Now, there is a vast difference between precept and practice, between the ideal and the realization. But in the case of the apostle Paul contentment was an actual experience that must have been continuous, for he says, “in whatsoever state I am.” How then did Paul enter into this experience, and of what did the experience consist? The reply to the first question is to be found in the words, “I have learned … to be content.” The apostle did not say, “I have received the baptism of the Spirit, and