1 Corinthians 13:12 (WEB)
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.
Catechism · 6
"I Believe in Life Everlasting"
“They are like God for ever, for they "see him as he is," face to face:” — Catechism footnote: 1 Jn 3:2; cf. 1 Cor 13:12; Rev 22:4.
I Believe
“Then we shall see God "face to face", "as he is".” — Catechism footnote: 1 Cor 13:12; I Jn 3:2
“Now, however, "we walk by faith, not by sight"; we perceive God as "in a mirror, dimly" and only "in part".” — Catechism footnote: l Cor 13:12.
Our Vocation to Beatitude
“The New Testament uses several expressions to characterize the beatitude to which God calls man: - the coming of the Kingdom of God; - the vision of God: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God"” — Catechism footnote: Mt 5:8; cf. 1 Jn 2; 1 Cor 13:12.
The Ninth Commandment
“The "pure in heart" are promised that they will see God face to face and be like him.” — Catechism footnote: Cf. 1 Cor 13:12; 1 Jn 3:2.
The Creator
“Only at the end, when our partial knowledge ceases, when we see God "face to face",” — Catechism footnote: I Cor 13:12.
Fathers and councils · 78
Augustine of Hippo
“For these things cannot be seen except by the heart made pure; and [even] he who in this life sees them “in part,” as it has been said, and “in an enigma,” cannot secure it that the person to whom he speaks shall also see them, if he is hampered by impurities of heart.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“…after I had heard one or two parts of the Old Testament explained, and often allegorically—which when I accepted literally, I was “killed” spiritually.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12, and 2 Cor. iii. 6. See vi. sec. 6, note, below.
Read the whole comment“Of Thy eternal life I was now certain, although I had seen it “through a glass darkly.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“Let me know Thee, O Thou who knowest me; let me know Thee, as I am known.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“And assuredly “now we see through a glass darkly,” not yet “face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“…account of that heaven of heavens, that intellectual heaven, where to understand is to know all at once,—not “in part,” not “darkly,” not “through a glass,” but as a whole, in manifestation, “face to face;” not this thing now, that anon, but (as has been said) to know at once without any change of times; and on…” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“…pass away; but Thy Word remaineth for ever, which now appeareth unto us in the dark image of the clouds, and through the glass of the heavens, not as it is; because we also, although we be the well-beloved of Thy Son, yet it hath not yet appeared what we shall be.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“For it is a great thing, and ineffable; and even they saw through a glass darkly, as saith the Apostle, “For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“There is therefore surely some blissful vision reserved for us; and if it can be now in some measure conceived, “darkly and through a glass,” yet cannot we in any way express in language the ravishing beauty of that bliss, which God reserves for them that fear Him, which He consummates in those that hope in Him.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“…they preached the secret things so revealed to them, nevertheless said that they themselves saw but “in a glass, darkly,” but that “seeing face to face” is reserved to a future time, when what the Apostle himself speaks of shall have come.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“Because “now we see through a glass darkly,” as saith the Apostle; “whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“…Truth veiled in flesh came to us and healed through His flesh the interior eye of our heart, in order that hereafter face to face we may be able to see It.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“And now in Him, but through hope: “but then face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“Than to cleave to God nothing is better, when we shall see Him face to face.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“When shall we, as the Apostle saith, see Him “face to face”? which God promiseth us as the high reward of all our toils.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“Therefore, that they also may stretch forward perseveringly towards those things which are before them, and may run perseveringly, until they may apprehend that for which they are apprehended, and may know even as they are known, “He is their helper and defender.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“Or if that which is loved without a change of affection is rightly said to be sought after, and our only object is, that it be not lost, we shall indeed evermore seek the law of God, that is, the truth of God: for in this very Psalm it is said, “And Thy law is the truth.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“And thus, again, in this mortal life the one is engaged with the work of a good conversation; while the other subsists rather on faith, and is seen only in the person of the very few, and through the glass darkly, and only in part in a kind of vision of the unchangeable truth.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“At present it will tarry in the faith of believers, but hereafter it will be possible to contemplate it face to face, when He, our Life, shall appear, and when we shall appear with Him in glory.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“For in this life who sees except as “in an enigma and through a glass”?” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“…over whom now, living by faith, the Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, reigns, to that sight which the same apostle calls “face to face;” therefore the words, “When He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father,” are as much as to say, When He shall have brought believers to the…” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“And that sight is face to face, the very sight that is promised as the highest reward to the just, and which will then take place when He “shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the…” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“…whether because after this life, in which we are absent from the Lord, and where the corruptible body presseth down the soul, we shall see “face to face,” as the apostle says—(for it is said in the Psalms, of this life, “Verily every man living is altogether vanity;” and again, “For in Thy sight shall no man…” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“…he still bare the burden of the body, which is subject to corruption and presseth down the soul, and although he still saw only in part and in an enigma, wishing to depart and be with Christ, and groaning within himself, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of his body, yet was able to preach the…” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“For a certain faith is in some way the starting-point of knowledge; but a certain knowledge will not be made perfect, except after this life, when we shall see face to face.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“…nor comprehends Him as He is; but He is seen, as it is written, even by those who are so great as was the Apostle Paul, “through a glass and in an enigma:” first, I pray to our Lord God Himself, of whom we ought always to think, and of whom we are not able to think worthily, in praise of whom blessing is at all…” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“Let him who sees this, whether in part, or “through a glass and in an enigma,” rejoice in knowing God; and let him honor Him as God, and give thanks; but let him who does not see it, strive to see it through piety, not to cavil at it through blindness.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12. Darkly, A.V.
