Introductory remarks:
This entire chapter is concerning immorality in the church. "Paul has heard that one of them slept with his father's wife and they have tolerated it. Paul told them to avoid evil and though they cannot completely escape it since it is in the world, they should not allow it within their circle. They should kick this man out so his deed doesn't ruin them all" (A Survey of 1 Corinthians - By Brenda). This chapter may be outlined as follows: Judgment against immorality vv. 1-13.
Judgment Against Immorality
Verse 1, "It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife."
LGT "Actually fornication is reported among you, and such fornication which is not even named among the Gentiles, so as one to have his father's wife."
Actually: every one was aware of this fornication. Fornication is reported among you: it was not just a matter of gossip it was really common knowledge. And such fornication which is not even named among the Gentiles: even the heathen were ashamed of such a disgraceful sin. So as one to have his father's wife: this clown slept with his stepmother. This was a sin if incest. The Corinthians, instead of being shamed and remorseful over such a heinous sin, they actually shrugged it off as nothing.
Verse 2, "And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you."
LGT "And ye are puffed up, and did not rather mourn, in order that he might be taken out of your midst, he who did this deed."
And ye are puffed up: the Corinthians attitude was one of arrogance. "Those of the same faction [group] with this scoundrel justified his rascality" (Robertson). And did not mourn: they did not abhor with shame this terrible sin. In order that he might be taken out of your midst, he who did this deed: they should have expelled this rascal from their midst instead of compromising his deed; they almost took grievous pride over him. "This was a case of compromise with evil. John Morley has said that compromise is the most immoral word in the English language. I think I would agree to that. The church in Corinth was compromising itself with this evil" (McGee).
Verse 3, "For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,"
LGT "For I truly, as being absent in body, but present in spirit, already have judged as being present, him who so worked this out."
For I truly, as being absent in body: in writing this letter is the same as my being there. Paul says even though he is absent from their midst he cannot tolerate such a disease, and yet they, in the church, are allowing this sin to fester and spread. But present in spirit: take this letter to heart, for it is the Word of God. Have judged already, as being present: I, as your spiritual father, and as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, want to nip this in the bud before it spreads like a cancer throughout the entire church. Him who so worked this out: they should not be complacent regarding this scoundrel; Paul did not write to them under his own authority, but every word he wrote came directly from the Lord Jesus Christ, for Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Verses 4, 5, "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."
LGT "In the name of our Lord Jesus, you being gathered together, and my spirit, with power of our Lord Jesus, to deliver such a one to Satan for [the] destruction of the flesh, in order that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord."
In the name of the Lord Jesus: of course Paul came in the name of the Lord, for the Lord inspired him. You being gathered together: as an assembly of believers. And my spirit: Paul spirit would be in his epistle. With power of our Lord Jesus: this power is the authority of Paul's epistle, which is the Word of God. To deliver such a one to Satan: this sinning one was a believer, for Paul would not have said to deliver him, for if he was an unbeliever he would already have been a child of Satan, and there would be no delivering. Jesus allowed Peter to be sifted as wheat by Satan, and the result was that Peter denied the Lord; but the end result was that Peter became even closer to the Lord. The Lord uses every means to keep us close to Himself. For the destruction of the flesh: this destruction of the flesh could imply physical disease, but more important, that this offender might see the error of his ways. If the Lord disciplines a believer in time, he will be thankful in eternity. Remember, the son whom he loves he chastens. I believe this passage implies the excommunication of this sinner, but it also implies divine discipline. In order that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord: once saved always saved; so it is not deliverance from hell, but this sinner might be restored to fellowship, and he will be present when the Lord returns to call all His children home. We must always keep in mind that Paul is writing to an assembly of believers in the first church, and they had the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit; we do not posses these gifts today, but the principle is the same; we have not the power to turn someone over to Satan, but we can council them and pray for them, knowing the Lord will handle it better than we. We want the very best for our brothers and sisters in the Lord, so we need to exercise patience at all cost.
Verse 6, "Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?"
LGT "Not good [is] your boasting. Do you not know that a little leaven the whole lump leavens?"
Not good is your boasting: the Greek word for "good" is kalon, which means "intrinsically beautiful", or "essentially beautiful", which the church is, in God's sight. The assembly in Corinth were arrogant instead of remorseful over this situation. Do you not know that a little leaven the whole lump leavens: leaven in the Word of God represents sin. These believers did not think this man's sin was contagious, and maybe it wasn't, but it needed to be surgically removed by the Word of God. If these believers took an attitude of indifference, they were left to face the consequences of allowing other sins, and eventually the entire congregation would be turned over to Satan. Every sin committed by man should be viewed by the believer from God's divine viewpoint, and then when committed by the believer, immediately confess [name that sin the same as God names it] to God for restoration to fellowship. I believe this is the whole point of this passage.
Verse 7, "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."
LGT "Purge out the old leaven, in order that ye may be a new lump, just as ye are unleavened: for also Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us."
