1 Corinthians5

Paul addresses a severe case of incest within the Corinthian church and rebukes their complacency. He instructs them to excommunicate the offender, emphasizing the need to purge sin from the community like old leaven. Paul clarifies that while they must separate from immoral believers, judging those outside the church is God's role.
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Judging Immorality in the Church

1
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. ​
2
And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been stricken with grief and have removed from your fellowship the man who did this? ​
3
Although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.
4
When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of the Lord Jesus,
5
hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord. ​

The Danger of Leaven

6
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough? ​
7
Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ​
8
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth. ​

Clarification on Social Separation

9
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. ​
10
I was not including the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. ​
11
But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a verbal abuser, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. ​
12
What business of mine is it to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? ​
13
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” ​

Study Notes for 1 Corinthians 5

Verse 1

The specific sin (a man having his father’s wife) was considered incestuous even under Roman law (likely his stepmother, as the father was possibly still alive). Paul emphasizes the severity, noting it was scandalous even among non-Christians.

Verse 2

Paul condemns their 'puffed up' attitude, which suggests they tolerated the sin, perhaps viewing it as a sign of their radical freedom in Christ. They should have mourned the presence of sin and initiated discipline.

Verse 5

“Deliver such an one unto Satan” refers to excommunication, removing the person from the protective fellowship of the church. This harsh measure is intended to shock the individual into repentance, saving the spirit through the destruction of the flesh (the sinful nature).

Verse 6

The leaven metaphor, common in Judaism (especially around Passover), illustrates how a small amount of sin or false teaching can quickly corrupt the entire community. Paul warns that their tolerance endangers the whole church.

Verse 7

The command to 'purge out' links the removal of sin to the Jewish practice of removing all leaven before the Passover Feast. Christ is identified as the sacrificial Passover Lamb, establishing believers as inherently 'unleavened' (holy in status).

Verse 8

Since Christ has been sacrificed, believers are now perpetually 'keeping the feast' (living the Christian life), which must be characterized by sincerity and truth, not malice and wickedness (the spiritual leaven).

Verse 9

Paul begins clarifying a misunderstood instruction from a previous, non-extant letter, stressing that social separation is necessary to maintain the purity of the church community.

Verse 10

Paul notes that complete separation from sinners in the outside world is impossible and would require leaving society entirely. The responsibility of church discipline is focused internally.

Verse 11

The list defines what constitutes 'wickedness' among those 'called a brother.' The command 'with such an one no not to eat' signifies a complete break in fellowship, including exclusion from the Lord’s Supper, the ultimate step of excommunication.

Verse 12

Paul emphasizes the boundary of the church’s authority: they are responsible only for judging and disciplining their own members ('them that are within').

Verse 13

The chapter concludes with a direct command for excommunication, likely quoting or adapting the disciplinary principle found in Deuteronomy 13:5, demanding the removal of the wicked person from the community.

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