in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the sixth chapter of Ephesians, Paul pleads:

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able
to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand
therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having
on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the
preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of
faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of
the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the Word of God: Praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints.

Peter was a rock, hewn into shape and polished by the divine hand; Paul
was a "chosen vessel" to bear the Redeemer's Name before "the Gentiles
and kings and the children of Israel." Paul was an orator with a
purpose; he was a man with a message. He was eloquent because he knew
what he was talking about and meant what he said. No wonder, for he was
called to service by a summons so distinct and unmistakable that he
turned at once from persecuting to preaching. Paul is responsible for
one of the most inspiring sentences in the Bible--"I was not disobedient
unto the heavenly vision." It was the key to his whole life.

Love is not blind, declares Tolstoy; it sees what ought to be done and
does it. So with Paul. His eyes were open to the truth and he saw it;
he was sensitive to the needs of the Church and his epistles are filled
with wise counsel. He encouraged the worthy, admonished the erring and
strengthened the weak. Paul knew well the secret of liberality, as shown
in 2 Corinthians 8: 5. The members of the Macedonian church "first gave
their own selves"; giving was easy after that. Paul's religion could not
be shaken; read his vow as recorded in the eighth chapter of Romans:

For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

His sufferings developed patience and deepened devotion. They prepared
him to appreciate love and to define it as no other mortal has done.

His tribute to love, contained in the thirteenth chapter of 1
C