1 Corinthians 5:1-13 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. Let’s go!
1 Corinthians 5:1-13 (NIV)
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.
2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?
3 Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed 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, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present,
5 hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?
7 Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast–as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.
9 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people–
10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.
11 But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.
12 What business is it of mine 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.”
On verses 1-13: In 1 Corinthians 5 Paul deals with the problem of sexual immorality in his church in Corinth. In particular, there was a man in the church who had been sleeping with his stepmom (v1). That man would not listen to any warnings or admonitions from his local church leaders to stop this not only adulterous but also incestuous relationship. In addition, it appears that other members of the church were not just tolerating this behaviour, but boasting about it and thus encouraging it (v2, v6). So Paul as the church founder must step in.
Paul tells the church that they have no choice but to “hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord” (v5). What does it mean to “hand this man over to Satan”? Was Paul giving up on this man? Was Paul himself worshiping Satan? No. The act of “handing this man over to Satan” means to not allow this man to continue to join the church’s meetings until “the destruction of his flesh”, that is, until such time as he has repented of his sin and is no longer carrying on the incestuous relationship. Paul tells them to do this “when you are assembled together…and the power of our Lord Jesus is present” (v4)? In other words, they are to exercise this church discipline by making a public announcement while the church is gathered in an atmosphere of worship and prayer.
The goal of this kind of church discipline is to protect everyone involved. First, it’s to protect the church against any further harm that the sin might cause and to make clear right from wrong. Second, it’s to protect the man who sinned in that hopefully by taking this disciplinary action, he would come to his senses, discontinue his sinful behaviour and come back to God and the church. Third, it’s to protect new Christians and even non-Christians in the church who might be confused, distracted or even emboldened by the behaviour of the man who sinned.
By exercising this church discipline, the leaders of the Corinthian church would allow a new, healthier culture to rise up. As verse 7 says, “Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch – as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” Instead of a worship culture that was tainted by the yeast of “malice and wickedness” (v8), they could start to worship Jesus in a culture that was filled with “sincerity and truth” (8b).
What can we learn from this? In the great majority of circumstances where a person in the church sins there is no need for any public discipline by the church. Rather, that sin is a private issue between that person and God and between that person and anyone whom that person sinned against. However, in certain (hopefully) rare circumstances, sometimes a sin is so serious, the impact so public, and the harm so far reaching that not engaging in some form of public church discipline would cause even more harm to the church. Paul believed the incestuous relationship described in 1 Corinthians 5 was one of those situations.
Paul is careful to clarify that they should exercise this church discipline because the person who sinned claims to be a Christian and yet refuses to repent of sin. If the person who sinned was not a Christian and was not in the church, he would not be held to the same standard (v12). As Paul writes in verse 9-10:
1 Corinthians 5:9-10 (NIV)
9 I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people–
10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.”
Here Paul is showing that we must be very careful what kind of Christians we get close to, lest they influence us in the wrong way. As Paul writes in verse 11, “But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler.” In other words, don’t become very close friends with someone who claims to be a Christian but who lives like anything but.
In our families, our homes, our workplaces, and teams, we will occasionally face situations where sin must be confronted and dealt with in a loving but firm way. May God give you wisdom and courage to deal with those situations in a way that most honours God and best protects all who are affected by the situation.
Finally, it is worth noting that the reason Paul gives in verse 7 for why we should “Get rid of the old yeast”, that is, get rid of our sinful habits, is “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed”. In other words, Christ’s death on the cross does not give us an excuse to sin more, but a reason all the more to want to live free from sin’s control and effects and to live a life that gives honour and glory to God.
Heavenly Father, please give me wisdom to know what people to get close to and what people I need to love only from a distance, since I will inevitably be affected by those I am closest to. Please also give me and those reading this GAME sharing wisdom to know how best to deal with sin when its impact is very public. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
