The first problem, dealt with in chs. 1—4, is the matter of division, which is related mainly to the natural life of the soul. The second problem, dealt with in ch. 5, the second section of the book, is the sin of fornication, which is related to the lust of the flesh. This problem, involving incest with one's stepmother, is morally 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.

Lit., father's wife.

See note 1 Cor. 5:13^1a.

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 he was absent from them in the body, he was still present with them in the spirit, exercising his spirit to judge the evil person among them.

Both in the name of our Lord Jesus and with the power of our Lord Jesus modify deliver in v. 5. The apostle, in his spirit, applied the mighty name of the Lord with His power to deliver the evil person to Satan.

The apostle's spirit was so strong that it attended the meeting of the Corinthian believers. His spirit was assembled with them to carry out his judgment upon the evil person.

To deliver a sinful person to Satan is for discipline.

This refers mainly to the affliction of a certain disease (2 Cor. 12:7; Luke 13:16).

Flesh here refers to the lustful body, which should be destroyed.

This 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, that he might be kept in a condition in which his spirit could be saved in the day of the Lord.

See note 1 Cor. 3:13^1b.

Or, glorying. In spite of the confusion and the presence of the gross sin of incest among them, the Corinthian believers were boasting and glorying. The apostle's Epistle should have humbled them by pointing out the sinful things among them, thus making them realize that their boasting was not good.

The apostle's thought here might have been that there was no need to have a sin as gross as that which existed among them; just a little leaven, a little sin, leavens and corrupts the whole lump, the whole church.

See note Matt. 13:33^1b.

Lit., young, new in time. See note Col. 3:10^2b. The new lump refers to the church, composed of the believers in their new nature.

This indicates that the apostle considered the believers God's chosen people, who have had their Passover, as typified by the one in Exo. 12. In this Passover, Christ is not only the Passover lamb but also the entire Passover. To be our Passover, He was sacrificed on the cross that we might be redeemed and reconciled 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.

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 the banquet. The entire Christian life should be such a feast, such an enjoyment of Christ as our banquet, the rich supply of life.

Or, mix, associate. So also in v. 11.

The evil persons mentioned in this verse are not those who have simply committed a certain sin, but those who live in that sin and remain in it, refusing to repent. To remove such a one is not just to remove a sin from the church but to judge and remove a sinful person so that the church will not be leavened by his presence.

I.e., cut him off from the fellowship of the church, as typified by the separating of a leper from the people of God (Lev. 13:45-46).