1 Corinthians 13:12b wrote:ἄρτι γινώσκω ἐκ μέρους τότε δὲ ἐπιγνώσομαι καθὼς καὶ ἐπεγνώσθην
"Now we know
each of us a bit /
partially, but later we will know as we also were fully known
David Arnold wrote:My work with Indigenous Peoples has led me to dissect 1 Cor 13:12. I am working through an understanding of the Greek word 'meros' in this passage. I see a reference to 'a part assigned' (Strong's). Am I stretching things to suggest that we are only assigned a part of God's full truth, this side of eternity. If so, could this be extrapolated to suggest that perhaps God has assigned a part to different cultures and as we 'partner' inter-culturally, we share and learn a fuller truth.
Having looked at the Greek text and a couple of English translations, it seems to me that knowing Greek well doesn't help (or in your case
wouldn't) help you answer your question. Let me share my knowledge of the Greek to take you one step closer to understanding how to question the Greek text to find what a knowledge of Greek can or can't (would or wouldn't be able to) give you to help you answer your question about the relationship between culture and the God's revelation.
What you have asked is not really a B-Greek sort of question, so, let's work towards rephrasing your question, so that you might get a good answer from other very knowledgeable people here on B-Greek...
The phrase ἐκ μέρους occurs a few times in the vicinity of the verse you are asking about (1 Corinthians 13:12b) with a sense that seems to mean either "partial" or "each". In 1 Corinthians 12:27 Ὑμεῖς δέ ἐστε σῶμα Χριστοῦ καὶ μέλη
ἐκ μέρους "you are the body of Christ and each of you are members
" the phrase is rendered as giving the sense that each one individually is needed to make the whole "
each", "individually" ("in particular"). In 1 Corinthians 13:9 ἐκ μέρους γὰρ γινώσκομεν καὶ ἐκ μέρους προφητεύομεν "for we know partially and we preach partially" it has generally been taken to mean "
partially".
Forgive me for taking the liberty to rephrase your question within the terms of a discussion about the Greek language rather than in the way you originally posed it and perhaps we will get a reply:
Can the same phrase ἐκ μέρους have the meaning "each one severally (making up the whole)" (1 Corinthians 12:27) in one place and then right in the very next chapter have another meaning "partially" (1 Corinthians 13:9a, 9b)? What would be the best way to take it in 1 Corinthians 13:12?