Friday after the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on October 15, 2021 by under
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 (NKJV)
13:9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
Devotion
“For we know in part…” This phrase can easily be misunderstood and leave the impression that Scripture is lacking something. That has been, and continues to be, the Devil’s ploy, that is, to get you to believe that God is withholding something from you. In the Garden of Eden, the Devil led Adam and Eve to think God was holding back, in that they did not have a knowledge of good and evil. We know how that turned out. The temptation with this passage is to think that we can not be sure of our salvation since we only “know in part.”
But to think Paul is saying, “Hey, we’re missing something important,” is to forget what Paul had written near the beginning of his letter to the people of Corinth. “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2). In other words, when you trust in Jesus and trust that you have forgiveness because He paid the price for your sins by dying on the cross, you have all that you need.
And yet, in having Jesus as your Savior, you want to know more about Him and God’s work of grace and salvation through His Son. The “part” which you “know” continues to grow as you (to use words from the Collect for the Word [TLH, pg. 14 and 107]) “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” God’s Word.
Prayer: O Almighty and most Merciful God, of Thy bountiful goodness keep us, we beseech Thee, from all things that may hurt us; that we, being ready, both in body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things that Thou wouldest have done; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
