‘In pureness, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in love unfeigned, in the word of truth, in the power of God.'
Paul then goes on to describe his own personal and moral attributes. His deep troubles do not embitter him. Rather through Christ they produce within him the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), purity, understanding, longsuffering and kindness. These all result from the work of the Holy Spirit, and the genuine love He produces within (compare 1 Corinthians 13:4). They present a full-orbed description of the life of a servant of God who should seek to be pure, truly knowledgeable, longsuffering and kind.
Hagnotes (purity) only occurs here but the more common cognate hagnos ranges in meaning from an inward disposition such as purity of heart (2 Corinthians 11:3) to outward behaviour ("innocent," 2 Corinthians 7:11; "chaste," 2 Corinthians 11:2; "without defect," Philippians 4:8; "blameless," 1 Timothy 5:22). Its connection here with longsuffering and kindness suggests that it includes a right and blameless attitude to those with whom he has dealings (compare 2 Corinthians 1:12; 2 Corinthians 4:2; 2 Corinthians 6:3).
‘Knowledge' (gnosis) comes next, and may refer to "insight" (Phillips), or "understanding" (NIV), or a "grasp of truth" (NEB), a knowledge of genuine spiritual truth and an awareness of people and how to deal with them. It includes the God-given ability to know the right thing to do in a given situation because soaked in the Scriptures. This contrasts with the knowledge of some among the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 11:5; 1 Corinthians 8:1-2) which produced only pride, and was airy fairy and without consideration for others.
This is followed by long-suffering. This word is frequently used in the Old Testament of God's long-suffering attitude toward his people. It represents tender concern and loving patience toward those whose failings would normally provoke anger and annoyance.
‘Kindness (Chrestotes) is the fourth quality. It represents the capacity to show kindness even to the weak and undeserving and to evidence a sympathetic interest in the problems of others. It is goodness in action. All these have their source in love.
The genuineness, thoughtfulness, long-suffering and kindness that Paul exhibited arose from himself enjoying the experience of the compassion that Christ has for His own. It was ‘in the Holy Spirit', that is, it resulted from His work within, and was the consequence of His producing genuine unfeigned love, of His making sure the word of truth within, which thus possessed Paul's heart, and of His continual provision of ‘the power of God'. The one who has the right foundations of love, truth and God-power will exhibit the right attitudes and response.
‘In the Holy Spirit.' It is often asked why ‘the Holy Spirit' should appear in a list of attributes, and some have therefore sought to see it as an attribute (e.g. ‘holy spirit'), but the reason is not hard to find. He wanted first to draw attention to the outward aspects of behaviour and attitude, for they are the manifestation of ‘patient endurance' as he emphasised at the beginning, but he also wanted them to be aware of the source of it all. To have listed all the others without their source would indeed have seemed like boasting. Furthermore ‘in the Holy Spirit' can be seen as including all the other virtues which he has not had space to include (Galatians 5:22), and is especially connected with the idea of unfeigned love which follows (1 Corinthians 13; Galatians 5:22).
He follows the mention of the Holy Spirit with the marks of genuine ministry, which are themselves the work of the Spirit. Fullness of unfeigned love (1 Corinthians 13; Romans 15:30; Galatians 5:22; Colossians 1:8; 2 Timothy 1:7), being immersed in the truth (John 14:17; John 15:26; Ephesians 5:9) and in its proclamation (compare 2 Corinthians 5:14-21), and the experience of God's infinite power (compare 1 Corinthians 1:18 where word and power are connected; and 1 Corinthians 2:4 where Spirit and power are connected, contrast 1 Corinthians 4:19). Without these our ministry is indeed vain. Perhaps they should be listed in every pulpit. It is these which result in the gold, silver and precious stones of 1 Corinthians 3:12-15.