As this picture was presented before him, Paul saw that his worst fears were more than realized. But he did not because of this give way to the thought that his work had been a failure. With "anguish of heart" and with "many 301 tears" he sought counsel from God. Gladly would he have visited Corinth at once, had this been the wisest course to pursue. But he knew that in their present condition the believers would not profit by his labors, and therefore he sent Titus to prepare the way for a visit from himself later on. Then, putting aside all personal feelings over the course of those whose conduct revealed such strange perverseness, and keeping his soul stayed upon God, the apostle wrote to the church at Corinth one of the richest, most instructive, most powerful of all his letters.

Da dette billede blev forelagt Paulus, forstod han, at hans værste frygt var mere end gået i opfyldelse. Men han ville ikke af denne grund give efter for den tanke, at hans arbejde havde været forgæves. Med "frygt og bæven" og "mange tårer" søgte han råd hos Gud. Gerne ville han med det samme have besøgt Korint, hvis dette havde været den klogeste fremgangsmåde. Men han vidste, at de troende ikke i deres nuværende tilstand ville kunne få noget ud af hans bestræbelser og derfor sendte han Titus, for at han kunne berede vejen for et senere besøg af ham selv. Derpå så han bort fra alle personlige følelser med hensyn til fremgangsmåden hos dem, hvis opførsel afslørede en så forunderlig fordærvelse og med en sjæl, der hvilede i Gud, skrev apostlen et af sine rigeste, mest belærende og magtfulde breve til menigheden i Korint.