New Life Bible Fellowship Church
4/19/2026

      • 1 Chronicles 29:11–13KJV1900

  • One Day When Heaven Was Filled
  • Oh Father, You Are Sovereign

      • Proverbs 21KJV1900

  • Introduction:

    In our study of 1 Corinthians we have watched Paul address the Corinthians' fundamental problem: worldly wisdom masquerading as spiritual maturity. They were divided over teachers, puffed up with knowledge, and convinced they had "already" arrived at spiritual fullness. Paul dismantled their false or exaggerated assertion of superiority with the message of Christ crucified, which showed them that humility, sacrifice, and obedience of Christ is the pattern of authentic apostleship, and true discipleship. Than last week we concluded with a father's appeal—calling them to imitate him and warning them to choose between the rod and gentleness.
    Now Paul turns from general principles to a specific case—and what a case it is.
    "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife."
    The shock is obvious. This is not garden-variety sin but an offense that even the pagan world found revolting. A man in the Corinthian congregation is living with his father's wife—likely his stepmother. Roman law prohibited such unions. Greek moral sensibilities recoiled from them. Jewish law condemned them absolutely. And yet this man remains in the church, apparently without discipline, perhaps even with a kind of perverse pride.
    Today Paul teaches us what the Corinthians had forgotten: holiness matters. The church is not a social club where anything goes but a covenant community where Christ is Lord and sin is serious. Love does not mean tolerating what destroys; love means doing the painful work of discipline so that both the sinner and the community might be saved.

    Text: 1 Corinthians 5:1-8

    1 Corinthians 5:1–8 ESV
    1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. 3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

    Main Idea: Because the church must not tolerate flagrant sin, it is called to exercise discipline to preserve holiness and the offender's soul.

    Background:

    The Cultural Setting of Corinth
    Corinth was notorious for its moral corruption, having become synonymous with immorality—so much so that “to live like a Corinthian” meant to embrace extremely low moral standards and loose conduct. The city was dominated by a temple to Aphrodite, where sacred prostitutes worked the streets when evening fell. Yet incest was prohibited by Roman law and viewed as wrong by many in that society. This context makes the church’s tolerance of the behavior even more striking—they had become more permissive than pagan Corinth itself.

    I. The Sin Reported (v. 1)

    1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.
    It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you - Paul opens by noting that sexual immorality has been reported among the Corinthians. This isn’t merely a private moral failure; it’s a public scandal that Paul frames as exceptionally egregious.
    of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans - What makes this case particularly striking is the cultural context. Though the Greco-Roman culture of Paul’s day tolerated a wide array of immoral activities, even Gentiles censured this kind of incest. Paul’s point is devastating: the Corinthian church has become more permissive than pagan society itself. The phrase “of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans” suggests the Corinthians have failed to maintain even basic moral standards that unbelievers recognize.
    for a man has his father’s wife - The woman most likely was his stepmother (since she is not called the man’s “mother”). The exact nature of the relationship is uncertain; it is not clear whether the man had actually married the woman or was merely cohabiting with her. Regardless, the sexual relationship in view is the incestuous union explicitly condemned in Lev. 18:8.
    Leviticus 18:8 ESV
    8 You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness.
    This opening verse sets up Paul’s rhetorical strategy. Paul wants to evoke shame on the Corinthian side by means of a comparison of the community with the pagan world. The problem isn’t merely the man’s sin—it’s that the church has tolerated it, and Paul will soon reveal that they’ve done so with a sense of pride rather than grief. Verse 1 establishes the fact of the offense; verse 2 will expose the church’s attitude toward it.

    II. The Inappropriate Response (v. 2)

    2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
    And you are arrogant! - Paul’s rebuke in verse 2 strikes at the church’s spiritual posture rather than the individual’s sin alone. The fundamental problem wasn’t the sin of one person, but the Corinthian church’s failure to address it—indeed, their sense of pride in tolerating it. The arrogance Paul condemns suggests the Corinthians had constructed a theological justification for overlooking the offense, perhaps believing their spiritual maturity or freedom in Christ permitted such moral laxity (possible influx of Gnosticism).
    Ought you not rather to mourn? - Paul’s emotional contrast is sharp: “you are arrogant” versus “ought you not rather to mourn?” Because the members of the church share communion with one another, all should feel hurt at so deadly a fall on the part of one of their number; when such an enormity is perpetrated in a particular church, the perpetrator offends in such a way that the whole society is in a manner polluted. The church’s failure to grieve reveals a disconnection from the gravity of what has occurred. Mourning would signal that they understood the incestuous union as a violation of God’s holiness that compromises the entire community’s standing before Him.
    1 Peter 1:15–16 ESV
    15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
    Let him who has done this be removed from among you - The verse concludes with Paul’s direct command: “Let him who has done this be removed from among you” (1 Cor 5:2). The Corinthians had the responsibility of exercising discipline by excommunicating the offender. This isn’t merely administrative action—it’s a necessary step to restore the church’s moral and spiritual integrity. Paul rebukes the Corinthians for their inaction in not removing a sinner from their midst, making clear that silence and tolerance constitute a form of corporate partnership in a wrongful act that demands correction.

