Monday, July 11, 2016

1 Corinthians Chapter 5

1 Corinthians
Above image from https://www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-pauline-epistles/first-corinthians

Chapters 5 and 6 introduce a new section of the letter to us. Previous to this, the apostle has been dealing with pride and its consequences in the Corinthian assembly, and what a terrible thing was happening there because of the love of human wisdom and the love of human status. Now he turns to a related theme, but one that is somewhat different: Lust and its problems.

Deliver this Man to Satan - A Case Study in Church Discipline by Simon J. Kistemaker: "A personal translation of the paragraph of vv. 1-5: "It is actually reported that there is immorality among you and of such a kind that does not even happen among the Gentiles, namely, that a man has the wife of his father. And you are arrogant! Should you not rather be grieved? Put the man who practiced this deed out of your midst. For even though I am absent in the body but present in spirit, I have already judged the man who has so committed this as if I were present. When you come together and I am with you in spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus, in the name of our Lord Jesus deliver this man to Satan for destruction of the flesh that his spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord." "Paul had been told that someone in the church had committed incest but that the members of the Corinthian church had not censured this person. In an earlier letter, Paul had warned the Corinthians not to associate with immoral people. Apparently, they had paid little if any attention to his instruction because when a man had committed incest, the church failed to act. Now Paul instructs the church to remove this man and his heinous sin from their midst. Indeed both the man, because of incest, and the church, because of failure to impose discipline, are guilty of sin before God."

(1) I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you - something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother.

  • Report:
    • Greek: It is heard. A rumor that had been brought to Paul, probably by the members of the family of Chloe - 1 Corinthians 1:11.
  • Sexual immorality:
    • The Greek word rendered sexual immorality is porneia from which the English word “pornography” is derived. The KJV renders it “fornication,” but since it involves a married woman, the wider meaning of “sexual immorality” is clearly preferable and in this case would today be called "incest."
    • Corinth and other Greek cities had no problem with sex outside of the marriage relationship. The temple of Aphrodite in Corinth was devoted to the worship of sex. Therefore, Christians were easily tempted in this area. Many of them had practiced fornication before they became Christians and it was difficult for them to break these habits. Unfortunately, fornication, pornography, adultery, homosexuality are not only accepted in this country, but even encouraged.
  • Going on:
    • The words “going on” denotes an ongoing sexual relationship. This man and woman are “living together” (“cohabiting,” NET).
  • Pagans don't do:
    • Even the pagans had heard about this relationship - making a mockery of Christianity. Cicero says of such a relationship that “it was an incredible and unheard of crime.”
  • Living in sin with his stepmother:
    • No condemnation is voiced regarding the woman in this case which evidently indicates that she was not a Christian.
    • The man either
      • seduced his step-mother away from his father or
      • was living with his divorced step-mother or
      • was living with his widowed step-mother

(2) You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship.

  • Proud:
    • The word “proud” is the translation of the Greek word phusioo, which means literally “to inflate.” The KJV’s rendering “puffed up” is, therefore, closer to the original. Although they knew of his immoral lifestyle, they accepted him in full fellowship - they were being "tolerant". They probably said to themselves, "Look how loving we are. We accept this brother just as he is. Look how open-minded we are!"
  • Sorrow and shame:
    • Upon the announcement of Bill Clinton’s adultery with Monica Lewinsky, Pat Robertson said, “No Christian should rejoice in this; this is a sad day for America.” He had it right: this was a shame to America".

(3-4) Even though I am not with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit. And as though I were there, I have already passed judgment on this man in the name of the Lord Jesus. You must call a meeting of the church. I will be present with you in spirit, and so will the power of our Lord Jesus.

(5) Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns.