Read the whole comment“For as “we walk as yet by faith, and not by sight,” we certainly do not yet see God, as the same [apostle] saith, “face to face:” whom however we shall never see, unless now already we love.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“…which is wisdom can also be called knowledge, as the apostle too speaks, where he says, “Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known;” when doubtless he meant his words to be understood of the knowledge of the contemplation of God, which will be the highest reward of the saints; yet where he…” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“…the contemplation of that Trinity which is God, according to our little measure, if indeed, we can even do this, at least in a riddle and as through a glass.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“But according to the distinction made in the apostle’s words, “To one is given the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge,” this definition is to be divided, so that the knowledge of things divine shall be called wisdom, and that of things human appropriate to itself the name of…” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“…are absent from God, in such way that we must needs walk by faith, shall be ended, and that sight shall have succeeded it whereby we shall see face to face; just as now, because we believe although we do not see, we shall deserve to see, and shall rejoice at having been brought through faith to sight.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“And of this the Apostle Paul speaks: “Now we see through a glass, in an enigma, but then face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“But the image which is renewed in the spirit of the mind in the knowledge of God, not outwardly, but inwardly, from day to day, shall be perfected by that sight itself; which then after the judgment shall be face to face, but now makes progress as through a glass in an enigma.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“I know that wisdom is an incorporeal substance, and that it is the light by which those things are seen that are not seen by carnal eyes; and yet a man so great and so spiritual [as Paul] says, “We see now through a glass, in an enigma, but then face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“When, therefore, this image shall have been renewed to perfection by this transformation, then we shall be like God, because we shall see Him, not through a glass, but “as He is;” which the Apostle Paul expresses by “face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“…undoubtedly taken pains so far as I could, not indeed so that the thing might be seen face to face, but that it might be seen by this likeness in an enigma, in how small a degree soever, by conjecture, in our memory and understanding, to intimate God the Father and God the Son: i.e. God the begetter, who has in…” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“For the apostle does not say, We see now a glass, but, We see now through a glass.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“The first, therefore, are already in very possession, the other on the way, yet on that way whereby they are most sure to arrive.” — editor's note: cf. Retract. b. i. ch. xiv. 2. “I also said, ‘For there are two &c.’ In these words of mine if ‘those who have already found’ whom we have said to be ‘now in…
Read the whole comment““We see now through a glass darkly; but then face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“When the Apostle was being read, you heard, “For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“…by babes (and if it can be at all even by the more advanced, it can only be in part, only in a riddle, only “through a glass;” but not as yet, “face to face”), let us too produce certain similitudes against them, whereby they may be refuted, not “it” comprehended.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment““Now we see through a glass darkly,” and “in part;” but when both people, now purified, now raised again, now crowned, now changed into an immortal form, and into everlasting incorruption, shall see God face to…” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“For we must remember how great a man he was who said, “We know in part, and we prophesy in part, until that which is perfect is come;” and “Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“We now, however great may be our human understanding, know but in part, and see through a glass darkly.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12
Read the whole comment“The apostle says, “Now I know in part, now through a glass darkly; but then, face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“For in the same place he adds: “Now I know in part, but then shall I know, even as also I am known; and now through a glass in a riddle, but then face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 10, 12.
Read the whole comment“…of knowledge: whereof it is said by the same apostle, “But then face to face;” and, “Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known;” not as a thing which he knows fully in this life, but which, as a thing that would still be future on to the attainment of that perfection, the Lord promised…” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 9, 12.
