1 Corinthians 5:1-13 NIV
Dealing With a Case of Incest
1It is
actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that
even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. 2And you
are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of
your fellowship the man who has been doing this? 3For my
part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one
who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the Name
of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. 4So when
you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus
is present,
5
hand this man over to
Satan for the destruction of the flesh,ab so that his spirit may be saved
on the day of the Lord.
6Your
boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole
batch of dough? 7Get rid
of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been
sacrificed. 8Therefore
let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and
wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9I wrote
to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10not at
all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and
swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11But now
I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a
brother or sisterc but is sexually immoral or greedy, an
idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such
people.
12What
business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge
those inside? 13God
will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”d
This chapter is
entirely occupied with a notice of an offence which existed in the church at
Corinth and with a statement of the measures which the apostle expected them to
pursue in regard to it. Of the existence of this offence he had been informed,
probably by "those of the house of Chloe," 1 Corinthians
1:11, and there is reason to suppose that they had not even alluded
to it in the letter which they had sent to him asking advice; see 1 Corinthians 7:1; compare
the Introduction. The apostle 1 Corinthians 5:1 reproves
them for tolerating a species of licentiousness which was not tolerated even by
the pagans; he reproves them 1 Corinthians 5:2 for
being puffed up with pride even while this scandal existed in their church; he
ordered them immediately to purify the church by removing the incestuous person 1 Corinthians
5:4-5; and exhorted them to preserve themselves from the influence
which a single corrupt person might have, operating like leaven in a dough; 1 Corinthians
5:6-7. Then, lest they should mistake his meaning, and suppose that
by commanding them not to keep company with licentious persons 1 Corinthians
5:9, he meant to say, that they should withdraw from all contact
with the pagans who were known to be idolaters and corrupt, he says that that
former command was not designed to forbid all contact with them, 1 Corinthians
5:9-12; but that he meant his injunction now to extend particularly
to such as were professed members of the church; that they were not to cut off
all contact with society at large because it was corrupt; that if any person
professed to be a Christian and yet was guilty of such practices they were to
disown him 1 Corinthians
5:11; that it was not his business to judge the pagan world 1 Corinthians 5:12; but
that this was entirely consistent with the view that he had a right to exercise
discipline within the church, on such as professed to be Christians; and that
therefore, they were ordered to put away that wicked person.
No comments:
Post a Comment