  • Over to Satan:
    • To "throw out", “hand over” (NASB, ESV), “turn” (NET, HSB), or “hand” (NRSV, NIV) a person over to Satan means to put that person out of Christian worship and fellowship by thrusting him into Satan’s realm, the world system.
    • Handing someone over to Satan is similar to what Jesus said to His disciples: treat an unrepentant sinner as a pagan or a tax collector (Matthew 18:17). The command to deliver someone to Satan has a parallel in another epistle where Paul writes about some people shipwrecking their faith: 1 Timothy 1:20: Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God.
    • Here are two examples from the OT and the NT, respectively, of individuals who repented and returned to fellowship:
      • Gomer, who as Hosea's sexually immoral wife personifies Israel, exclaims, "I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now" (Hosea 2:7, NIV).
      • The prodigal son repented by confessing that he had sinned against God and against his father. Of his own volition, the son went to his parental home. This Jewish son came to his senses when he worked seven days a week herding pigs for a Gentile and was physically starving. He had broken God's commands, but confessed his sin before God. In the words of the father, the wayward son was dead; but when he returned home, he was alive again (Luke 15).
    • Sinful nature - Greek sarx :
      • The rendering “so that his sinful nature will be destroyed” raises some questions. The Greek word sarx often has the meaning of sinful human nature, but it is also used for the human body. For instance, in the statement “The Word became ‘flesh’ and made his dwelling among us,” (NIV) it would be very inappropriate to give sarx the meaning of “sinful nature.” We may safely assume that Paul’s intent was that the offender would become very ill, even close to death, to hopefully bring him to repent and call upon the Lord for forgiveness.
    • Saved:
      • The goal is this man’s repentance and restoration to fellowship with the Corinthian believers. Now, if he refuses to repent, the Lord may bring financial, emotional, and physical problems. Eventually, the Lord may have to take his physical life.

    (6) Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough?

    • Yeast:
      • Leaven is yeast, and even today Jews will go through their houses and look for any form of leavened bread that may be present before they celebrate the Passover. Leaven is consistently used throughout the Scriptures as a symbol of evil and sin. Paul says the problem is that "a little leaven leavens the whole lump." Most interpreters assume that the leaven is the incestuous man. But this is not what the context says. Rather, what is infecting the congregation is their boasting about their toleration of this man.
      • Matthew 13:33: Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”
      • Matthew 16:6,12: “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ... Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
      • Galatians 5:9: This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough!

    (7) Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.

    • Our Passover Lamb:
      • This passage proves that Paul meant to teach that Christ had “taken the place” of the Passover lamb.
      • Isaiah 53:7: He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.
      • John 1:29: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
      • 1 Peter 1:19: It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
      • Revelation 5:6,12: Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth. ... And they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered - to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.”

    (8-9) So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth. When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin.

    • Wrote ... before:  
      • In Verse 9, Paul refers to a letter that he had written to them, a letter that evidently is lost to us. No one knows what it said other than this reference to it.
    • Associate - Greek sunanamignumi, meaning literally: “to mix up together”:
      • The Wycliffe Bible Commentary comments on this: “The thought is that of familiar fellowship. The apostle knew that some fellowship with the world must take place in the daily pursuits of life. However, the brother under discipline was to be denied fellowship, and particularly were the believers not to eat with such an one, the most obvious act of fellowship.”
      • We become like those we keep company with. Paul had warned of the dangers of fellowshipping with sinners
      • Psalm 1:1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.
      • Psalm 26:4-5: I do not spend time with liars or go along with hypocrites. I hate the gatherings of those who do evil, and I refuse to join in with the wicked.
      • Proverbs 13:20: Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.
      • 1 Corinthians 15:3: Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”
      • Ephesians 5:11: Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.

    (10) But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that.

    • Unbelievers:
      • In a previous letter, Paul had told them not to associate with immoral people and they had obviously misunderstood. He was not referring to unbelievers as they would have no witness should they isolate themselves. He was referring to immoral people in the church because they would corrupt the church and weaken its testimony.
    • Leave this world:
      • We are IN the world, but not OF the world. To be "not of the world" requires us to be free of worldly influence. This does not mean that we do not participate in government or typical social processes. It means that we do not act as the unsaved world does. This notion is consistent with the teaching of the New Testament, even if it isn’t a direct quote.
      • John 15:19: The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.
      • John 17:16: They do not belong to this world any more than I do.
      • Romans 12:2: Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
      • 2 Corinthians 6:14-15: Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?
      • 1 John 2:15-17: Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

    (11-12) I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people. It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.

    (13) God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”

    • Remove:
      • This situation was resolved: 2 Corinthians 2:5-11: I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me. Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough. Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement. So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him. I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions. When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.

      NOTES:

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