Read the whole comment“Of this vision and knowledge the apostle says, “Now we see through a glass, in a riddle; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“…what He says, “These things have I spoken to you in proverbs,” is one with what has been said by the same apostle, “Now we see through a glass, in a riddle:” and “I will show you,” because the Father shall be seen through the instrumentality of the Son, is akin to what He says elsewhere, “Neither knoweth any man the…” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“But there is another, an immortal life, that is not in the midst of evil: there we shall see face to face what is seen here through a glass and in a riddle, even when much progress is made in the beholding of the truth.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
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Origen
- Origen, Against Celsus VI.20Book VI
“…things which He hath made from the creation of the world, but seeing, as it was expressed by the true disciple of Jesus in these words, “then face to face;” and in these, “When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part will be done away.”” — editor's note: Cf. 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment - Origen, Against Celsus VII.38Book VII
“…other means than through the intelligence which is formed in His image, though now, in the words of Paul, “we see in a glass obscurely, but then face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment - Origen, Against Celsus VII.50Book VII
“…how well the different life of the soul here and hereafter has been recognised by him who says, “Now we see in a glass, obscurely, but then face to face;” and, “Whilst we are in our home in the body, we are away from our home in the Lord;” wherefore “we are well content to go from our home in the body, and to…” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
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Gregory of Nyssa
“…His Apostles, and that we might receive the teaching concerning the transcendent nature of the Deity which is given to us, as it were, “through a glass darkly” from the older Scriptures,—from the Law, and the Prophets, and the Sapiential Books, as an evidence of the truth fully revealed to us, reverently accepting…” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“For this teaching we have the authority of God’s own Apostle, who announces a subduing and a ceasing of all other activities, even for the good, which are within us, and finds no limit for love alone.” — editor's note: καταστολὴν. Cf. 1 Cor. xiii. 8–13.
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Irenaeus of Lyons
““For now,” he says, “we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but then face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 9, 12.
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Tertullian
“…not enigmatically,” that is to say, in image; as the apostle also expresses it, “Now we see through a glass, darkly (or enigmatically), but then face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
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Jerome
“And,“For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I have been known.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“…such as was never claimed by Paul; for he was content to say, “We know in part, and we prophesy in part,” and again, “Now we see through a glass darkly.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 9, 12.
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Catena Aurea on John
- Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on John
“(1 Cor. 13:12) For as we look for the death of the flesh, and the salvation of the soul; so should we look for that knowledge of all things, which the Only-Begotten heard from the Father.” — the author cites it
Read the whole comment - Augustine of HippoCatena Aurea on John
“The hour of which He speaks may be understood of the future life, when we shall see Him, as the Apostle saith, face to face, (1 Cor. 13:12) and, These things have I spoken to you in proverbs, of that which the Apostle saith, Now we see as in a glass darkly.” — the author cites it
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Athanasius of Alexandria
“And when he descended, he preached to every man; ‘We know in part, and we prophesy in part; here I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.’” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 9, 12.
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John Chrysostom
““From whence also” (are his words) “he received him in a figure,” i.e. as in a riddle (for the ram was as it were a figure of Isaac) or, as in a type.” — editor's note: ἐ ν αἰνίγματι, where one thing is said, and another covertly meant: as the expression is used 1 Cor. xiii. 12 , of our present knowledge of the Blessedness of…
Read the whole comment“For He said to His disciples, “Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you” ( John xv. 16 ); and Paul too says, “But then shall I know, even as also I have been known.” ( 1 Cor. xiii. 12.)” — the author cites it
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Basil the Great
“Only the Father, He says, knows, since He is Himself the end and the ultimate blessedness, for when we no longer know God in mirrors and not immediately, but approach Him as one and alone, then we shall know even the ultimate end.” — editor's note: διὰ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων. cf. 1 Cor. xiii. 12, where St. Paul’s word is ἔσοπτρον. St. Basil’s κάτοπτρον may rather be suggested by 2 Cor. iii. 18, where the original…
Read the whole comment“Marvel not then at my speaking of the same thing as being both conjoined and parted, and thinking as it were darkly in a riddle, of a certain new and strange conjoined separation and separated conjunction.” — editor's note: ὥσπερ ἐκ αἰνίγματι. cf. 1 Cor. xiii. 12. ἐν αἰνίγματι or ἐξ αἰνιγμάτων, as in Æsch., Ag. 1113=by dark hints. The bold oxymoron concluding this sentence is…
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Ambrose of Milan
“For now we know in part, and understand in part, but then it will be possible for that which is perfect to be grasped, when not the shadow but the reality of the Divine Majesty and eternity shall begin to shine so as to be gazed upon by us with unveiled face.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“Wait till that which is perfect is come, when thou mayest know—not through a glass as in a riddle, but face to face—the very form of truth made clear.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
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Gregory of Nazianzus
“He is lofty in carnal things, he rejoices in things spiritual; he is not rude in knowledge, and claims to see in a mirror, darkly.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“…by anything earthly or clouded, until we come to the source of the effulgence which we enjoy here, and regret and desire are alike stayed, when our mirrors pass away in the light of truth.” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“And this I think is the solution of that vexed problem as to “We shall know even as we are known.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12, but with a reading ἐπιγνώσεσθε, which is not in the New Testament.
