To the illustration in 1 Corinthians 13:11, Paul adds another, namely, that of looking in a mirror. Corinth was famous for its mirrors. They were made of polished metal, thus giving only a dim reflection (especially once corrosion had set in).
Perhaps the best way to understand Paul’s illustration is to imagine looking in a bronze mirror, with another person standing behind you. The identity of this person will remain dim to you until you turn around and see the person face to face.
The expression face to face
may well be a reference to Old Testament texts where Moses is said to have known God face to face (Exodus 33:11; Deuteronomy 34:10).
To summarize, the gifts of prophecy, knowledge, and tongues are fragmentary (1 Corinthians 13:9–10), immature (1 Corinthians 13:11), and lacking in clarity (1 Corinthians 13:12). Therefore they will pass away.
In the second part of the verse Paul applies the mirror imagery to himself (compare this sentence with 1 Corinthians 13:9, where he speaks of we
). He uses two different but related Greek verbs. The first, ginosko, can be translated simply as to know,
but it also signifies knowledge which comes from experience or personal relationship. The second, epiginosko, is translated in the ESV as to know fully.
It is an intensified form of ginosko and often has the meaning of to recognize
or to know directly.
To know fully,
then, is not to know everything that God knows. It is to know intimately, face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12). One day Paul will know God just as God has known him. This loving recognition is often what Scripture refers to when it speaks of God knowing
a person (see 1 Corinthians 8:3, for example).
Paul’s personal way of speaking suggests that he is thinking of his death, when he will go to heaven to be with God.
12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.