Chapter Text
Dealing with Sexual Immorality
Do Not Associate with the Immoral
Summary
Paul confronts a shocking case of sexual immorality in the Corinthian church — a man living with his father's wife — which the congregation tolerates with pride rather than grief. Paul commands them to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that his spirit may be saved. He uses the metaphor of leaven, urging them to purge the old leaven since Christ, their Passover, has been sacrificed. Paul clarifies that his instruction to avoid immoral people refers to those within the church, not unbelievers.
Meaning
The Corinthians' tolerance of egregious sin within their fellowship reveals a distorted understanding of grace and freedom. Their boasting in this situation shows that spiritual complacency can masquerade as open-mindedness. Paul's response demonstrates that genuine love sometimes requires firm discipline.
The Passover imagery transforms church discipline from punishment into purification. Just as Israel removed all leaven before celebrating Passover, the church must remove unrepentant sin to preserve its integrity. The goal of discipline is always redemptive — the destruction of the flesh aims at the ultimate salvation of the soul. The church is called to judge those within its fellowship while leaving those outside to God's judgment.
Background
The man's relationship with his father's wife was condemned by both Jewish law in Leviticus 18:8 and Roman law. The phrase 'deliver to Satan' likely means exclusion from the protective fellowship of the church, exposing the person to the consequences of their sin. The Passover metaphor connects Christ's sacrifice to the practical holiness of the community. The distinction between judging insiders and outsiders establishes boundaries for church discipline.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-2A Scandal the Church Ignored
- vv. 3-5Apostolic Judgment Pronounced
- vv. 6-8Leaven, Passover, and Purity
- vv. 9-11Clarifying the Earlier Letter
- vv. 12-13Judging Those Within
Key Verses
“Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?”— 5:6
A proverbial warning that tolerated sin spreads through a community like yeast through dough. Paul reuses this image in Galatians 5:9, and it has become a touchstone for church discipline.
“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:”— 5:7
One of the New Testament's clearest identifications of Christ as the Passover Lamb, linking the Exodus deliverance to the cross and grounding Christian holiness in accomplished redemption.
“But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.”— 5:11
A foundational text for church discipline, distinguishing how believers relate to unrepentant insiders versus outsiders, and shaping centuries of ecclesial practice.
People & Places
People
- Jesus Christ — The Lord in whose name the assembly acts and whose sacrifice as the true Passover grounds Paul's appeal.
- Satan — The adversary to whom the unrepentant offender is to be delivered for the destruction of the flesh.
- The incestuous man — An unnamed Corinthian believer guilty of taking his father's wife, whose case prompts Paul's call for discipline.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
Paul declares in verse 7 that 'Christ our passover is sacrificed for us,' presenting Jesus as the fulfillment of the Passover lamb of Exodus 12 whose blood spared Israel from death. The unleavened bread of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:15-20) is reinterpreted typologically as the 'sincerity and truth' (v. 8) that should mark the redeemed community. Paul thus reads the Mosaic festival as a shadow whose substance has arrived in Christ's atoning death.
Devotional
It is uncomfortable to read a chapter about confronting sin, yet Paul's concern is not cruelty but love — for the offender, whose soul he hopes to save, and for the community, whose health depends on honesty.
Pride blinds us to the slow spread of compromise. A 'little leaven' of tolerated bitterness, dishonesty, or lust quietly reshapes a whole life or congregation.
The gospel does not call us to police outsiders, but to walk in 'sincerity and truth' ourselves, trusting that Christ our Passover has already made us a new lump.
Literary Style
Apostolic epistle combining rebuke, case ruling, and theological exhortation. Paul moves from indignant report to courtroom-style verdict, then to a Passover-and-leaven typology rich in Old Testament allusion, closing with a citation from Deuteronomy ('put away from among yourselves').