Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Corinthians 13:12

"For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known." — 1 Corinthians 13:12 (ASV)

For now—that is, in this earthly life, the “for” connecting the previous statement with that which it illustrates.

Through a glass, darkly.—Better, through a mirror in a dark saying. The illustration here is from a mirror when the image appears far behind the mirror itself.

If we remember the imperfect metal surfaces which formed the mirrors of those days, we can imagine how imperfect and enigmatic (the Greek word is “in an enigma”) the image would appear.

So the Apostle says, “Like that image you see when you look at an object in a mirror far off, with blurred and undefined outline, such is our knowledge here and now; but then (that is, when this dispensation is at an end) we shall see as you see a man when you stand before him face to face.” (See Numbers 12:7-8 for a similar thought, but a different illustration of it—mouth to mouth.)

The word for “glass” here is the same as in James 1:23 and must mean a mirror, and not, as some commentators suggest, a pane of transparent stone or horn, such as was then used, for which a quite different word would have been employed.