1 Corinthians 5:1-8

Applebury's Comments

The Matter of Moral Discipline (1-8)

Text

1 Corinthians 5:1-8. It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even among the Gentiles, that one of you hath his father's wife. 2 And ye are puffed up, and did not rather mourn, that he that had done this deed might be taken away from among you. 3 For I verily, being absent in body but present in spirit, have already as though I were present judged him that hath so wrought this thing, 4 in the name of our Lord Jesus, ye being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 7 Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, even as ye are unleavened. For our passover also hath been sacrificed, even Christ: 8 wherefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Commentary

It is actually reported.The problem of division in the church at Corinth had been reported to Paul by those of the household of Chloe. It is possible, although we cannot be certain about it, that his information about certain derelictions in the church came from the same source. The church had failed to take proper action in at least three issues, moral discipling, litigation, and use of the body. Bad as the sin of division was, these three additional sins coupled with the failure of the church to do anything about them constituted an even worse condition. There is little wonder that the apostle expresses amazement at the shocking condition of the church.

there is fornication among you.Immoral conduct stands high on the list of sins that degrade man and rob him of the privilege of maintaining family relations within the limits of the purity that God intended him to observe. The apostle condemns the sin and also implies that the failure of the responsible leaders to discipline the guilty part is equally serious.

not even among Gentiles.This is a remarkable statement in view of the fact that Corinth was known for its luxury and licentiousness. There were limits to things that even pagans tolerated. God's divine plan for the home given at the time of creation of man (Genesis 2:23-24) and upheld by Our Lord (Matthew 19:4-6) should have been restored to its proper place in the life of the church. It is true that polygamy was known among pagans and practiced by some of the believers in God in Old Testament times, but the case of incest in the church at Corinth could not be justified by either pagan or Jew or Christian who held to the divine standard for the home.

his father's wife.Polygamy was practiced and concubinage was approved in the culture of that day, but this thing was shocking to all whose moral sense was not dulled by selfish pride and desire to receive praise from men. This onewhoever he was we do not know for Paul does not name himwas probably living with one of the wives of his father, certainly not with his mother, Nothing said about the father, but in all probability he was dead.

With the church tolerating such conduct, how could they hope to win pagans to Christ? Pagan standards, it would seem, were higher than those of the church at Corinth. No effective presentation of the cause of Christ can be made unless it is supported by the transformed lives of the members of the church.

And ye are puffed up.Once again Paul hurls this charge at the Corinthians. They were guilty of being self-centered and arrogant. This came from the situation that resulted in the divided state of the church. Their cliques, where men received glory from men, were the cause of their failure to act in these cases that required disciplinary action. It does not seem that they were proud of the immoral conduct on the part of this brother, but their sin lay in the fact that they failed to do their duty and remove the immoral one from their midst.

did not rather mourn.They had lost their sense of shame. The fact that such a sin existed in their midst should have caused them to mourn as a sign of disapproval. Instead, they were carrying on their efforts to promote one leader above another as if totally unaware of the presence of sin in their midst. The whole church was being put to shame in the eyes of the pagans, but they were unaware of it.

he that had done this deed.Paul did not name him. There was no need to do so for he must have been well known to the church and to the pagan community. Perhaps the name was withheld with the hope of helping the guilty brother. Remedial action was called for. The final judgment, of course, would take care of those who would not heed the admonition of the gospel. The man mentioned in 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 could be the same as the one mentioned here, although most commentators doubt it. If it is true, then it is evident that the effort Paul put forth to correct the situation in Corinth was not in vain. At any rate, the principle of forgiveness would apply in the event the man, whether the same one or not, did repent and show evidence of it by a changed life.

taken away from among you.Paul had stated that fornication is among you. Now the one who did the deed must be taken away from you. Immorality and all other violations of God's law for His people simply cannot remain in the church without destroying the church. Better to remove the diseased member than to loose the whole body. But the analogy ends here, for the removed one could be saved in the end if he should repent and ask God for forgiveness. This should be the end in view in all such cases. To condone sin, however, is to virtually seal the doom of the sinner. To take him away from the other members is the only possible hope of saving him. The problem is, How shall this be done? This Paul proceeds to show in detail.

