1 Corinthians 5
In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul deals with a serious moral problem in the Corinthian church. A man was living in sexual immorality with his father’s wife, and instead of mourning over the sin, the church was tolerating it and even acting proudly. Paul strongly rebukes them because open sin, if ignored, can corrupt the whole church. He teaches that the church must practice loving but firm discipline, not to destroy the sinner, but to awaken him to repentance and protect the purity of the body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 5:1-2 (NKJV)
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife!
2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.
Paul is shocked that such a serious sin is happening in the church. A man is living in sexual immorality with his father’s wife, likely his stepmother, and Paul says this kind of sin is so shameful that even the Gentiles would not commonly accept it. But the greater problem is that the church is not mourning over it. Instead, they are puffed up, meaning proud or careless. They should have been grieved that such open sin was among them and should have taken action to remove the offender from fellowship until there was true repentance. Paul shows that the church must not treat serious sin lightly, because holiness and purity matter in the body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 5:3-4 (NKJV)
3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged — as though I were present — him who has so done this deed.
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Even though Paul is not physically with the Corinthians, he has already judged the matter because the sin is clear and open. This is not a case of judging someone’s hidden motives, but dealing with a public sin that was damaging the church. Paul tells them to gather together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and act with His authority. Church discipline is not to be done out of anger, pride, or personal opinion, but under the authority of Christ and for the good of the church.
1 Corinthians 5:5 (NKJV)
5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
To “deliver such a one to Satan” means the man was to be removed from the protection and fellowship of the church and placed back into the world, where Satan’s influence rules. This discipline was severe, but the purpose was not revenge. It was meant to bring the man face to face with the seriousness of his sin, so that the “flesh,” meaning his sinful self-life and rebellion, might be broken. The goal was repentance and salvation, so that his spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Paul’s discipline was strong, but it still had a saving purpose.
1 Corinthians 5:6 (NKJV)
6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
Paul rebukes the Corinthians again because their pride was dangerous. They may have thought they were being tolerant or spiritual, but Paul says their glorying was not good. He uses the picture of leaven, or yeast, to show that a small amount can spread through the whole lump of dough. In the same way, one open and tolerated sin can influence and corrupt the whole church if it is not dealt with. Sin is not private when it is openly accepted in the body; it affects others and weakens the spiritual condition of the church.
1 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV)
7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
Paul tells them to remove the old leaven, meaning the corrupting influence of sin, so they may live as a new lump. In Christ, they are already called to be “unleavened,” meaning cleansed and set apart for God. Paul then points to Christ as our Passover, sacrificed for us. Just as the Passover lamb brought deliverance to Israel from Egypt, Christ’s sacrifice brings deliverance from sin and the old life. Because Christ has died for us, believers must not continue living in the old corrupt way, but must live in the purity and freedom He has provided.
1 Corinthians 5:8 (NKJV)
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
When Paul says, “let us keep the feast,” he is using the language of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread as a spiritual lesson. He is not commanding Christians to keep the Old Testament feast days literally as a religious requirement. In the Passover setting, leaven was removed from the house, and Paul uses that picture to teach that sin must be removed from the life and from the church. The “old leaven” represents the old sinful ways, especially malice and wickedness. Instead, believers are to live with the “unleavened bread of sincerity and truth,” meaning a life that is honest, pure, genuine, and aligned with God’s truth in Christ. Since Christ our Passover has already been sacrificed, the believer’s whole life should be a continual spiritual feast of purity, not a return to ceremonial shadows, but a daily living reality of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 5:9-10 (NKJV)
9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.
10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.
Paul explains that when he told them not to keep company with sexually immoral people, he was not speaking about avoiding all sinners in the world. If Christians tried to avoid every immoral, greedy, dishonest, or idolatrous person in society, they would have to leave the world altogether. Believers still live among unbelievers and are called to witness to them. Paul’s concern here is not ordinary contact with people outside the church, but fellowship with someone who claims to be a believer while openly living in serious sin.
1 Corinthians 5:11 (NKJV)
11 But now I have written to you not to keep company, if anyone named a brother is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner — not even to eat with such a person.
Paul makes his meaning clear: if someone is called a brother, meaning he claims to be a believer, but continues openly in serious sin, the church must not treat him as though everything is normal. Paul lists sins such as sexual immorality, covetousness, idolatry, abusive speech, drunkenness, and extortion. To continue close fellowship, even eating together as if nothing is wrong, would give the impression that the church accepts the sin. This discipline is meant to show the seriousness of the matter and to call the person to repentance, while also protecting the church from corruption.
1 Corinthians 5:12-13 (NKJV)
12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?
13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”
Paul explains the difference between those outside the church and those inside. The church is not responsible for judging the world in the same way, because those outside are judged by God. But the church does have responsibility to deal with open sin among its own members. This is not about harsh criticism or self-righteousness, but about spiritual responsibility, purity, and faithfulness to Christ. Therefore Paul commands them to “put away from yourselves the evil person,” meaning the unrepentant person must be removed from fellowship until there is repentance. The church must show love, but true love does not protect sin; it seeks restoration through truth and holiness.