1 Corinthians 13:12 (LSB)

Passage

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.

Nearby Context

1 Corinthians 13:10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.

1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child. When I became a man, I did away with childish things.

1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.

1 Corinthians 13:13 But now abide faith, hope, love—these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mirror", "dimly", "face", "part", "fully", "just", and "been". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mirror" and "dimly", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "When I was a child I used..." into verse 13's "But now abide faith hope love these...", so "mirror" and "dimly" belong inside that flow. In 1 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "mirror" and "dimly" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.