    III. The Required Action (vv. 3-5)

    3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing.
    For though absent in body, I am present in spirit - Though Paul is physically absent from the Corinthian community, he claims to pass a prophetic judgment in their midst. Paul announces he has already rendered a verdict on the offender despite not being present in Corinth.
    and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing - The nature of Paul’s judgment requires careful understanding. The apostle is commanding the church to expel the offender from their fellowship, but his language suggests something deeper than mere administrative authority. By virtue of Paul’s argument, the immoral man is already an outsider: he is leaven existing illegitimately in the unleavened bread. It is on this theological indicative that the imperative to expel the man rests. Paul’s judgment doesn’t create the man’s outsider status—it recognizes it. The man’s sin has already positioned him outside God’s covenant community; the church’s action simply makes visible what is already true spiritually. How can we understand this in light of (Matthew 7:1 “1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.”, or Matt 18:15-20):
    God is the ultimate moral arbiter who has already announced His verdict on these practices, identifying them as sin, and the church is called to agree with God’s assessment.
    The offender is already spiritually outside the covenant community through his sin. He’s not being made an outsider by the church’s decision; rather, his sin has already positioned him there.
    This is not just condemning someone’s motives, but differs vastly by accepting God’s verdict that certain actions are sins and those who practice them must be ostracized. The church acts as a witness to spiritual reality, not as its creator. This distinction protects discipline from becoming mere judgment while maintaining its necessity for the community’s holiness.
    Importantly, the purpose of this judgment is the man’s salvation, but that can be achieved only if his sinful tendencies are overcome. Expulsion isn’t retributive but redemptive. By removing the man from the church’s fellowship and placing him under Satan’s dominion (as verse 5 indicates), Paul expects this severe discipline to shock him into recognizing his spiritual danger and repenting. The goal is restoration, not permanent exclusion—a distinction that clarifies Paul’s pastoral intent even within his harshest language.
    4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus,
    This verse, clarifies both the authority and the procedure for the disciplinary.
    When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus - The phrase “in the name of our Lord Jesus” carries significant weight. It denotes acting by Christ’s authority and as representing His person and will. When the Corinthians gather as a church, they gather in the Lord’s name—they are his body on earth and carry out his will with his power. This isn’t merely a formal invocation; it establishes the theological foundation for their judicial action.
    and my spirit is present - Paul’s claim to be present “in spirit”—it can be rendered as “I am present with you in my thoughts.” Because Paul is at one with the Spirit of the Lord, he too is present through Christ’s presence. More importantly, Paul writes with apostolic authority and his words come from the Holy Spirit, so he pronounces judgment and expects that the congregational meeting will immediately agree with his verdict.
    with the power of our Lord Jesus - The crucial point is that Paul doesn’t act independently. When the assembly of the Lord’s people meet together with Paul in spirit and in the Lord’s name and with his power, Paul expects them to render the same verdict as he has rendered and to carry out the banishment of the person committing incest. The church’s gathered authority, exercised in Christ’s name and empowered by His authority, validates and implements the apostolic judgment. This establishes a pattern where corporate church discipline operates within Christ’s delegated authority.
    5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
    This formulation has generated substantial interpretive debate, particularly regarding what “destruction of the flesh” entails.
    you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh - Rather than referring to a curse resulting in physical death, the phrase more likely describes the man’s sinful nature being destroyed as he is excluded from the Christian community and placed back into Satan’s domain.
    The parallel passage in 1 Timothy 1:20 clarifies this interpretation, as both Hymenaeus and Alexander are not expected to die but to learn and correct their behavior. What Paul hopes will be destroyed is the man’s attitude of self-congratulation—he was proud of his behavior or at least comfortable with it, thus he’s using the church’s exclusion as a tool to destroy the man’s dangerous complacency.
    1 Timothy 1:18–20 ESV
    18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
    The theological rationale undergirds this severe action. The fundamental reason for expulsion stems from the framework established earlier in 1 Corinthians 3:16–17: the man’s flesh must be destroyed because he has defiled the holiness of God’s temple, the church. To “hand over” this person to Satan means to cast him out of the safety provided by the church and into Satan’s realm. Love for the man’s soul would not mean overlooking his sin, but telling him plainly what his spiritual situation was, with the goal of leading him to repentance so that his spirit may be saved.
    1 Corinthians 3:16–17 ESV
    16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
    so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord - Critically, this discipline is restorative rather than merely punitive. The removal from Christian fellowship—the only realm where God’s protection operates—creates conditions for the man to recognize his spiritual peril and return to repentance. The church’s action doesn’t seal his fate but rather awakens him to the reality of his condition outside God’s covenant community.