For I verily, being absent in body but present in spirit.It did not require the physical presence of the apostle to settle this matter. God knows the hearts of all men, and His inspired Word is sufficient to direct the course of action designed to remedy all such cases. It is possible that the Corinthians felt there was nothing they could do since the apostle was not present. They may not have reckoned on the information reaching him. Perhaps they were too smug in their exalted positions within the cliques in the church to care much about his absence or their duty in the matter. But this situation demanded action, and Paul tells them what to do about it.

have already as though I were present judged him.This is like a case being tried before a judge. Paul as the inspired apostle of Christ hands down the verdict. The heart of this involved sentence is this: I have already decided to hand him over to Satan. There was no call for a formal assembly to try the case. This had already been done by one competent to do so, for he was directed in his action as an apostle by the Holy Spirit. All that was left for the church was to carry out the order of the judgehand over such a one to Satan. This order was just as binding as if Paul had been there in person to pronounce sentence.

that hath wrought this thing.There was no need to repeat the sordid details; they had been given and were well known to the church. Note Paul's remark to the Ephesians, But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as becometh saints (Ephesians 5:3). But such a sin had to be removed.

in the name of our Lord Jesus.That is, by His authority. As an apostle of Christ, Paul is acting for Christ. This could only be so because he was being directed by the Holy Spirit. Note Jesus-' words to the apostles during one of His appearances after the resurrection, Receive ye the Holy Spirit: whose soever sins ye forgive, they are forgiven unto them; whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained (John 20:22-23). A similar word was spoken to the apostles at an earlier time, Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth: for he shall not speak from himself; but what things soever he shall hear, these he shall speak: and he shall declare unto the things that are to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall take of mine, and declare it unto you (John 16:13-14). Upon still another occasion Jesus said to the twelve, Verily I say unto you, that ye who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of His glory, ye shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28). There is no doubt that Paul had same authority as all the other apostles. The decision of one judge is the decision of the whole group. The decision which he made in this case is the divine decision, and it had to be carried out as an act of obedience to God.

ye being gathered together, and my spirit.This shows the conditions under which the judgment of the apostle was to be carried out. The church was to assemble with the apostle's presence represented by his inspired epistle which gave direction for their action. The directive was just as authoritative as if Paul were actually present. The absence of living apostles today does not justify the church in disregarding the instruction of the Word in such matters if they should occur.

This was not a trial as if the church were attempting to arrive at a solution of the problem. The facts were too well known; they were rumored everywhere. The decision was that of the inspired apostle. The church had only one thing to do: let it be known that they were acting on the orders of the Lord through His apostle. The church, the one who had done this deed, and the community in which it occurred were all to know that they were no longer to be mixed up with the one guilty of immoral conduct.

with the power of the Lord Jesus.It is the Lord's power functioning through His inspired Word through an obedient church that actually hands over the guilty one to Satan. Christ alone can exclude one from His body just as the Lord alone can add to His body those who are being saved. But He accomplishes both through the church as it complies with His instructions.

There are numerous examples of the exercise of divine power to punish the wicked. Some of them have been exhibited in miraculous demonstrations. Ananias and Sapphira were stricken dead for lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-11). They, of course, thought they were dealing with the apostle Peter when they misrepresented their generosity. Not every one who lies is immediately stricken dead, but the judgment of the Lord is against the liar (Revelation 21:8). Elymas the sorcerer was stricken blind for interfering with the effort of Paul to present the gospel to Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:9-12).

The miracle of a transformed life faithfully demonstrated in the daily conduct of the church would have just as great effect on the unsaved as these miracles in the physical realm. The Corinthian brethren could yet impress the pagan community that the Lord was real to them by excluding sin from their midst. The church that actually abides by the instruction of the Lord in His Word can effectively show a wilful sinner that no one approves his deeds but Satan.

to deliver such a one unto Satan.The Lord was to do this through His obedient church. But how? Note the clear statements of the course of action that was to be taken as set forth in this context: (1) taken away from among you (1 Corinthians 5:1); (2) deliver such a one to Satan (1 Corinthians 5:5); (3) purge out the old leaven (1 Corinthians 5:7); (4) have no company with fornicators (1 Corinthians 5:9); (5) put away the wicked man from among yourselves (1 Corinthians 5:13).

Note that no formal trial is indicated. It was not a question of the church trying to decide one's guilt; the apostle had already made that decision. It was simply a matter of the church complying with the Lord's instruction through His inspired apostle. In other words, the church is to follow the standard of daily conduct revealed in the Word of God. That forbids getting mixed up with immoral persons so as to imply approval of their conduct. Where the Word is faithfully preached and effectively backed up by the lives of all concerned, there will be no doubt as to the position of the church on matters such as faced the church at Corinth. When the church shows by its conduct that it does not approve immoral conduct, the only one left to do so is Satan and his slaves to sin.
Should such a person be permitted to attend church services? While this is a matter of opinion, it seems that if the Word is faithfully preached and the church is faithfully living it, this would be the ideal place for sinners of all sorts to hear what to do to be saved from sins. But under no circumstances should they be put into positions of leadership and responsibility in the church. No action of the church should be such as to lead the one at variance with the truth of the gospel to imply approval of his life.

for the destruction of the flesh.Paul has spoken of the members of the Corinthian congregation as made of flesh and belonging to flesh. That was a reference to their spiritual immaturity. But flesh in this context refers to the sinful practice that was the outgrowth of perversion of powers inherent in the physical body. For a list of such sins which Paul calls the works of the flesh see Galatians 5:19-21.

