When he came to them, they had no experimental knowledge of the way of salvation, and he was obliged to present the truth in its simplest form. Their carnal minds could not discern the sacred revealings of God; they were strangers to the manifestations of the divine power. Paul had spoken to them as those who were ignorant of the operations of that power upon the heart. They were carnal-minded, and the apostle was aware that they could not comprehend the mysteries of salvation; for spiritual things must be spiritually discerned. He knew that many of his hearers were proud believers in human theories, and reasoners of false systems of theology, groping with blind eyes in the book of nature for a contradiction of the spiritual and immortal life revealed in the Book of God. {LP 123.3}

Da han kom til dem, havde de ingen erfaringsmæssig kundskab til frelsens vej, og han var nød til at bringe dem sandheden i sin enkleste form. Deres kødelige sind kunne se Guds hellige åbenbarelser, de var fremmede for den guddommelige krafts manifestationer. Paulus havde talt til dem som dem der var uvidende om denne krafts indgreb i hjertet. De var kødeligt sindede, og apostlen var klar over at de ikke kunne fatte frelsens mysterier, for åndelige ting må erkendes åndeligt. Han vidste at mange af hans tilhørere var stolte troende i menneskelige teorier, og falske teologier konklusioner, famlede med blinde øjne i naturens bog til en selvmodsigelse af åndeligt og evigt liv åbenbaret i Guds bog.