Most people have heard:
“Through a glass, darkly (phrase), a Biblical phrase from 1 Corinthians 13:12″
So, what does that scripture mean?
What do the words mean?
In Greek that is: βλέπομεν γὰρ ἄρτι δι’ ἐσόπτρου ἐν αἰνίγματι (blepomen gar arti di esoptrou en ainigmati)
What Paul is writing about has been described as either a window, in accord with the ” rabbinic use of the term אספקלריה (aspaklaria), a borrowing from the Latin specularia. This has the same ambiguous meaning, although Adam Clarke concluded that it was a reference to specularibus lapidibus, clear polished stones used as lenses or windows.”
Others reframe it as “a poor reflection as in a mirror (New International Version).”
However, it was a reference that Paul, who had seen Christ and heard the voice of God more than once and who had the heavens open themselves to him in open vision, was explaining that his knowledge of God and of eternal things was limited, like seeing through a bad window or seeing a poor reflection in a bad mirror.
Other authors in the New Testament expressed their understandings of things in a similar fashion. Consider 1 John:
Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.
What does the meaning mean?
After all, it is more than words. The words are pretty clear. We don’t see things clearly.
But the meaning of the words, is that people like John, remembering that he knew Christ, was taught for 40 days by the risen Christ after the resurrection and had visions and visitations would say that there were core matters that he did not know in any clear way.
The entire thing is a warning that we know in part, we believe in part, we hope in part, but our understanding — assuming we are one of the people who has talked to Christ face to face — is still extremely limited and imperfect. It also suggests that we draw conclusions from our imperfect knowledge that are much too firm.
So what was Paul trying to teach us?
The phrase is part of 1 Cor. 13. In that chapter, Paul is writing about how “Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” He was explaining that everything except for charity (loving kindness) will fail, that what we know, and believe and understand is faulty and that what we really should embrace is kindness to others.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
He was teaching that our supposed knowledge is far less than faith. Faith is less than hope. But that love is greater than all, and the one thing that does not fail us. As a result, no matter how much we know, how great our faith, how strong our hope, the one thing that matters is the kindness with which we act.
What do you think?
Do you think that we have better mirrors and windows than Paul had into the mind of God and the knowledge of Christ? Do you think there is a greater commandment than to love God and our neighbors? What is your takeaway from Paul’s words here?
Wheat & Tares 
To answer some of your questions, I am not sure. Which may be THE answer – that we can’t really “KNOW” it all. At least not in this life.
But on your second question, with my faith crisis I definitely have retreated back to “Love the Lord and Love others” as the only thing I have much of a solid belief in.
I love that phrase. My personal interpretation is along the lines of
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
I take it to mean that what we comfortably call the tangible, rational, sane world is nothing but a constructed reality. It’s a construction of our limited biological sensing systems, limited processing power, and limited experience.
From a spiritual perspective this phrase means there are aspects of the mind we only vaguely understand. These aspects transcend logic and, for me, are best enjoyed by letting go of logic.
I want to make it clear that I’m not necessarily referring to anything supernatural. First, we can learn to listen what our unconscious mind is telling us and learn to trust those thoughts (call them “revelations” if you prefer). Second, we can learn to live our lives in “Zen mode” where we simply trust what happens without the need to overthink. Lastly, as the human race continues to evolve and learn about the universe around us, I expect our perception to expand 1000-fold.
I suppose, even then, we’ll *still* be seeing through a glass darkly.
This is also one of my favorite scriptures. I always took it to mean a mirror, or IOW, that we don’t see our true potential in ourselves. We focus on our flaws, our human experiences, the things of today, and we don’t see ourselves in true perspective. Even in seeing others, it’s the same. We are playing a long game, but we forget that and play it like a short game.
Hawk — I’ve been working on this post for a while, but when you posted your post on Mirrors and Windows, I couldn’t resist. 😉
Happy Hubby, I think this captures what we can know of God: http://www.wheatandtares.org/7938/our-god-is-an-awesome-quantum-god/
Elder Anderson — I agree somewhat, though I’m always reminded of this: http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2016-03-19
Hawk — that is also a great insight, that because the reflection is distorted, we do not see our true potential. It is also true that most people tend to see their flaws magnified and their virtues reduced. That fits in so well with your reading.
I think we forget just how very, very long the game is.
@Stephen
Funny cartoon, but not sure how it relates to my post.
@hawkgrrrl
“… play it like a short game…”
That’s another Covey gem. The idea of win-win versus zero sum. In many cases we get so focused on the idea that, if I win, you have to lose.
To me, that translates into living a generous life…. not always looking to win in the short term.
If we have a generous, kind, loving, open heart and “live big”, we will foster win-win scenarios everywhere we go.
I heard a metaphor somewhere of a hunter concentrating so hard on the rabbit in front of him that he runs into a tree.
Elder Anderson, I was way too terse. My wife warns me about that. The cartoon is a punch line on a series of discussions about constructed reality.
