In our study of 1 Corinthians chapter five, we look at purity in the family of God. We have all had sickness and taken some really bad tasting medicine. That is kinda what is happening here as Paul dishes out some strong medicine for the church in hopes of curing an illness that had come into the body of Christ in Corinth.
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It is actually being reported that there is sexual sin among you, and it is sexual sin of a kind that is condemned even by pagans-a man is living with his stepmother!
In chapter 4, Paul spoke of the authority that had been given to him as an apostle designated by Jesus Christ. Based on that authority, he begins to address a problem that was happening in the church at Corinth. He describes a sexual sin that was happening among the family of God and was so outrageous that even the pagans wouldn't have thought of doing such a thing.
And you stay proud? Shouldn't you rather have felt some sadness that would have led you to remove from your company the man who has done this thing?
The fact that this was going on must have been known by everyone in the group of believers and they were ok with it. Instead of being filled with sorrow and pity for the one that was doing so, they were still meeting with the man as if nothing was happening.
For I myself, even though I am absent physically, am with you spiritually; and I have already judged the man who has done this as if I were present.
Paul, as a leader, has found what this man was doing to be against the Word of God. Because of that and the fact that the man was not repenting of the action, Paul says that he has passed judgment on the man. When he says this, he is not talking about the man's salvation but the fact that his actions do not line up with God's Word.
In the name of the Lord Yeshua, when you are assembled, with me present spiritually and the power of our Lord Yeshua among us, hand over such a person to the Adversary for his old nature to be destroyed, so that his spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord.
Paul tells the group of believers to "hand this man over to Satan" and it may seem harsh but what he is saying is that sometimes people have to hit a low point before they can look up and see the grace of God. The purpose in this is to bring the man to repentance and salvation.
Your boasting is not good. Don't you know the saying, "It takes only a little hametz to leaven a whole batch of dough?" Get rid of the old hametz, so that you can be a new batch of dough, because in reality you are unleavened. For our Pesach lamb, the Messiah, has been sacrificed.
Paul speaks now of the celebration of the Passover which was prescribed when the Israelites left Egypt. One part of the feast was the removal of anything that contained yeast from the home. Yeast was a symbol of sin and, just as a little bit of yeast affects the whole lump of dough, a little bit of unrepentant sin affects the entire body of believers.
So let us celebrate the Seder not with leftover hametz, the hametz of wickedness and evil, but with the matzah of purity and truth.
Paul calls on them to keep the spirit of the Passover Festival by removing the yeast (sin) and by standing on the Word of God (bread). All of this speaks of the passover meal which was the Israelite's last meal in the slavery of Egypt. The freedom from that slavery came through the blood and the freedom from the sexual sin that was being dealt with comes through the blood of Jesus Christ.
In my earlier letter I wrote you not to associate with people who engage in sexual immorality. I didn't mean the sexually immoral people outside your community, or the greedy, or the thieves or the idol-worshippers - for then you would have to leave the world altogether!
This is a crucial teaching that has been misunderstood for a long time. Many take this to mean that we are not to have anything to do with anyone who is engaged in these activities but that is not what he is saying. He is saying that the worldly people (unsaved) will be doing this type of thing and so, although we are not to take part in their sin, we are to try to tell them the gospel of Jesus Christ. To do that, you must associate with them. This was true for Corinth which was the "sin city" of the day but it is even more widespread today.
No, what I wrote you was not to associate with anyone who is supposedly a brother but who also engages in sexual immorality, is greedy, worships idols, is abusive, gets drunk or steals. With such a person you shouldn't even eat!
Paul explains that it is not those outside of the body of Christ that he was talking about but it is those that have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. He is also not talking about a case where a believer makes a mistake and asks for forgiveness. He is talking about a professed believer in Christ that is living in this type of lifestyle. Eating was the most basic show of hospitality at this point in time and Paul uses that to make them and us understand the depth of separation from these people.
For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders? Isn't it those who are part of the community that you should be judging? God will judge those who are outside. Just expel the evildoer from among yourselves.
Paul is concluding this part of his letter with a call for purity in the family of God. He reminds the believers that those who are not a part of Christ will be judged by Christ on the last day. Those that are in Christ are to be held accountable for their actions. That accountability is in having a brother or sister in Christ point out the error of our way using God's word. If we do not want to accept that correction from God's word, then, we are to part ways in a loving manner.
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