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That which is perfect is come: Difference between revisions
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:''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.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 1 Co 13:8–12.</ref> | :''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.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 1 Co 13:8–12.</ref> | ||
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. | 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? | The question is when will this take place. Was it in William Branham's ministry or at some other time? | ||
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So then, to what time is Paul referring? | So then, to what time is Paul referring? | ||
It | 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).<ref>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.</ref> | ||
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. | 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 | 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.<ref>Craig Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994), 262–263.</ref> | ||
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. | 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 [[William Branham's View of Himself|common feature of William Branham's view of himself]]. | ||
=William Branham Quotes= | =William Branham Quotes= | ||