1 Corinthians 5
5
A Case of Incest.#Paul first deals with the incestuous union of a man with his stepmother (1 Cor 5:1–8) and then attempts to clarify general admonitions he has given about associating with fellow Christians guilty of immorality (1 Cor 5:9–13). Each of these three brief paragraphs expresses the same idea: the need of separation between the holy and the unholy. 1It is widely reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of a kind not found even among pagans—a man living with his father’s wife.#Lv 18:7–8; 20:11; Dt 27:20. 2And you are inflated with pride.#Inflated with pride: this remark and the reference to boasting in 1 Cor 5:6 suggest that they are proud of themselves despite the infection in their midst, tolerating and possibly even approving the situation. The attitude expressed in 1 Cor 6:2, 13 may be influencing their thinking in this case. Should you not rather have been sorrowful? The one who did this deed should be expelled from your midst. 3I, for my part, although absent in body but present in spirit, have already, as if present, pronounced judgment on the one who has committed this deed,#Col 2:5. 4in the name of [our] Lord Jesus: when you have gathered together and I am with you in spirit with the power of the Lord Jesus, 5you are to deliver this man to Satan#Deliver this man to Satan: once the sinner is expelled from the church, the sphere of Jesus’ lordship and victory over sin, he will be in the region outside over which Satan is still master. For the destruction of his flesh: the purpose of the penalty is medicinal: through affliction, sin’s grip over him may be destroyed and the path to repentance and reunion laid open. With Paul’s instructions for an excommunication ceremony here, contrast his recommendations for the reconciliation of a sinner in 2 Cor 2:5–11. for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.#1 Tm 1:20.
6#Gal 5:9. Your boasting is not appropriate. Do you not know that a little yeast#A little yeast: yeast, which induces fermentation, is a natural symbol for a source of corruption that becomes all-pervasive. The expression is proverbial. leavens all the dough? 7#In the Jewish calendar, Passover was followed immediately by the festival of Unleavened Bread. In preparation for this feast all traces of old bread were removed from the house, and during the festival only unleavened bread was eaten. The sequence of these two feasts provides Paul with an image of Christian existence: Christ’s death (the true Passover celebration) is followed by the life of the Christian community, marked by newness, purity, and integrity (a perpetual feast of unleavened bread). Paul may have been writing around Passover time (cf. 1 Cor 16:5); this is a little Easter homily, the earliest in Christian literature. Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, inasmuch as you are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.#Ex 12:1–13; Dt 16:1–2; 1 Pt 1:19. 8Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.#Ex 12:15–20; 13:7; Dt 16:3.
9#Paul here corrects a misunderstanding of his earlier directives against associating with immoral fellow Christians. He concedes the impossibility of avoiding contact with sinners in society at large but urges the Corinthians to maintain the inner purity of their own community. I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people, 10not at all referring to the immoral of this world or the greedy and robbers or idolaters; for you would then have to leave the world.#10:27; Jn 17:15. 11But I now write to you not to associate with anyone named a brother, if he is immoral, greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunkard, or a robber, not even to eat with such a person.#Mt 18:17; 2 Thes 3:6, 14; 2 Jn 10. 12For why should I be judging outsiders? Is it not your business to judge those within? 13God will judge those outside. “Purge the evil person from your midst.”#Dt 13:6; 17:7; 22:24.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
1 Corinthians 5
5
The Report About a Sinful Man
1It’s actually reported that there is a sexual sin among you that’s so bad even people who don’t know God wouldn’t tolerate it. I’m told that a man is sleeping with his father’s wife. 2And you’re proud of this! Shouldn’t you be grieving instead? Shouldn’t you have thrown this man out from among you? 3Even though I’m not there with you physically, I am with you in spirit. And because I’m with you in spirit, in the name of our Lord Jesus I’ve already judged the man who’s doing this. 4So when you gather together, and I’m with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is also present, 5hand this man over to Satan. His body may be destroyed, but his spirit will be saved on the day the Lord returns.
6Your bragging isn’t good. Don’t you know that just a little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise? 7Get rid of the old yeast. Then you can be like a new batch of dough without yeast. That’s what you really are already, because Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. 8So let’s celebrate the Feast, but not with the old bread made with the yeast of hatred and wrongdoing. Let’s celebrate it with bread made without yeast, the bread of honesty and truth.
9I told you in my previous letter that you should stay away from people who commit sexual sins. 10I didn’t mean the people of this world who sin that way. And I wasn’t saying you should stay away from all people who are greedy, or who cheat others, or who worship statues of gods. To do that, you’d have to leave the world entirely! 11So let me clarify in this letter what I meant: You should stay away from anyone who claims to be a believer but who commits sexual sins, or is greedy, or worships idols, or tells lies about others, or gets drunk, or cheats. Don’t even eat with people like that.
12What business do I have judging those who are outside the church? But aren’t you supposed to judge those who are inside the church? 13God will judge those outside. But as for those inside, as Scripture says, “Throw out that person who’s doing wrong!”
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