Read the whole comment“…hold converse with us as God; being united to us, and known by us; and that perhaps to the same extent as He already knows those who are known to Him.” — editor's note: John x. 15; 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
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Catena Aurea on Matthew
- OrigenCatena Aurea on Matthew
“So as long as the wicked know neither themselves nor Christ, or the righteous “see through a glass darkly,” [1 Cor. 13:12] so long the good are not severed from the evil, but when by the manifestation of the Son of God all shall come to the knowledge of Him, then shall…” — the author cites it
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Leo the Great
“And yet this shall ensue when man’s nature is transformed, so that no longer “in a mirror,” nor “in a riddle,” but “face to face” it sees the very Godhead “as He is,” which no man could see; and through the unspeakable joy of eternal contemplation obtains that “which eye has not seen,…” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
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Clement of Alexandria
““For now we see as through a glass,” the same apostle says, “but then face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
Read the whole comment“Spiritually, therefore, the apostle writes respecting the knowledge of God, “For now we see as through a glass, but then face to face.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
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Cyprian of Carthage
“Now I know partly; but then I shall know even as also I am known.”” — editor's note: 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
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Cross-references · 87
Cited together in Against Heresies V.7.
Cited together in Against Heresies V.7.
Cited together in Confessions V.14.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XIV.17 and 1 other place.
Cited together in Confessions X.5 and 2 other places.
Cited together in Catechism §164 and 2 other places.
Cited together in Confessions X.1.
Cited together in The Enchiridion Chapter 63.
Cited together in Letters Letter 38.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XV.11.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity VIII.4.
Cited together in Against Eunomius II.1 and 1 other place.
Cited together in Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews III.54.
Cited together in Catechism §1720.
Cited together in Catechism §1720.
Cited together in Catechism §1720.
Cited together in Catechism §1720.
Cited together in Catechism §1720.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XIV.1.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XIV.1.
Cited together in Catechism §163 and 2 other places.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XV.11.
Cited together in Catechism §1023.
Cited together in Catechism §314.
Cited together in Confessions X.5.
Cited together in Orations Oration 12.
Cited together in Against Praxeas Chapter 14.
Cited together in Against Praxeas Chapter 14.
Cited together in Orations Oration 12.
Cited together in Orations Oration 12.
Cited together in Against Praxeas Chapter 14.
Cited together in Against Praxeas Chapter 14.
Cited together in Against Praxeas Chapter 14.
Cited together in Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews III.54.
Cited together in Letters Letter 38.
Cited together in Letters Letter 38.
Cited together in On the Duties of the Clergy I.16.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XII.13 and 1 other place.
Cited together in Tractates on the Gospel of John Tractate 102.
Cited together in Against Celsus VII.50.
Cited together in Against Heresies V.7.
Cited together in Against Celsus VII.50.
Cited together in Confessions X.1.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity IX.1.
Cited together in On the Duties of the Clergy I.16.
Cited together in Confessions X.1.
Cited together in Orations Oration 12.
Cited together in Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews III.54.
Cited together in Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews III.54.
Cited together in Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews III.54.
Cited together in Letters Letter 38 and 1 other place.
Cited together in On the Duties of the Clergy I.16.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity IX.1.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XV.11.
Cited together in Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews III.54.
Cited together in Origen on Matthew 25:31–45 (2) (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Confessions X.5.
Cited together in Against Praxeas Chapter 14.
Cited together in Against Eunomius II.1.
Cited together in Catechism §1720.
Cited together in On the Duties of the Clergy I.16.
Cited together in Catechism §1720 and 2 other places.
Cited together in Augustine of Hippo on John 16:23–28 (6) (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Origen on Matthew 25:31–45 (2) (Catena Aurea) and 1 other place.
Cited together in Letters Letter 38.
Cited together in Catechism §1720.
Cited together in Catechism §1720.
Cited together in Catechism §1720.
Cited together in Against Praxeas Chapter 14.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity VI.10 and 1 other place.
Cited together in Letters Letter 38 and 1 other place.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XIV.19.
Cited together in Confessions X.1.
Cited together in On the Duties of the Clergy I.16.
Cited together in Against Celsus VI.20.
Cited together in Augustine of Hippo on John 16:23–28 (6) (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Augustine of Hippo on John 16:23–28 (6) (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Augustine of Hippo on John 16:23–28 (6) (Catena Aurea).
Cited together in Against Heresies V.7.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XV.11.
Cited together in On the Holy Trinity XIII.20 and 1 other place.
Cited together in Against Celsus VII.38.
Cited together in Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews III.54.
Cited together in Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews III.54.
Cited together in Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews III.54 and 1 other place.
Cited together in Confessions X.5.
Cited together in Confessions X.5.