The state of things in the assembly at Corinth was indeed sad, grievous, and heartbreaking. Paul knew the conditions that existed there, and the praise and thanksgiving is not a compromise concerning the evils that existed in the lives of the believers. Paul did not condone their evil, but he believed that love is the more excellent way. Therefore he assured them that he loved them in spite of their failures and even more so, the God who called them loved them in spite of their weaknesses and grievous shortcomings. Then he lays down one by one the commands and the exhortations dictated by the Holy Ghost who had appointed him an apostle to the Gentiles. - Introduction.