1 Corinthians 5
1 It is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, the kind of immorality that is not permitted even among the Gentiles, so that someone is cohabiting with his father’s wife.
The Corinthian church had tolerated incest in their church. This was prevalent in the Roman society, but not in the church.
2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you have been deeply sorrowful instead and removed the one who did this from among you?
Jesus said, “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican” (Matt. 18:15–17).
Incest was considered a sin even in the Roman culture. The Corinthians did not deal with this sin as Jesus had commanded. The Corinthians were a poor witness to the Roman world around them. They were compromise with evil.
Those couples who are living together without being married are living in sin as far as God is concerned. It makes no difference what public opinion says about it or how many people are practicing it or what one's friends may think. The inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God calls this sin, and there is no other way around it.
3 For even though I am absent physically, I am present in spirit. And I have already judged the one who did this, just as though I were present.
At this time in church history, the apostles were the elders of the church. They had been given the power to bind and loose, meaning that they had the authority to make the laws and administer discipline as they saw fit.
4 When you gather together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of our Lord Jesus,
Paul was asking the Corinthians to gather together in assembly in the name of Lord Jesus. Paul would be with them in spirit.
5 turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
This assembly was to turn this man over to Satan for discipline. God turned Job over to Satan, causing Job to understand the mind of God. Jesus turned Peter over to be sifted by Satan, and Peter denied Jesus, but it made Peter strong enough to preach the Acts 2 sermon. Paul turned Hymenaeus and Alexander over to Satan, because they were professing Christians who were blaspheming God.
6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast affects the whole batch of dough?
Corinth was closing their eyes to incest inside the church, yet boasting to the world how great they were.
7 Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough – you are, in fact, without yeast. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
When leaven is put in bread, it caused the bread to puff up until it became corrupted and inedible. Unleavened bread was used on Passover to symbolize the sinless life of the Messiah to come. The Corinthians were allowing leaven, which symbolized evil, to enter the church.
8 So then, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of vice and evil, but with the bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.
Paul may have been considering the removal of Communion out of the congregation until they eliminated this evil from tier church.
9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.
This letter no longer exists. This shows that Paul may have wrote many letters that were not included in the Scriptures.
10 In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world.
Corinth was a city that boasted over 1000 priestesses at the prostitution temple of Aphrodite.
11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.
Christians were not to compromise with the world. They were not even to eat at the same table with them.
12 For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Are you not to judge those inside?
It is not Paul's business to judge people on the outside of the church. However, the church leaders were to judge those on the inside.
13 But God will judge those outside. Remove the evil person from among you.
God will judge the unbelievers at the Great White Throne Judgment. Every one of the unbelievers will be found guilty and condemned to the Lake of Fire. The church is to judge those on the inside and remove any evil that is within. If the church does not eliminate the leaven, then it will spread and spoil the entire church.
