1 Corinthians 5
AI Bible study · KJV · Grammatical-historical hermeneutics
Summary
Paul addresses a report of incest within the Corinthian church, rebuking their arrogant failure to discipline the offender and commanding them to remove the individual to maintain the holiness of the congregation.
- The report of flagrant, unpunished sin (incest) among the believers.
- The rebuke of the church's 'puffed up' pride which prevented them from mourning and acting.
- The apostolic decree to excommunicate the offender, using the authority of Christ for the purpose of potential repentance and saving the spirit.
- The theological rationale: the church as unleavened bread, purchased by Christ our Passover.
- The clarification of disciplinary boundaries: judge those within the church, but leave those outside the church to God's judgment.
- Fornication (porneía) not even named among the Gentiles
- The Corinthians are 'puffed up' (physióō) rather than grieving
- The metaphor of 'leaven' (the influence of sin) affecting the whole lump
- Christ described as 'our passover'
- Distinction between judging those 'within' the church versus those 'without'
This passage establishes the necessity of church discipline for the purity of the body, grounded in the redemptive work of Christ. It demonstrates that the church's witness depends on maintaining a distinct moral identity separate from the world.
The church must maintain purity not to foster exclusion, but as an essential response to being the holy people of Christ our Passover, whose sacrifice demands a life of 'sincerity and truth.'
Themes
The passage moves from a specific diagnostic of moral corruption (v1-2) to an apostolic directive for administrative action (v3-5), followed by a theological justification (v6-8) and a practical boundary-setting for interaction with the world (v9-13).
Paul employs the imagery of leaven and the Passover to demonstrate how sin infects the collective body.
The text contrasts the responsibility to judge those 'within' the church with leaving judgment of those 'without' to God.
The passage begins and ends with the command to remove the wicked person from the assembly.
The church is a 'new lump' created by Christ's sacrifice, and therefore must actively purge 'old leaven' to maintain its identity as holy.
- Contrast between 'old leaven' and 'unleavened bread of sincerity'
- Command to be a 'new lump'
The apostolic judgment is not intended for the ultimate destruction of the individual, but to 'deliver' them to Satan so that the 'spirit may be saved.'
- Purpose clause (hína) denoting the intended result of salvation
- Judgment contrasted with ultimate destruction
Paul asserts his authority as an apostle to oversee the moral conduct of the church from afar, acting as if present in spirit.
- Authoritative language of 'judging' (krínō)
- Gathering in the 'name of our Lord Jesus Christ'
- Purge out therefore the old leaven (1 Corinthians 5:7)
- Let us keep the feast... with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:8)
- Put away from among yourselves that wicked person (1 Corinthians 5:13)
- A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump (1 Corinthians 5:6)
Context
- Corinth was known in the ancient world for extreme moral libertinism.
- The specific sin of incest (having his 'father's wife') was so egregious that it violated even the standards of the surrounding Roman/Hellenistic culture.
- The term 'pagans' (éthnos, G1484) highlights the shame that this behavior would not be tolerated even among those without the knowledge of the Law.
- This passage follows Paul's critique of the Corinthians' 'party spirit' (chapters 1-4). Matthew Henry observes that this 'spiritual pride' and arrogance (physióō) likely blinded the church, causing them to glory in a false sense of liberty rather than confronting the scandal.
- Paul utilizes the imagery of the Passover (Exodus 12:15), where Israel was commanded to remove leaven from their homes. This functions as a type for the church's moral purification in light of Christ, the true Passover lamb.
- 1 Corinthians 5:13 quotes the recurring legal formula from Deuteronomy 17:7, 'So shalt thou put the evil away from among you,' affirming the necessity of removing unrepentant sin.
- πορνεία (porneía, G4202): Used here to denote sexual immorality, specifically incest, emphasizing its illicit nature.
- φυσιόω (physióō, G5448): Literally 'to inflate,' used figuratively for the arrogance the Corinthians felt regarding their spiritual state, which blinded them to the sin in their midst.
- πνεῦμα (pneûma, G4151): In v5, referring to the 'spirit' that is to be saved, contrasting with the 'flesh' that is to be destroyed/judged.
- ἵνα (hína, G2443): Crucial particle used to denote the purpose of the discipline—it is a purposeful, redemptive action, not merely punitive.
- The clear distinction Paul makes: the church is responsible for the conduct of those 'called a brother' (v11), but has no apostolic or disciplinary jurisdiction over the world (v12).
- The phrase 'destruction of the flesh' in v5 is historically debated. Some interpreters view this as a reference to physical death, others as the destruction of the sinful nature or the social isolation/mortification of the offender's physical desires through excommunication. The text leaves the precise mechanism of 'destruction' ambiguous, focusing instead on the goal: 'that the spirit may be saved.'
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