That which is perfect is come
William Branham taught that 1 Corinthians 13:10 had been fulfilled in the message that William Branham taught. This teaching translates into the followers of William Branham teaching that that the gifts of the Holy Spirit had been done away with because "that which is perfect has come".
What the Bible teaches
Paul’s point in context does not have to do with “childishness” and “growing up,” but with the difference between the present and the future. He is illustrating that there will come a time when the gifts will pass away. The analogy, therefore, says that behavior from one period in one’s life is not appropriate to the other; the one is “done away with” when the other comes.[1]
- Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 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.[2]
With the repeated “now, but then” language, these sentences bring out more sharply the contrast between the Corinthians’ present existence and that of the future.
The question is when will this take place. Was it in William Branham's ministry or at some other time?
To state that this took place in William Branham's ministry means that Paul the Apostle, the one that wrote significant portions of the New Testament, did not have the "perfect interpretation of the Word". It means that William Branham's understanding of what Paul wrote was greater than that of Paul himself.
So then, to what time is Paul referring?
It is obvious that it is referring to what Paul calls “the Day of the Lord” (the "eschaton" - I Corinthians 1:8; 3:13; 5:5) an to the end of the present era (the "telos", as in 1 Corinthians 15:24).[3]
Cessationists commit a major theological error which follows from the misinterpretation of 1 Corinthians 13:8–13; the belief that any or all of the gifts of the Spirit have already ceased. This violates every sensible reading of 1 Cor 13:12, and it has to distort the actual record of events throughout church history.
Pentecostals have an equally inappropriate interpretation when they see the “resumption” of these gifts during the last hundred years as the sign the end times. The gifts never entirely ceased, and if they were squelched for centuries by an overpowering and unbiblical institutionalization of the church, then their revival may in general be a sign that a certain health and balance has returned to Christianity, but not that some final generation or period of history prior to Christ’s return is necessarily present.
In every era of church history, “we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror”; only when Christ returns will we “see face to face.” This reminder should inspire humility in our personal relationships and the spiritual claims that we make for ourselves.[4]
William Branham's interpretation of this passage is flawed because it is self-centered; pointing to himself and his perceived role as the major prophet forerunning Christ's return. However, this is a common feature of William Branham's view of himself.
William Branham Quotes
- [QUESTION] Dear Brother Branham, I have been baptized in Jesus’ Name. The Word says you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Does this—does this mean the baptism, the Holy Spirit, or does it mean I should receive the gift…definite…I should receive a definite experience with the baptism? I am anxious to be—to be filled with the—the Spirit. Please excuse the long note as I have been wanting to ask you this question for a long time.
- I Corinthians 13 says this: "When that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away with." So all these little things of jumping up-and-down like a kid, trying to talk in tongues, and all these other things, when that which is perfect... And we do have today, by God's help, the perfect interpretation of the Word with Divine vindication. Then that which is in part is done away with. "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child; but when I become a man, I put away childish things." Amen.
- Please explain First Corinthians 13:8-12. Now that the perfect Word is restored to the Church are—are these verses fulfilled? 164 Now, I think I just went through that, didn’t I? “And when that which is perfect has come, that which is in part shall be done away with.” Paul said, “Though I speak with tongue of man and angels, and I do all these things here…But when that which is perfect is come…” Now, is there anything perfect but God? No, sir! Is God the perfect? In the beginning was the [Congregation replies, “Word.”—Ed.] and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word’s still God. See? All right. When that which is perfect is come, that which is in part is done away with. [5]
Footnotes
- ↑ Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987), 646.
- ↑ The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 1 Co 13:8–12.
- ↑ Joseph A. Fitzmyer, First Corinthians: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, vol. 32, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2008), 498.
- ↑ Craig Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994), 262–263.
- ↑ QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2, 64-0823E, para.39, 57,302