<p>13:12- see on Eph. 1:18; 4:15.</p><p><i>For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know fully, even as also I have been fully known- </i>The reference is not strictly to a mirror but to a looking glass, polished to act as a mirror. Corinth was famous for such looking glasses. We see &quot;dimly&quot;, literally, 'in an enigma'. Even now that the Mosaic law has ended, we see ultimate spiritual reality only through shadows and figures. This must always be the perspective in which we understand any idea of 'saving truth' if we understand that term as referring to intellectual purity of understanding. We are &quot;fully known&quot; to God, but we do not fully know Him. The joy of the Kingdom age will be a mutuality of understanding between us, surely comprehended in the idea of seeing God face to face.</p><p>1 Cor. 13 and Eph. 4 are difficult to interpret. A valid case can be made for them meaning that the dispensation of the Spirit gifts was partial, but the completed spiritual man was made possible once the New Testament was completed. I have outlined this in <i>Bible Basics</i> Ch.2. But Paul's description of the completed, &quot;perfect&quot; state is so exalted that it is hard to resist applying it ultimately to our position in the Kingdom. &quot;<i>Then</i> face to face... then shall I know (fully, not from parts); but <i>now </i>(as opposed to then) abideth faith, hope and charity&quot; (1 Cor. 13:12,13) sounds like the Kingdom. So I would suggest we interpret those passages along these lines: 'Now, in the first century period of Spirit gifts, knowledge is partial; a completer state will come when the written word is finished. But even this is relatively partial, only a necessary step, towards the ultimate spiritual reality and knowledge of the Kingdom'. The parable of the talents speaks eloquently of all this. <br />Moses is the one who saw God face to face (Num. 12:8). Surely Paul saw the depth of fellowship which Moses achieved in this life as indicative of the richness of felicity with the Father which we will all ultimately achieve. Remember that Paul so often presents himself as Moses; but at this point he says that he is like all Israel, seeing dimly through the veil, and still awaiting the status of seeing face to face.</p><p>To describe or &lsquo;know&rsquo; the real self is ultimately impossible; we can&rsquo;t write down an inventory of who we really are. Paul perceived this when he wrote that now he only knows himself partially, and only in the Kingdom &ldquo;shall I know, even as also I am known&rdquo; (1 Cor. 13:12). The aorist here really means &quot;was known&quot;; we shall then see ourselves as God now sees us, marvelling at His patience with our immaturity. We know Him now only partially, <i>ginosko; </i>whereas He knows us thoroughly, <i>epiginosko.</i> He knows us all around <i>epi</i>, understanding the total context of all our words and actions. This for me is one of the Kingdom&rsquo;s joys; to truly know myself, even as I am presently known by the Father. Until then, we remain mysteries even unto ourselves; and who amongst us has not quietly said that to themselves... The question &lsquo;Who am I?&rsquo; and especially 'Who and how am I to God?'&nbsp; must ultimately remain to haunt each one of us until that blessed day. It would be too simplistic to argue that the new man, the real self of the believer, is simply &ldquo;Jesus Christ&rdquo;. Our new man is formed in <i>His image</i>, but we are each a unique reflection of our Lord. He isn&rsquo;t seeking to create uniform replicas of Himself; His personality is so multi-faceted that it cannot be replicated in merely one form nor one person. This is why &ldquo;the body of Christ&rdquo; is comprised of so many individuals both over time and space; and it is my belief that when that large community has manifested every aspect of the wonderful person of Jesus Christ, then we will be ripe for His return. This is why the spiritual development of the last generation before the second coming will hasten His return; for once they / we have replicated Himself in ourselves in our various unique ways to a satisfactory extent, then He will return to take us unto Himself, that where He &lsquo;was&rsquo; as He said those words, in terms of His character and person, there we will be (Jn. 14:3; note that read this way, this passage is clearly not talking about Him taking us off to Heaven). Ps. 69:32 RV says simply: &ldquo;Let your heart live&rdquo;. In our terms, God is saying: &lsquo;Be yourself, let your inner man, the heart, come to the fore, and be lived out&rsquo;. Even if we feel we haven't got there 100% in getting in touch with our real self, one of the joys of the Kingdom is that we shall know i.e. ourselves even as we are now known by God (1 Cor. 13:12). We never quite get there in our self understanding in this life- but then, we shall know, even as we are known.</p><p>Paul speaks as if he has in one sense matured into &quot;love&quot;, no longer a child but a man; yet he writes as if he is still in the partial, immature phase, seeing in a mirror darkly, waiting for the day when he would see &quot;face to face&quot;. Likewise &quot;Now I know in part, but then shall I know...&quot; (1 Cor. 13:12). It's the 'now but not yet' situation which we often encounter in Scripture. In a sense we have attained to the mature state of love; in reality, we are still far from it. Paul is alluding to Num. 12:8 LXX, where God says that He spoke with Moses face to face and not in dark similitudes. Paul felt that he wasn't yet as Moses, encountering God 'face to face' in the life of mature love. He was still seeing through a glass darkly. But some time later, Paul wrote to the Corinthians that he was now beholding the glory of the Lord's face as it is in Christ just as Moses did, &quot;with unveiled face&quot;, and bit by bit, that glory was shining from him (2 Cor. 3:18 RV). And hopefully we feel the same- that bit by bit, we are getting there. So let's take Paul's urging seriously: to grasp the utter supremacy of the life of love, to &quot;follow after love&quot;, to press relentlessly towards that state of final maturity which <i>is</i> love (1 Cor. 14:1). Powerfully did Paul conclude his Corinthian correspondence: &quot;Finally, brethren, farewell. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you&quot; (2 Cor. 13:11).</p>