Growing in the Light

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. (1 Corinthians 13:9-11)

Most believers know 1 Corinthians 13 as “the love chapter,” and rightly so. But these verses contain more than a description of love. Paul was pulling back a curtain on something every serious believer needs to understand about how God works in a human life.

He said in verse 9, "For we know in part, and we prophesy in part." That word part is translated from the Greek word meros, which means a piece of something, a portion. It is not the whole thing. What Paul was saying is that even the most seasoned, most Spirit-filled believer does not walk around with the complete picture. You have a piece of it. You have some light on the matter. You have an inkling of what God is doing. But you do not have it all, and God never promised you would down here. That doesn’t mean you have a spiritual deficiency; that’s just what walking in faith is all about.

What Paul added is just as important. He said that when that which is perfect comes, that which is in part will be done away. There is a day coming when partial knowledge gives way to complete knowledge. It will be a day when the fog lifts entirely and you see face to face instead of through a glass darkly. But that day is not today, and trying to operate as though you already have full revelation will get you into trouble. This is why spiritual maturity matters so much. A child operates on a limited understanding and thinks that is all there is. Paul said that when he became a man, he put away childish things. That is not a statement of arrogance. That is a statement of growth. As you grow up in God, you learn to hold your partial knowledge with humility, to trust what you have been given, and to stay hungry for more. You do not camp on a piece of the picture and declare you have the whole thing.

Practical Application

The call here is to grow, to press and keep seeking God for greater revelation and understanding while staying at peace with what you do not yet fully see. The believer who can do both—trust what they know and rest in what they do not yet know— is a believer walking in real maturity.

Job 11:7; 1 John 3:2