Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 5:1-13
In 5:1-13 Paul turns to the matter of dealing with an evil brother. The first problem, dealt with in chapters one through four, is the matter of division, which is mainly related to the natural life of the soul. The second problem, dealt with in chapter five, the second section of the book, is the sin of fornication, which is related to the lust of the flesh. Morally speaking, this problem, involving incest between a brother and his stepmother, is more gross than the former. The former pertains to the strife that comes from pride. The latter is a gross sin that comes from lust.
Chapter five of 1 Corinthians has certain special characteristics. First, this chapter shows that even a genuine believer can commit a gross sin. Many who read the New Testament may think that, because of the grace of God, believers are not able to do evil things, especially certain evil things recorded in the Old Testament. But in this chapter we read of a brother in the church at Corinth who had committed the sin of incest with his stepmother. Paul’s intention, of course, was to help the church to deal with this evil brother. By reading this chapter we see that it is definitely possible for a truly saved one, a real brother in the Lord, to commit such a sin. If we did not have this record in the New Testament, it probably would be very difficult for us to believe that a saved person could commit this kind of sin. Instead, we may think that after a person has been saved he could never be this sinful.
This chapter also shows us that once a church is diverted from the central vision of God’s economy and gets into the soul, the door will be open for the lust of the flesh to come in. This will open the way not only for jealousy and strife, but even for gross sins. Therefore, it is extremely dangerous for us to remain in the soul. In this Epistle Paul first deals with the soul and then with the lusts of the flesh. The dealing with the soul is primarily a dealing with division. The first four chapters of this book deal with the problem of division, which comes from the soul. Division is a soulish matter, mainly a matter of the mind. It is the result of opinion, and opinion issues from the mind. This is clearly indicated in the first four chapters. From reading these chapters we see that there were divisions among the Corinthians because they were very much in the natural mind. They turned from the spirit and exercised the soul. They departed from the central vision, and this opened the gate for the lust of the flesh to come in.
In the church life the soul should not be prevailing. Instead, we all must learn to deny the soul and renounce it and to live in the spirit. We should remain in our spirit and exercise our spirit in every situation. This will close the door to the lust of the flesh.
In 5:1 Paul says, “It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication which is not even among the nations, that someone has his father’s wife.” Here we see that a brother committed incest with his father’s wife, with his stepmother. No sin is worse or more damaging to humanity than incest. As we shall see, although this chapter deals with such a terrible sin, it also speaks of keeping the feast.
Paul was a person who was full of Christ. He knew Christ experientially and not merely in a doctrinal way. Even as he deals with a gross sin, he still has the enjoyment of Christ within him.
In verse 2 Paul says, “And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that the one who has done this deed might be removed from your midst.” Instead of mourning that such a gross sin was found among them, the Corinthians were proud and puffed up. No doubt, verse 2 is a word of rebuke. In this verse Paul also indicates that the one who has committed this sinful deed should be removed from their midst; that is, he should be excommunicated from the fellowship of the church.
To remove someone from the fellowship of the church can be compared to removing a decayed or rotten piece of wood from a building. Suppose some wood in a house becomes rotten. This rotten part should be removed. Likewise, the evil brother mentioned in verse 1 should be removed from the fellowship of the church. The Corinthians, however, did not have this realization, for they were still proud and puffed up. For this reason, Paul lets them know that he was deeply concerned about the situation there.
In this chapter dealing with an evil brother there are two matters which are very positive and marvelous. The first concerns Paul’s exercise of his human spirit, and the second concerns the feast. In verses 3 through 5 Paul says, “For I, being absent in the body, but present in the spirit, have already judged as being present him who so did this, in the name of the Lord Jesus, when you and my spirit are assembled, with the power of our Lord Jesus, to deliver such a one to Satan for destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” In verse 3 Paul says that although he was absent in the body, he was present in the spirit. The apostle, as a spiritual person, behaved in his spirit, in contrast to the Corinthians, who behaved either in the soul or in the flesh. Although Paul was absent from them in the body, he was still present with them in the spirit and exercised his spirit to judge the evil person among them. In verse 4 Paul even says that his spirit was assembled with them. The apostle’s spirit was so strong that it attended the Corinthian believers’ meeting. His spirit was assembled with them to carry out his judgment upon the evil person.
In verses 3 and 4 Paul seems to be saying, “You did not remove the evil person from among you. But through the exercise of my spirit I have already judged him. Although I am absent from you physically, I am present with you in my spirit. I even attend your meetings in my spirit. Thus, by my spirit I have already judged this one.”
In verse 4 Paul clearly says, “When you and my spirit are assembled.” By this we know that Paul’s spirit attended the meeting in Corinth. This does not mean, however, that his spirit actually traveled to Corinth. This has absolutely nothing in common with witchcraft, which claims that a person’s soul can leave his body and visit other people. According to this verse, Paul’s spirit was so strong that he could somehow attend the meeting in Corinth. When they were gathered together, his spirit was with them to deliver the evil one to Satan. This is altogether a spiritual matter, something wholly in the spirit.
