1 Corinthians 13:10 (WEB)

Passage

but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with.

Nearby Context

1 Corinthians 13:8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with.

1 Corinthians 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;

1 Corinthians 13:10 but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with.

1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away 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, even as I was also fully known.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "complete", "come", "partial", "done", and "away". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "complete" and "come", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "For we know in part and we..." into verse 11's "When I was a child I spoke...", so "complete" and "come" 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 "complete" and "come" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.