While Paul possessed high intellectual endowments, his life revealed the power of a rarer wisdom, which gave him quickness of insight and sympathy of heart, and brought him into close touch with others, enabling him to arouse their better nature and inspire them to strive for a higher life. His heart was filled with an earnest love for the Corinthian believers. He longed to see them revealing an inward piety that would fortify them against temptation. He knew that at every step in the Christian pathway they would be opposed by the synagogue of Satan and that they would have to engage in conflicts daily. They would have to guard against the stealthy approach of the enemy, forcing back old habits and natural inclinations, and ever watching unto prayer. Paul knew that the higher Christian attainments can be reached only through much prayer and constant watchfulness, and this he tried to instill into their minds. But he knew also that in Christ crucified they were offered power sufficient to convert the soul and divinely adapted to enable them to resist all temptations to evil. With faith in God as their armor, and with His word as their weapon of warfare, they would be supplied with an inner power that would enable them to turn aside the attacks of the enemy.

Paulus var i besiddelse af stor, åndelig begavelse, men desuden åbenbarede han i sit liv en sjælden visdom, som gav ham hurtig forståelse og hjertets medfølelse og som muliggjorde det for ham at vække andres bedre følelser og indgive dem trangen til at stræbe efter en højere livsform. Hans hjerte strømmede over af inderlig kærlighed til de troende i Korint. Han længtes efter at se dem åbenbare en sindets gudsfrygt, som kunne styrke dem i fristelser. Han vidste, at de for hvert skridt på kristendommens vej ville møde hindringer fra "Satans synagoge" og at de daglig ville blive indviklet i strid. De måtte være på vagt mod fjendens snedige angreb, gøre sig til herre over gamle vaner og naturlige tilbøjeligheder og altid våge og bede. Paulus vidste, at den højere kristne fuldkommenhed kun kan opnås ved megen bøn og ved altid at være på vagt og dette prøvede han at klargøre for deres tanker. Men han vidste også, at der ved den korsfæstede Kristus blev rakt dem en kraft, der var stærk nok til at omvende sjælen og at de fik guddomskraft til at modstå alle det ondes fristelser. I tillid til Gud som deres rustning og med hans ords våben ville de blive i stand til at modstå fjendens angreb.