The glass is the separation between our egos and our spirits. From our ego’s point of view we think we should be able to “rationally” understand the spirit side without recognizing that ego is a mental construct no more valid or sophisticated than the approximation we call Newtonian physics. From the spirit side the ego has all the relevance of preschooler mentality. Mortal metaphors simply fail.
@Stephen
OK. Just so as you weren’t accusing me of a Matrix reference. 🙂
I also prefer the mirror aspect, since he contrasts it immediately with seeing face to face (hearkening back to Moses seeing God face to face). C.S. Lewis used a similar mirror aspect at the end of his Narnia books to describe the afterlife. The characters discover that the afterlife looks very similar to the regular world, except the colors, smells, and sounds are so much more vivid. It’s like mortality was only a dim reflection in a mirror of the glorious reality of eternity.
@Stephen
To be clear, what I meant was that our brains construct the reality we each experience in real time. The constructions we call reality are subject to limitations on our perception, intelligence, etc. As a very simplistic example, bees can see into the UV spectrum and can see polarized light. Or, imagine the “reality” a dog experiences. He gets as much information from his nose as you get from your eyes. Or, imagine what it would be like if your brain had the processing bandwidth to make use of *all* the incoming information you receive instead of filtering most of it out. That’s what I mean in re “through a glass darkly”.
…no matter how much we know, how great our faith, how strong our hope, the one thing that matters is the kindness with which we act…
I wouldn’t want to elevate one over the other — faith, hope, and charity, all centered in Jesus Christ, are all important and worth seeking. All three are obtainable together.
Human emotion can for the purpose of analysis be pushed and shoved into just four: Happy, angry, sad, scared. Anger and fear form a fight flight axis, it is animal based not spirit based. The biological experience of fight flight (it’s chemical amplification) does not survive death and you are left with just your memory and habits of these emotions. Happy sad forms a connection axis. Perhaps you still think that the continued acquisition of new material things makes you happy (it doesn’t) but in death there are no material things as we know them to continue acquiring including numbing drugs if you mistakenly think that’s happiness. What does exist in the spirit world is (surprise) lots and lots of spirits including divine spirits. So what is happiness? It is oneness. Yes oneness with God but also oneness with others. What is sadness? It is simply our distance from oneness. When someone dies, we miss them, it makes us sad. So because happiness is oneness kindness and charity matter more than other traits. The reason this isn’t clear to us is that we’re too busy fighting, fleeing and acquiring to notice how it actually works.
@Howard
The first distinction I thought of was that faith and hope are mostly internal, whereas kindness is mostly directed at others. That alone makes kindness a higher priority for me. I suppose even a faithless, hopeless person could still be kind.
Stephen, To add to some of the points made. I like the concept of Johari window and focusing of what we understand of our self. To me it has some interesting ramification when it comes to our actions, interactions with others and our faith in God and how he sees us. Joseph Luft who created this in the mid 50s probably would not add the faith part but to me it fits.
From this passage, my take-away has been, “You don’t see God or his work or what is possible, or what heaven is, fully or clearly now, neither does anyone else, so be willing to live with an understanding that absolutely everybody, including you, including me, doesn’t get the whole picture and that none of us will in this life. Do the best you can to follow what you understand, allow others who seek to do so do the same, and always remember that Charity is the only means to truly navigate this situation in a godly, helpful way.
Be gentle and openminded in regards to the existence of your own, yet undiscovered, misperceptions and also gentle and charitably inclined with those you may perceive in the thoughts and actions of your fellow believers or seekers of truth. We all have them.
The quote comes from one of my favorite books of scripture. I think we all see through the glass darkly meaning we do not know as much as we like to think we do. This is why apostles should tread lightly when not allowing children of LGBT couples or polygamists to be baptized. Charity is far more important and is in harmony with the sermon on the mount which puts the focus on love and service.
A short comment. I was raised as a Christian but later in life turned to Hinduism. In Shaivism the famous image of Shakti, the Goddess of nature so said , is compared to a reflection- vimarsha, in Sanskrit. As in a reflections things are always reversed, the mirror of nature views the Reality of the Godhead, in a sort of darkened way. We, who are ‘under the modes of nature, Individually see things distorted by the false ego, ahamkara. When however we receive the grace of the Lord, anugraha, we see things as they are.. Hence Paul says we now see in part, but in the future (after we turn the Light Around, so said) , we see things in their totality! The false ego makes for atomicity , but the true ego ( being resurrected in Christ! ) allows a a total view of things as they truly exist, asti!
As such,I read this lovely verse which I am planning to use as a ‘sutra’ for my next lecture ( on Himduism, Daoism and Christianity) ., with due deference and joy!
Thank you for your enlightened post! Namaste!
Rishika R. Devi (lecturer on -among other topics- ‘ Art as Vehicles of Transcendence’)
11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I set aside childish ways. 12 Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.… You’ve not taken the context in your assessment. It’s self reflection and wisdom.