1 Corinthians 13:11
Intermediate1 Corinthians 13:11 · World English Bible (WEB)
“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.”
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Overview
The passing away of spiritual immaturity when fullness comes.
Paul uses the movement from childhood to manhood to explain that the present age is marked by partial knowledge and limited understanding, but God will bring His people into fuller sight and maturity. The verse is not mainly about growing up emotionally; it serves Paul’s larger point that even God-given gifts belong to the “partial” stage, while love endures.
What Makes This Verse Confusing?
Paul is not shaming childhood itself. He is describing a real stage that is proper for its time but incomplete. In the flow of 1 Corinthians 13:8-12, “child” represents the present condition of partial knowledge, partial prophecy, and incomplete sight. The childish stage is not evil; it is temporary.
The verse does not restate the surrounding contrast between “partial” and “perfect/full” inside verse 11 itself, so the metaphor can sound like a general proverb about personal maturity rather than part of Paul’s argument about the temporary nature of partial spiritual knowledge.
This keeps the verse anchored in Paul’s main point: even precious spiritual gifts and present understanding are not the final glory. They are gifts for now, but they are not the fullness God has promised.
Theological Insights
Believers live now in a real but incomplete stage of knowing; fullness awaits the day when God brings His people into perfected sight and understanding.
This calls for humility. Even true knowledge of God’s Word and real spiritual gifts must be held with reverence, love, and awareness that the Lord has not yet brought us into the final fullness.
Symbols & Metaphors
child
The present stage of partial understanding and limited perception.
Scripture often uses childhood to picture immaturity or incompleteness, as in 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 and 14:20.
Paul’s point is not that the present work of the Spirit is worthless, but that it belongs to a preparatory age. God’s gifts are good, yet they are not the final inheritance.
man
The state of fullness or maturity that replaces the partial stage.
In Paul’s letters, maturity often contrasts with spiritual infancy and incomplete understanding.
The image points beyond ordinary adult maturity to the completed work of God, when His people will no longer see dimly but will stand in fuller knowledge before Him.
Original Language
child — νήπιος , -α, -ον [in LXX chiefly for עוֹלֵל, also for פְּתִי, etc. ;] infant; of children and minors : Mat.21:16 (LXX), 1Co.13:11 , Gal.4:1 (see Lft., in l). Metaphorical, childish, unskilled, simple ( Psa.19:8 , Pro.1:32 al.): Mat.11:25 , Luk.10:21 , Rom.2:20 , Gal.4:3 , Eph.4:14 , 1Th.2:7 (WH, fox ἤπιοι); opposite to τέλειος, Heb.5:13; ν. ἐν Χριστῷ, 1Co.3:1. † (AS)
The word translated “child” emphasizes infancy or childishness, not merely youth. Paul is contrasting a limited stage of capacity with a fuller stage, which strengthens the connection to “in part” knowledge in the surrounding verses.
to abate — κατ-αργέω , -ῶ (κατά, causative, ἀργός = ἀ-εργός), [in LXX: 2Es.4.21; 2Es.4.23; 2Es.5.5; 2Es.6.8 (בְּטֵל)* ;] to make idle or inactive (χέρας, Eur., Phœn., 753): of soil occupied by an unfruitful tree, Luk.13:7. Metaphorical (Inscr.), to render inoperative or invalid, to abrogate, abolish : Rom.3:3, 31 , 1Co.1:28 6:13 13:11 15:24 , Gal.3:17 , Eph.2:15 , 2Th.2:8 , 2Ti.1:10 , Heb.2:14 ; pass., Rom.4…
This is the same kind of word Paul uses in the nearby discussion of things passing away or being brought to an end. “Put away” therefore fits the larger theme: the partial will be rendered inactive when the complete comes.
Lexicon & word tagging: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0)
Related Passages
1 Corinthians 14:20
parallelPaul again contrasts childishness and maturity, telling the Corinthians not to be children in their thinking.
1 Corinthians 3:1-2
parallelPaul describes the Corinthians as infants in Christ who were not yet ready for solid food.
Galatians 4:1
BackgroundEcclesiastes 11:10
BackgroundCross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · openbible.info (CC-BY)
Key Takeaway
Paul is saying that what belongs to the partial stage—even true spiritual knowledge and gifts—will be set aside when God brings His people into fullness.
Childhood is not despised; it is outgrown when fullness comes.“
Analysis generated on September 8, 2026 · version 2.0
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