Verse 6
In pureness, in knowledge, in longsuffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in love unfeigned.
Paul's total lack of any classical classification of the things he was mentioning is revealed here by his inclusion of the Holy Spirit in a list of the Spirit's gifts. This has so frustrated some commentators that they have rendered it "a spirit that is holy."[15]
In pureness ... The primary meaning of this would be "chastity," especially in a place like Corinth; but the sincerity and integrity of the total life are also included by it.
In this verse Paul has moved from a catalogue of difficulties to a record of the inward qualities of his own life which had enabled him to attain the victory through so many hardships.
In knowledge ... This is a tribute to the word of God, in Paul's case largely the Old Testament scriptures, which had provided the power to understand and overcome all hardships. Many of the greatest problems of the Old Testament would probably never have been explained without the matchless learning and perceptive powers of this great apostle. Justification by faith, the spiritual body of Christ, the significance of "in Christ," the mystery of the hardening of Israel - and many other subjects are singularly illuminated by the mind of Paul.
In longsuffering ... Even yet, after so many centuries, the amazing forbearance and tenderness of Paul's dealings with "babes in Christ" like those in Corinth are evident for all to see. No matter what was wrong, or how often difficulties came, Paul always had time to try to put it all back together again.
In kindness ... in the Holy Spirit ... in love unfeigned ... Both kindness and love are among the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22); but Paul was merely mentioning everything that had helped him through the storms.
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