Purge out the old leaven: the sense of this phrase is one of urgency; Paul is saying do it now! Do not let the leaven keep on growing or it will be to the complete ruin of the church. "The apostle's metaphor [symbol] is shaped by the commands concerning the removal of leaven at the Passover: Exod. 12:19; 13:7." In order that ye may be a new lump: "Dispense, therefore with the evil leaven that has grown old, and that has gone sour, and be changed into a new lump which is Jesus Christ" (Ignatius - quoted by Vincent). Just as ye are unleavened: Paul urges them to remove all sins in order that they might be pure, as the flour before the leaven is added. The profession of our faith must be consistent with the life we live. This does not mean that we will never sin, that is, miss the mark [gr. harmatia], but we have the right now to purge the leaven of sin, through the mechanics of 1 John 1:9, that is, confessing sin to God for restoration to fellowship. The Lord would that we never sin, but knowing we drag the flesh around, He has made this wonderful provision of confessing sin, not to give us license to sin, but to help us remain in fellowship with Him the maximum amount of time. For also Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us: "In the Old Testament, after the Feast of the Passover there followed immediately the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Paul says that Christ, the true Passover Lamb, has now been sacrificed for us. This should be followed by lives that are free from leaven. Instead, this Corinthian congregation was allowing leaven - that is, evil - to come right into their church. These were the very ones who were talking about the death of Christ and the crucifixion of Christ, and yet they permitted leaven to enter into the church" (McGee).
Verse 8, "Therefore let us keep the feasts, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness: but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
LGT "So that we should celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, neither with leaven of hatred and wickedness, but with unleavened [bread] honesty and truth."
So that we should celebrate the feast: Paul continues his metaphor of the Passover Feast. The Christian church did not observe the Passover for it was just a type of Christ being offered up on the cross. Paul is not saying that we should continue to keep any Feast; what he is saying in this metaphor is that we should continue to remain in fellowship with the Father. Not with old leaven: not to live in the world with the attitude of the world. Neither with leaven of hatred and wickedness: this is the attitude of the dog-eat-dog world. Paul urges them to put away all sin from their lives. But with unleavened bread honesty and truth: these virtues could not be observed if they entertained sin among them. Sin has to be dealt with before fellowship can be enjoyed. We cannot live carnally and spiritually at the same time. The Christian is either one hundred percent spiritual or one hundred percent carnal. When we confess our sins to God we are at that very moment one hundred percent spiritual, that is, the Holy Spirit is then and only then controlling us. When we sin, we are one hundred percent carnal, and in need of confessing our sins. The moment we do confess, we are immediately restored to fellowship; now, how easy is this. God does not require anything of us but honesty and truth in His presence.
Verse 9, "I wrote unto you an epistle not to company with fornicators."
LGT "I wrote to you the epistle not to associate with fornicators:"
Paul is referring to an earlier epistle that has not been preserved to us. Paul warns them not to associate in close fellowship with fornicators. If they did it would be putting their seal of approval on their wicked behavior.
Verse 10, "Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world."
LGT "And not altogether with fornicators of this world, or with covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters; since then ye ought to go out of the world."
And not altogether with fornicators of this world: Paul does not limit their association only to the fornicators of this world, but also to those who commit such things in the church. Or with covetous: those greedy of gain. Or extortioners: those whose greed possesses them to oppress the poor. Or idolaters: the heathen society was rampant with idol worshippers. Today these idols can be anything that stands in the way of our fellowship with the Father. Since then ye ought to go out of the world: it would be impossible to avoid these types, for Paul says in order to avoid them you would have to go out of this world, for they are everywhere you turn. Let me add this to what Paul says about associating with the world: he does not say not to have daily communication with the world; he simply says do not make friends of them. It is impossible to completely avoid them, but it is essential not to yoke together with them in business, and especially in marriage.
Verse 11, "But 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 extortioners; with such an one do not eat."
LGT "But now, I am writing to you not to associate with [him], if anyone designated brother, [be] either a fornicator, or covetous, or idolater, or railer, or a drunkard, or extortioners; with such a one not even to eat."
But now, I write to you: this is concerning this letter he is presently writing, and not a previous one as in verse 9. Not to associate with him, if anyone designated brother: Paul says if anyone calls himself a brother, and openly lives like the world, do not even eat with him, that is, do not have fellowship with that one. The list of sins in this verse we come in contact with almost on a daily basis, but we are not to form friendships with those who practice such things. We are not to be conformed to this world. McGee has a short paragraph regarding these modern day churches whose services are exactly what the world loves, with their terrible music to there sermons that are pleasing to the ears of all, except to the ones who desire truth: "Does the church today think it can drop down to the morality of the world and get away with it? My friend, the church today has lost its power. I am speaking of the church in general. Thank God there are still wonderful churches left, churches that stand out like beacon lights across this land. Bible churches that stand for the Word of God. The other day I heard of a young preacher who took a stand when they tried to introduce hard rock music into his church. It meant that he lost several hundred of his members who walked out. I thank God for a preacher like that, one with intestinal fortitude. Most men today are compromising and shutting their eyes and letting the world come in. The church has lost its power. An impure church is a paralyzed church, and a pure church is a powerful church. That is true for the individual also."
Verse 12, "For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? Do not ye judge them that are within?"
LGT "For what is it to me to judge those outside? Do ye not judge those within?"
For what is it to me to judge those outside: Paul says it is not his job to judge the ones outside the church, for they are outside of his jurisdiction; God will judge them at the Great White Throne. Do ye not judge those within: the judgment the church has is within the confines of the membership, that is, among true believers. If we see another brother taken in a fault we should go to him in a spirit of love and try to bring him back to place of repentance. Now this judgment is not passing judgment, but a spirit of discernment for the welfare of a wayward brother; big difference!
Verse 13, "But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person."
LGT "But to the ones outside God judges. Put ye out the wicked person from among yourselves."
"Paul quotes from Deut. 17:7 to put a clincher on this chapter." The church is not to tolerate wickedness in their midst. This chapter has a very good lesson for all of us who truly desire the truth. Keeping it in its context we have many lessons to learn about handling our Christian brothers; it is only those who refuse to learn that we are to avoid.
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