the OP) include
the completion of the canon of the Bible
the maturity of the church that does not need divine revelation
the separation of the church from Judaism
the termination (cessation) of spiritual gifts
The problem with all of these is that they cannot be deduced from the Scriptures since Paul’s language in 1 Cor 13 is never used in these senses. There are more problems:
Why does the separation of the church from Judaism (which actually occurred in Acts 15) signify the perfect or mature? There was more revelation afterward and many more gifts of the Spirit afterward.
In what sense does the closure of the Bible canon (which is not stated in the Bible) signify the perfection or maturity of the church? Subsequent church history has indicated anything but a mature and complete church, given some of the atrocities the church has perpetrated! In fact, many would argue that the great reformation of the church that began in the 16th century, and is still continuing, is a direct consequence of divine direction.
I have been unable to find any justification for saying that either all spiritual gifts cease with the apostolic age, or that some gifts cease with the apostolic age. There is simply no biblical support for this position. In fact, Paul says:
1 Cor 1:7 – Therefore, you are not lacking in any spiritual gifts as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As I best read in plain language, this clearly says that the spiritual gifts will continue until our Lord returns.
It seems to me that the passage is a reference to the completion that takes place when we see Jesus face to face. The view that it refers to the canon seems to have emerged in the 19th century through the writings of Robert Govett, 1813-1901. Gary Shogren did a good review of the patristic interpretation of “perfect” that can be found here. See also Rodney Decker’s research article which lists the latest arguments for “perfect” being a reference to canon completion. You can find it here.
Normative and enduring cessationists have difficulty explaining why patristic claims to the occurrence of the full range of charisms continued, in many but not all places, long after the last canonical apostle died and the formation of the canon was authorized. . If the early church saw this passage as a reference to the canon, why didn’t some kind of reference to it occur in the patristic tradition?
When will we see “face to face”? 1 Corinthians 13:12
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then I will know as I am also known. (1 Corinthians 13:12, KJV)
Understanding this text requires paying attention to its contrast of seeing through “a glass” with “face to face.” The first of these metaphors leads to a clearer understanding of the second.
Biblical use of “a glass”
The word “glass” (KJV) can also be translated as a mirror or as a mirror. But the Bible helps us understand what this word means.
The perfect law of liberty
James describes the “glass” as follows:
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22, KJV)
Because if anyone is…