The destruction of the flesh then does not imply bodily harm as in the cases of Ananias and Elymas. It does suggest the conquering of those desires that arise out of physical impulses such as led to the shocking state of affairs in Corinth.

that the spirit may be saved.Man is a two-fold beinga spirit dwelling in a physical body. Much of what becomes sin in his life is a perversion of those things which are connected with his physical being. The physical body dies, but it will be raised in the resurrection of the dead at the last day. Paul declares, as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22). Speaking of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus said, the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment (John 5:28-29).

It was with this hope in mind that Paul gave instruction to the church to deliver the guilty one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. He hoped that the guilty one would repent and change his ways and be saved. Now we see why such peremptory action is commanded. It isn-'t kind to condone sin and encourage one to go on in sinful activity that can lead only to his being lost. Deliver him to Satan; let him know by teaching and action that he has only Satan's approval, and it might bring him to his senses. Of course, a Christian attitude toward all such individuals at all times is necessary. The church should show a willingness to forgive at the least sign of repentance. See 2 Corinthians 5:5-11; 2 Thessalonians 3:14.

Your glorying is not good.Their glorying over men and being puffed up with pride while a sinful situation was being disregarded to the disgrace of the whole church and the inevitable loss of the sinner was not praiseworthy. As leprosy destroys the beauty of the body, so sin destroys the attractiveness of the church.

a little leaven leavens the whole lump.Were some saying that this was an isolated case that did not necessarily affect the whole church? Paul is not saying that the whole church was practicing such sin. But the whole body was in danger of being affected by the sin of one member. The effectiveness of the church in preaching Christ was ruined by this one example that even pagans could not approve. Just as a small amount of the leavening agent spreads through all the dough, so this evil thing would spread to the whole church. That's why they had to get rid of it in the manner prescribed by the inspired apostle.

purge out the old leaven.At the passover feast, the Jews were to remove all leaven from their midst. Leaven in this instance stands for sin. It is associated with the old life before one becomes a Christian. The church is to get rid of sinful conduct that belongs to its former life. Paul made this clear in the Roman letter: We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we might walk in the newness of life. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection; knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away so that we should no longer be in bondage to sin (Romans 6:4-6). See also Colossians 3:5-11 where Paul declares that the members on earth which are involved in sin such as fornication and the like are to be put to death.

that ye may be a new lump.The Christian life is completely new. The Christian is a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). He has a new name (Acts 11:26). He has a new master (Romans 6:16-18). He has a new hope (Hebrews 6:18-20). He has a new destiny (2 Peter 3:11-13). With all this, he certainly should be living the new life (Romans 6:1-5; Romans 12:1-2).

even as ye are unleavened.God set the Christian free in Christ. The church is, in His sight, sanctified or separated from sin. Since that is what they are in God's eternal purpose, church members are to conduct themselves accordingly. The church is not to be like ancient Israel that was delivered from bondage in Egypt but continually longed to go back to their former state and were forever doing the things that brought disgrace upon themselves and their God who redeemed them.

For our passover hath been sacrificed, even Christ.See Exodus 12:1-51 for the account of the passover. The lamb represents Christ. John the Baptist called Him the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Paul says, Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21). The point is this, Christ has already died for our sins. We are under obligation to live the life separated from sin (Romans 6:1-2).

let us keep the feast.The whole Christian life is likened to the passover feast. Just as leaven which represented sin was to be excluded during the feast so sin is to be put away from the whole Christian life. The Christian is to live the life of separation from sin seven days a week for as long as life lasts. It is not for just one day a week, but for the duration of life (Revelation 2:10). This earnest exhortation expresses the apostle's hope that the church at Corinth will put this sinful person with his immoral conduct out of their midst.

old leaven.The leaven that represents sin and that belonged to the old life before becoming a Christian.

unleavened bread.The new life in Christ is to be characterized by sincerity and truth. The Corinthian church was guilty of living a life of hypocrisy and falsehood. They were preaching remission of sins through the blood of the Lamb, but living in s n and lending approval to others who were doing so. Pagans could not be won to the Lord by such conduct. The gospel which is the word of truth must be supported by a life of sincerity and truth in Christ.