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First Corinthians 5 

  1. 5.1–2 | Two More Problems

    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.
    1. Problem: A man had married his step-mother. 
      1. Notice first that it was a sexual immorality even before Paul stated that the man had married his step-mother. 
      2. It was sexual immorality because the woman was already married. 
        1. The fact that the man had married his step-mother made it worse. 
        2. Do you hear of people outside of the church doing this? 
    2. Problem: The congregation was puffed up about it. 
      1. What did Paul mean that they were puffed up? What were they doing? 
      2. Contrast it with what they should have done. 
        1. They should have mourned. 
        2. However, they were bragging that they had such a member. 
          1. Perhaps they saw it as just how free we can be in Christ. 
          2. They may have seen it as a sign of love and grace. 
    3. If they had mourned, what would they have done? 
  2. 5.3 | Judge

    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.
    1. Notice that Paul had judged the brother. 
      1. People say all the time that we are not supposed to judge. 
      2. Is there some judging that is allowed, even commanded? 
      3. If so, we should not make a blanket statement that the Bible forbids all judging. 
    2. What were they to judge in this matter? 
      1. Are we not supposed to judge or condemn sin? 
      2. Do we not then make a judgment about the sinner in the body of Christ? 
  3. 5.4–5 | Saving a Brother

    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, 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.
    1. What then is the aim of taking away such a brother? 
    2. Does Jesus endorse this kind of action? 
      1. In verse 4, Paul said that Jesus did. 
      2. Also, consider the context of Matthew 18.15–20. 
    3. What did Paul mean by delivering such a person to Satan for the destruction of the flesh? 
      1. Cf. verses 3, 7, 9, 13 
      2. We are cutting off our fellowship with such a brother. 
        1. If he is cut off from the church, where then would he be? 
        2. He would be back in Satan’s realm. 
      3. What does this have to do with the destruction of his flesh? 
        1. Hopefully he would then mourn his own situation. 
        2. That would in turn lead him to repent. 
          1. He will destroy the lust of the flesh. 
          2. He would save his spirit, save his soul, in the process. 
  4. 5.6–8 | Purge Out Leaven

    6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 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. 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.
    1. In verse 6, what did Paul call their being puffed up? 
    2. What did Paul mean that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 
      1. What did the leaven represent? 
      2. What is the lump or the church supposed to be like? 
    3. Why in this context did Paul say that Christ is our Passover? 
      1. What was the Passover in Israel’s history? 
      2. What imagery had Paul just been using? 
        1. Were unleavened bread and the Passover lamb associated together on the night that Israel escaped from Egypt? 
        2. Israel’s escape from Egyptian slavery typified our escape from the slavery of sin. 
    4. Therefore, how are we to keep our feast? 
  5. 5.9–11 | Do Not Keep Company with a Sinning Brother

    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. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who 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.
    1. First Corinthians is really not First Corinthians, but Paul wrote another letter previous to this one. 
    2. What had he written in that previous letter? 
    3. Can we keep company with the immoral people of this world? 
    4. With what kind of immoral people can we not keep company? 
      1. To what extent can we not keep company with them? 
      2. Why is it that we cannot keep company with them? 
        1. Remember what Paul had already written to them. 
  6. 5.12–13 | Judge Insiders

    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.”
    1. What did Paul mean by not judging outsider, but judging insiders? 
    2. Who judgers outsiders? 
      1. Why does God judge outsiders? 
    3. What action do we perform that shows we are judging insiders? 
    4. What passage did Paul quote in verse 13? 
    5. Why is this action necessary? 
      1. Remember back to the leaven illustration. 
      2. See also Ecclesiastes 8.11