Chapter 5
Themes, discussion questions, Christ connections, and denomination lenses.
Just read this chapter →Scripture
KJV1It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
2And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
4In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
8Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
10Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
11But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
12For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.”
Overview
Paul addresses a scandalous case of sexual immorality in the Corinthian church — a man living with his father's wife — and rebukes the congregation for being puffed up rather than mourning over this sin. He commands them to deliver the offender to Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that his spirit may be saved. He instructs them to purge out the old leaven, using the imagery of the Passover, and clarifies that church discipline applies to those within the fellowship.
Key Themes
Church Discipline
Paul commands the church to exercise discipline by removing the unrepentant sinner from their fellowship, not out of cruelty but for the ultimate restoration of his soul.
The Danger of Tolerating Sin
A little leaven leavens the whole lump — the church's failure to address open sin corrupts the entire body and dishonors Christ.
Christ Our Passover
Paul uses the imagery of the Passover feast to call the church to sincerity and truth, declaring that Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
Study Questions
Why was the Corinthian church's response of being 'puffed up' rather than grieving especially dangerous (v. 2)?
What does it mean to 'deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh' (v. 5), and what is its redemptive purpose?
How does the principle that 'a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump' (v. 6) apply to the tolerance of sin in churches today?
What does Paul mean by keeping the feast 'with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth' (v. 8)?
How should the church distinguish between judging those within the fellowship and judging those outside (vv. 12-13)?
Connection to Christ
Paul declares that Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Just as the Passover lamb's blood protected Israel from judgment in Egypt, Christ's sacrificial death delivers believers from the penalty of sin and calls them to live in purity and holiness.
Personal Reflection
Take time to journal or meditate on what God is teaching you through 1 Corinthians 5. How can these truths transform your thinking and actions today?