We should never think that Paul’s spirit actually went to Corinth and attended the meeting. Nevertheless, as the Corinthian believers were meeting together, Paul exercised his spirit to be with them and to judge the evil one and to remove him. We also may learn to visit a brother by our spirit. While we remain at home, it is possible for our spirit to visit a brother. This is what Paul’s spirit did regarding the situation at Corinth.
In verse 4 Paul refers to the name of the Lord Jesus and the power of the Lord Jesus. Both in the name of the Lord and with the power of our Lord Jesus modify deliver in verse 5. The apostle, in his spirit, applied the mighty name of the Lord and exercised His power to deliver the evil person to Satan for destruction of the flesh. I definitely believe that this actually transpired and that the evil one was delivered to Satan.
To deliver a sinful person to Satan is for discipline. The destruction mentioned in verse 5 mainly refers to the affliction with a certain disease (2 Cor. 12:7; Luke 13:11, 16). The flesh refers to the lustful body, which should be destroyed. Certain diseases come from Satan. Such a disease could bring about the destruction of the flesh so that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. This indicates that the sinful one among the Corinthian believers was a brother who had been saved once for eternity (John 10:28-29). He could never perish because of any sin. However, because of his sinfulness, he needed to be disciplined by the destruction of his sinful flesh so that he may be kept in the condition to be saved in the day of the Lord. Hence, the destruction of the flesh is a necessary preparation for the saving of the spirit.
As we consider these verses, we see that Paul dealt with the church not only by writing and by sending Timothy to them but also by exercising his spirit. This proves that he was a person who lived in the spirit. It also reveals how strong his spirit was. Paul’s spirit was so strong that it could even attend a church meeting far away. He exercised his spirit to condemn the evil one and deliver him to Satan. This delivering was the removing of that one from God’s holy temple.
We all must learn from Paul to do everything with our spirit. Many things we do are not done with the spirit. Paul, however, dealt with the situation described in chapter five wholly with his spirit. By his spirit he condemned, and by his spirit he delivered the evil one to Satan.
In verse 6 Paul goes on to say, “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” The Corinthian believers, in spite of the confusions and such a gross sin as incest among them, were boasting and glorying. The apostle’s Epistle should humble them by pointing out the sinful things among them, thus making them realize that their boasting is not good.
In speaking of a little leaven, Paul’s thought here may be that there is no need to have such a gross sin as that which existed among them; just a little leaven, a little sin, leavens and corrupts the whole lump, the whole church.
In verse 7 Paul continues, “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. For indeed our Passover, Christ, has been sacrificed.” The word new in this verse literally means young, new in time. A new lump refers to the church, composed of the believers in their new nature.
To say that Christ is our Passover indicates that the apostle considers the believers God’s chosen people, who have had their Passover, as typified by the one in Exodus 12. In this Passover Christ is not only the Lamb, but also the entire Passover. To be our Passover, He was sacrificed on the cross for our redemption and reconciliation to God. Thus, we may enjoy Him as a feast before God. In this feast no leaven is allowed to be present. Sin and the redeeming Christ cannot go together.
In verse 7 Paul says that the believers at Corinth are unleavened. Is this not difficult to believe? How could the Corinthian believers have been unleavened? In the first four chapters of this Epistle they were rebuked by Paul for their divisions. Is divisiveness not leaven? Are not jealousy, strife, and pride sinful things? How, then, could Paul say that the believers there were unleavened? This seems to be a contradiction. Actually, there is no contradiction here at all. The Bible always gives us a complete view of a matter, especially of our history as believers. This means that the Bible reveals both sides of a matter. On the one hand, we have the side of Christ; on the other hand, we have the side of what we are in our fallen nature. According to one side, the side of Christ, we are holy. We are saints in Christ. In 1:2 Paul pointed out that we are “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints.” Thus, in Christ we are unleavened. But according to the other side, the side of our natural being, we are full of leaven. The crucial question is whether we eat unleavened bread or leavened bread. In other words, do we live Christ or do we live ourselves? If we live Christ, then we eat unleavened bread. But if we live ourselves, then we eat leavened bread.
In verse 7 Paul charges us to purge out the old leaven that we may be a new lump, even as we are unleavened. We need to be a new lump according to Christ’s side. We are unleavened in Christ, and should live according to Him, not according to ourselves.
In verse 8 Paul says, “Let us therefore keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of malice and evil, but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” The feast here refers to the feast of unleavened bread as the continuation of the Passover (Exo. 12:15-20). It lasted for seven days, a period of completion, signifying the entire period of our Christian life, from the day of our conversion to the day of rapture. This is a long feast, which we must keep, not with the sin of our old nature, the old leaven, but with unleavened bread, which is the Christ of our new nature as our nourishment and enjoyment. Only He is the life supply of sincerity and truth, absolutely pure, without mixture, and full of reality. The feast is a time for the enjoyment of a banquet. The entire Christian life should be such a feast, such an enjoyment of Christ as our banquet, the rich supply of life.