    IV. The Rationale (vv. 6-8)

    6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
    Your boasting is not good - Paul rebukes the Corinthians’ arrogant attitude toward the incestuous situation. The church remains defiant, already boasting about the manner in which they are playing fast and loose with established standards—an assertiveness Paul dismisses as fundamentally misguided. His opening statement—“Your boasting is not good”—employs deliberate understatement to convey the severity of their moral failure.
    Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? - Paul then shifts to a proverbial image: a little leaven can affect a relatively large quantity of dough, with the “leaven” in the metaphor probably being a small amount of old, fermented dough added to new dough to induce the leavening process. The Corinthians would have understood this agricultural reality intimately. The point is theological: one man’s sin can infect the entire church, since to condone means to sympathize—and sympathy might lead to imitation, and imitation to condemnation.
    The metaphor operates on multiple levels. The corruption of foolish boasting itself can be appropriately understood through the image of leaven corrupting the whole lump. The Corinthians’ pride in their spiritual sophistication ( 1 Corinthians 4:8 “8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!” )—their willingness to overlook incest as a sign of their maturity—becomes the very leaven that threatens the community’s integrity.
    Leaven elsewhere in the New Testament figures for either the blending of bad doctrine and malpractice, or a profession of faith not backed up by holy living, both of which apply here since the church has harmed itself through an indifferent attitude to Paul’s gospel and to the sinfulness of sin.
    7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
    Verse 7 presents a fundamental tension in Paul’s theology between what is already true and what must be accomplished. The Corinthians must remove the offender to become a new community, yet they already exist as an unleavened people in Christ. This paradox shapes the entire exhortation.
    Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened - The command to “cleanse out the old leaven” draws its force from the Jewish Passover Feast. Israelites were commanded annually to purge their homes of all leaven before the Feast, after which they would bake only unleavened bread. For Paul, this means the offender must be purged and removed from the congregation, making the Corinthians the pure unleavened community they were called to be.
    For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed - The theological foundation for this command is Christ’s sacrifice. Paul shifts from discussing the Feast to discussing the sacrificial animal itself, speaking of Christ as “our Passover lamb” to teach the significance of Christ’s sacrifice.
    Because Christ, the Passover lamb, has been sacrificed, believers are freed from divine judgment and cleansed from sin, making them a pure batch before God. Just as the slaying of the lamb led to the Jews being “unleavened,” so too with believers—through Christ’s death they have received forgiveness from the past and freedom for new life in Christ.
    The indicative—their status as unleavened in Christ—provides the foundation and basis for the imperative to clean out the leaven, since grace precedes demand. The Corinthians aren’t being told to become pure; they’re being called to live out the purity they already possess through redemption.
    8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
    Paul concludes his argument by calling the Corinthians to “celebrate the feast” with the proper spiritual posture. This verse translates the Passover metaphor into a practical ethical imperative for Christian living.
    Let us therefore celebrate the festival, - Paul draws a moral and spiritual lesson from the fact that the Passover had to be celebrated by eating bread without leaven, or yeast. The “feast” refers not to a single annual observance but to the Corinthians’ ongoing life in Christ. The Corinthians were called upon, as OT Israel was (Exod 12:14), to “observe the feast.” However, this isn’t merely historical commemoration—it’s a continuous practice reflecting their identity as redeemed people.
    not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth - The substance of this celebration involves two contrasts.
    The text literally reads “not with old yeast nor with yeast of evil and wickedness,” the second phrase explaining the first. Paul used two different words to make a good stylistic effect. The “old yeast” represents the sinful patterns and attitudes they must abandon, while “malice and wickedness” name specific vices that corrupt community life.
    Conversely, the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth refers to lives that are full of these virtues.
    Significantly, sin was to be removed from the house of God, the local church, during its “Festival of Unleavened Bread,” a continual observance for a Christian who has found in Christ’s death on the cross the once-for-all sacrifice of the Passover Lamb.
    The church’s discipline of the offender isn’t an isolated act but an expression of their perpetual calling to embody the purity Christ secured through His sacrifice. Living out this reality requires both removing corruption and cultivating virtues—a holistic transformation of community character called Sanctification.

    So What?

    Do we understand that Church discipline is biblical, not optional?
    Do we understand that tolerance of sin is not love but cruelty (to the sinner and the church)?
    Do we understand that the goal of discipline is restoration, not punishment?
    Do we understand that the cross (Passover) grounds our call to holiness?

      • 1 Corinthians 5:1–8ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 5:1ESV

      • Leviticus 18:8ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 5:2ESV

      • 1 Peter 1:15–16ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 5:3ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 5:4ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 5:5ESV

      • 1 Timothy 1:18–20ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 3:16–17ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 5:6ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 5:7ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 5:8ESV

  • Come Holy Spirit
New Life Bible Fellowship Church
dick.bickings@gmail.com
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https://newlifebfcde.org
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