When Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, the church in Corinth was probably not the type of church that most of us would have wanted to join. Many of its problems would have been immediately obvious to the casual attendee: The church was divided; people behaved
in selfish, unloving ways; some denied such fundamental doctrine as the resurrection of the dead; the church tolerated gross immorality; worship services were disorderly. Paul counsels the church to let love and godliness have first place in their assemblies.
The Corinthian believers had lost sight of the focus of the gospel: love God and love one another.