From verses 7 and 8 we realize that here we have two feasts. When we were saved, we enjoyed the feast of the Passover. But now throughout our entire Christian life we should enjoy the feast of unleavened bread. In typology, the seven days of the feast of unleavened bread signify our whole Christian life. Without 1 Corinthians 5, we would not think of the Christian life as such a feast. But according to verse 8, we see that the Christian life is a feast of unleavened bread, a feast of the enjoyment of Christ as our life supply without any leaven.
In the book of 1 Corinthians Paul compares the believers at Corinth, and himself as well, to the children of Israel. He takes the history of the children of Israel as a background for this Epistle. This gives us the ground to say that the history of the children of Israel is a full type of our Christian life in the church. In verse 7 Paul speaks of “our Passover, Christ.” If Christ was Paul’s Passover, then He must be the Passover for every believer. The children of Israel did not live individualistically; on the contrary, they lived, camped, traveled, and fought battles together. Their corporate life typifies our life in the church. Therefore, when we read the history of the children of Israel, we should realize that we are reading our own history. What happened to them is a type of our experience today. They ate manna in the wilderness; we also eat manna. They drank of the living water; we also drink the living water. They had a rock which went with them; we also have a rock. They experienced the Passover; we also have a Passover, a Passover that is Christ Himself. Furthermore, after the Passover, they kept the feast of unleavened bread. This indicates that we also should keep this feast. The church life is a feast of unleavened bread. For this reason, any leaven must be purged out of the church.
Unleavened bread indicates a living which is without sin, without leaven. In ourselves we cannot possibly have this kind of living. However, in Christ it is possible to live a sinless life. We have been put into Christ, and now we must learn to live in Christ and by Christ. Then He will become our unleavened life supply. He will become the source, the fountain, of a sinless life and living. Because we have such a source and supply, it is possible for us to live a sinless life.
If we would live a life without sin, we must daily eat Christ as unleavened bread. Dietitians tell us that we are what we eat. If we eat unleavened bread, we shall eventually become constituted of unleavened bread. Then we shall live an unleavened life. Although in ourselves it is impossible ever to be sinless, in Christ we can become sinless by eating Him as the source and supply of a sinless life. Since Christ, our source, is unleavened, if we feast on Him daily, we can have an unleavened church life.
In writing this Epistle, Paul was endeavoring to bring the distracted Corinthians back to the central vision of God’s economy. He knew that once they were brought back, they would be all right. But if they remained away from this vision, they would still be sinful in their living. This principle applies both to the church corporately and to the believers individually.
We need to learn to bring others back to the central vision, not just to deal with their failures and sins. In the first two chapters of this book Paul lays a solid foundation for all the matters he later covers. Everything Paul deals with in this Epistle has the first two chapters as its basis. This indicates that all our dealings with the church and the saints must be based on the need to come back to Christ and to the central vision. We must help others see that the reason they have been distracted is that they have turned from the central vision to something else. If they come back to Christ, they will come back to the feast of unleavened bread.
In verses 9 through 13 we see that the evil one must be excommunicated from the church. In verse 13 Paul says, “Remove the evil man from among yourselves.” This is to excommunicate him from the fellowship of the church, as typified by the separation of a leper from the people of God (Lev. 13:45-46). This is an extremely serious matter. Paul had already judged such an evil one, and he expected the believers at Corinth to do the same and to remove that one from their midst.
Verse 11 says, “But now I have written to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother, if he is a fornicator or an avaricious man or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or a rapacious man; with such a one not even to eat.” Here Paul mentions not just one kind of evil person, but several different kinds. Furthermore, Paul does not simply deal with a certain sin; he deals with the person who lives in that kind of sin. There is an important distinction here. For example, to commit fornication is different from being a fornicator, one who lives in that sin and remains in it. A fornicator is not merely one who commits fornication as David did in the Old Testament; he is a person who lives in that sin. That sin becomes his living. Thus, such a person becomes a fornicator. In this chapter Paul is dealing with the person, not merely with the sin. This means that he is not simply removing sin from the church; he is judging and removing a sinful person. Suppose, due to weakness, a brother commits a particular sin. We should help him to repent, to forsake that sin, and to return to the Lord. If he is willing to do this and if he brings forth the fruit of repentance, the church will certainly forgive him. However, if he remains in that particular sin and becomes a kind of person who lives in it, he must be removed from the fellowship of the church. Otherwise, the entire church will be leavened.
In this chapter we have a number of important points. First, the church must be pure, unleavened, and it must not tolerate a sinful person. Second, we must learn to exercise our spirit and to use our spirit in every situation. Third, we need to see that, as those who have experienced the Passover, we should now enjoy continually the feast of unleavened bread. Finally, if a person truly becomes an evil one and refuses to repent, he must be removed from the church life. However, if such a person eventually repents and brings forth the fruit of repentance, the church should forgive him and receive him back into the fellowship. If we consider all these matters, we shall have a clear understanding of how to deal with an evil person in the church life.
