Chapter Analysis
1 Corinthians 5: Purity In The Church And Discipline For Sin
Sin In The Church Must Not Be Ignored
📖 1 Corinthians 5:1–2
¹ It was widely reported that there was sexual immorality among the Corinthians, and of a kind not even tolerated among the Gentiles: a man had his father’s wife. ² Yet the Corinthians were puffed up with pride instead of mourning. They should have grieved so deeply that the one who had done this would be removed from among them.
🔹 The Truth
Serious sin among God’s people must not be treated lightly.
The Corinthians were proud when they should have mourned.
Open sin in the church affects the whole body.
God calls His people to holiness, not careless tolerance of evil.
🔹 The Promise
God exposes sin in His people so that repentance, purity, and restoration may be pursued.
✅ Conclusion
Paul begins by confronting a sin that the church had failed to address. Their problem was not only the man’s sin, but also the church’s pride and lack of grief over it.
Deliver Such A One For Discipline
📖 1 Corinthians 5:3–5
³ Though Paul was absent in body, he was present in spirit, and he had already judged the one who had done this as though he were present. ⁴ In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when the church was gathered together, and with Paul’s spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁵ they were to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
🔹 The Truth
Church discipline is to be carried out under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Open, unrepentant sin must be judged by the church.
Discipline is not meant for cruelty, but for the sinner’s ultimate spiritual good.
The goal is that the person may be brought to repentance and saved in the day of the Lord.
🔹 The Promise
God can use discipline to bring a sinner to repentance and preserve him for the day of the Lord Jesus.
✅ Conclusion
Paul’s instruction was serious, but not hateful. Discipline was necessary because sin had to be confronted, the church had to be protected, and the sinner needed to be awakened to the danger of his condition.
A Little Leaven Leavens The Whole Lump
📖 1 Corinthians 5:6–8
⁶ Their boasting was not good. They needed to understand that a little leaven spreads through the whole lump. ⁷ They were to cleanse out the old leaven so they might be a new lump, as they truly were unleavened. For Christ, our Passover, had been sacrificed for us. ⁸ Therefore, believers are to keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
🔹 The Truth
Sin that is tolerated spreads and affects the whole church.
Boasting while sin is present is spiritually dangerous.
Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us.
Because Christ has redeemed His people, they are called to sincerity, truth, and holiness.
Malice and wickedness belong to the old life, not the new life in Christ.
🔹 The Promise
Because Christ our Passover has been sacrificed, believers can live as a purified people before God.
✅ Conclusion
Paul uses the picture of leaven to show that tolerated sin spreads. Since Christ has been sacrificed for His people, the church must live in sincerity and truth.
Do Not Keep Company With The Unrepentant Brother
📖 1 Corinthians 5:9–11
⁹ Paul had written to them not to keep company with sexually immoral people. ¹⁰ He did not mean the immoral people of the world, or the covetous, swindlers, or idolaters, because then believers would have to leave the world. ¹¹ But now he was writing that they must not keep company with anyone who is called a brother if he is sexually immoral, covetous, an idolater, a reviler, a drunkard, or a swindler. With such a person, they were not even to eat.
🔹 The Truth
Believers still live among sinners in the world and must be witnesses to them.
Paul’s command concerns someone who claims to be a brother while continuing in open, unrepentant sin.
The church must not treat unrepentant sin as normal fellowship.
Sin named among God’s people brings serious responsibility.
Separation from an unrepentant professing believer is meant to show the seriousness of sin.
🔹 The Promise
God gives His people clear instruction so the church can remain faithful in holiness and truth.
✅ Conclusion
Paul is not telling believers to avoid all contact with unbelievers. He is telling the church not to give normal fellowship to someone who claims Christ while openly continuing in serious sin.
Judge Those Inside The Church
📖 1 Corinthians 5:12–13
¹² Paul asks what responsibility he has to judge those outside the church. Is it not those inside the church whom believers are to judge? ¹³ God judges those outside. Therefore, the church must remove the wicked person from among themselves.
🔹 The Truth
God judges those outside the church.
The church is responsible to deal with sin among those inside.
Believers are not called to rule over the world, but to maintain holiness within the fellowship.
Open wickedness must not be allowed to remain as though it is acceptable.
🔹 The Promise
God will judge rightly, and He gives His church responsibility to guard holiness within the body.
✅ Conclusion
Paul ends the chapter by making the responsibility clear. The church cannot judge the world as though it belongs to Christ, but it must deal faithfully with sin among those who claim to belong to Christ.
Overall Conclusion
1 Corinthians 5 teaches that open, unrepentant sin in the church must not be ignored.
The Corinthians were proud when they should have mourned. Paul commands them to remove the man from their fellowship, not out of hatred, but because sin spreads, the church must remain pure, and the sinner needs serious discipline.
Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us. Therefore, God’s people are called to live in sincerity and truth, not in malice, wickedness, or tolerated immorality.
This chapter shows that love and holiness belong together. True love does not pretend sin is harmless. True holiness seeks God’s honor, the purity of the church, and the repentance of the sinner.
Final Questions For You
- Why is it dangerous for a church to tolerate open, unrepentant sin?
- How does Christ our Passover being sacrificed for us call believers to sincerity and truth?
- How can church discipline be both serious and loving when done according to Scripture?
