Bullet Point Bible - 1 Corinthians 5

Scandalous Immorality Tolerated

¹ It is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, the kind of immorality that is not permitted even among the Gentiles, so that someone is cohabiting with his father's wife.² And you are proud! Shouldn't you have been deeply sorrowful instead and removed the one who did this from among you?

Paul addresses a specific, egregious case of sexual immorality within the Corinthian church: a man is in a relationship with his stepmother.
This type of incestuous relationship was condemned even by Roman law and general pagan society, highlighting the severity of the church's tolerance.
The Corinthian church's reaction was not grief or corrective action, but arrogance ("proud"), possibly misinterpreting Christian freedom as license.
Paul contrasts their pride with the appropriate response: mourning and removing the unrepentant sinner from the community.
This incident reveals a profound misunderstanding of grace and holiness within the Corinthian congregation.
The phrase "father's wife" likely refers to a stepmother, possibly after the father's death or divorce (Leviticus 18:8).
The church's failure to act endangered its spiritual health and public witness.

Paul's Apostolic Judgment

³ For even though I am absent physically, I am present in spirit. And I have already judged the one who did this, just as though I were present.⁴ When you gather together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of our Lord Jesus,⁵ hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

Paul asserts his apostolic authority to judge the matter despite his physical absence, emphasizing his spiritual presence with the church.
He instructs the church to act corporately ("When you gather together") in the name and power of Jesus Christ.
The prescribed action is severe: "hand this man over to Satan." This likely means formal excommunication, removing him from the fellowship and protection of the church community and placing him back into the world, considered Satan's domain.
The purpose of this discipline is twofold: "destruction of the flesh" and the ultimate salvation of the person's spirit.
"Destruction of the flesh" is debated: it could refer to the breaking of sinful patterns, potential physical suffering allowed by Satan as a consequence, or the destruction of his arrogant self-reliance.
The ultimate goal is redemptive: that the disciplined individual might repent and be saved "in the day of the Lord" (the final judgment).
This demonstrates that church discipline, even when severe, should aim for restoration, not merely punishment.
The authority for this action comes not from Paul alone, but from the gathered church acting under the authority ("name") and power of Jesus.

The Danger of Leaven

⁶ Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast affects the whole batch of dough?⁷ Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough-you are, in fact, without yeast. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.⁸ So then, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of vice and evil, but with the bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

Paul rebukes their boasting again, connecting it directly to their tolerance of sin.
He employs the common Jewish metaphor of leaven (yeast) representing sin's pervasive and corrupting influence; even a small amount affects the entire community ("whole batch of dough").
The command "Clean out the old yeast" calls for removing the sinful influence (the unrepentant man and the attitude tolerating him).
Believers are described as positionally "unleavened" ("you are, in fact, without yeast") because of Christ's sacrifice. Their practice should align with this reality.
Paul explicitly connects this to Christ as the "Passover lamb," whose sacrifice inaugurates a new reality for believers, analogous to the Israelites' exodus and Passover festival.
The Christian life is portrayed as a continuous "festival," celebrated not with the "old yeast" of pre-conversion life (malice, wickedness) but with the "unleavened bread" of sincerity and truth.
This passage links church purity directly to the meaning of Christ's death.
Sincerity (eilikrineia) implies purity and transparency, while truth (aletheia) denotes faithfulness to God's reality.

Clarifying Separation

⁹ I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.¹⁰ In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world.¹¹ But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.¹² For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Are you not to judge those inside?¹³ But God will judge those outside. Removethe evil person from among you .

Paul clarifies instructions from a previous, now lost, letter regarding association with immoral people.
He explains he did *not* mean complete withdrawal from non-Christians ("immoral people of this world"), as that would require leaving the world entirely. Christians are called to live *in* the world but not be *of* it.
The crucial distinction is made: the command applies to those *within* the church ("anyone who calls himself a Christian") who persist in blatant, unrepentant sin.
Paul lists examples of such sins: sexual immorality, greed, idolatry, verbal abuse (slander), drunkenness, and swindling. This is not exhaustive but illustrative of serious, lifestyle-defining sins.
The instruction is strict: "Do not even eat with such a person," signifying a break in fellowship, likely including both regular meals and the Lord's Supper.
Paul distinguishes the church's responsibility: judging those *inside* the community, maintaining its holiness and integrity.
Judgment of those *outside* the church ("outsiders") belongs to God.
He concludes by quoting Deuteronomy (likely Deut 17:7; 19:19; 22:21, 24; 24:7), applying the Old Testament principle of purging evil from the community to the church context.
This passage establishes the principle of internal church discipline while maintaining engagement with the outside world for the purpose of witness.

The Bullet Point Bible

1 Corinthians 5