ACC ~ 1 Corinthians 5 v1 - 8

OVERVIEW:

Some forms of immorality are far more degrading than others (ORIGEN). The particular form of immorality reported at Corinth, a man living with his father’s wife, was so intolerable that it was hard even to speak of openly (CHRYSOSTOM). Yet those who look the other way will not be innocent. Deputized in the power of Christ (AMBROSIASTER), Paul urged the man’s immediate removal (CHRYSOSTOM). This person should be put out of the church and forced to live in the world, which is ruled by Satan (THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA, SEVERIAN OF GABALA). The offender, who had already blasphemed of his own free will (JEROME), had better hope thereby for ultimate reconciliation by being cast out promptly than by being treated permissively (THEODORET OF CYR, THEODORE). Yet this should occur without undermining the spirit of cooperation (AMBROSIASTER). They could easily have predicted his judgment in advance (THEODORET OF CYR). Just as a little leaven leavens the whole lump, an evil life corrupts the whole person (AMBROSIASTER, CHRYSOSTOM). Sin will contaminate the whole body if it is uncorrected (AMBROSIASTER). Others have hindered the man from repenting by leaving his sin uncorrected (CHRYSOSTOM). The true teaching of the atonement (against false misrepresentations, the old lump) must come before moral reformation in the Christian community (AMBROSIASTER).

5:1 | Immorality Beyond That of Pagans

SOME FORMS OF IMMORALITY ARE MORE DEMEANING. ORIGEN: We learn from this that there are different kinds of immorality, some of which are more serious than others. When God judges it, he will take extenuating factors into account and vary the punishment accordingly. In this case, Paul is teaching us that even when there has been a legal marriage ceremony, if it goes against the law of God, it is immoral and will be condemned accordingly. COMMENTARY ON 1 CORINTHIANS 2.23.15-20.

THOSE WHO LOOK THE OTHER WAY ARE NOT INNOCENT. AMBROSIASTER: This person was clearly deserving of death for his crime, but those who supported him were not innocent either. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

TOO INTOLERABLE TO DISCUSS PUBLICLY. CHRYSOSTOM: The extreme foulness of the deed causes Paul to shrink. He hurries over it with a sense of embarrassment, aggravating the charge by implying that even to speak about it was intolerable. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 15.2.

5:2 | Removing the Offender

HUMBLING THEIR PRIDE. AMBROSIASTER: Paul humbles their pride, but in such a way that instead of making them angry he makes them willing to cooperate with him. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

5:3 | Pronouncing Judgment

PAUL PRONOUNCES JUDGMENT. THEODORET OF CYR: None would expect anything else, implies Paul, once again showing how important the matter was. COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 192.

5:4 | Judgment in the Lord’s Name

DEPUTIZED IN THE POWER OF CHRIST. AMBROSIASTER: The Corinthians were to eject this man not only by common consent among themselves but also in the power of Christ, whose deputy Paul was. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

ACT IMMEDIATELY. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul does not allow the Corinthians to wait for him to come but passes sentence from afar. He did this so as not to give the Corinthians any leeway for making excuses. They were to act immediately and in the very precise manner described. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 15.3.

5:5 | Acting to Save the Man’s Spirit

THE CONTAMINATION INFECTED OTHERS. AMBROSIASTER: If this man were not thrown out, the spirit of the church would not be saved on the day of judgment, because the source of the contamination was infecting them all. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

DELIVER THE SINNER TO SATAN. JEROME: Paul has delivered over to Satan those who had already blasphemed of their own free will. AGAINST RUFINUS 7.

THE RECONCILING INTENT. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: This is not to be taken literally. What Paul means is that the person concerned should be put out of the church and forced to live in the world, which is ruled by Satan. That way he will learn to fear God and escape the greater punishment that is to come. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

EXPOSURE TO LIFE’S HARDSHIPS. SEVERIAN OF GABALA: When Paul says that this man must be delivered to Satan, he does not mean that he should be handed over to the power of the evil one. Rather, all the evils of this life, for example, diseases, sorrows, sufferings, and other circumstances, were attributed to Satan, and it is in this sense that Paul uses the term here. What he means is that this man should be exposed to the hardships of life. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

SEPARATION FROM THE BODY OF CHRIST. THEODORET OF CYR: We are taught by this that the devil invades those who are separated from the body of the church because he finds them deprived of grace. COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 193.

5:6 | A Little Leaven

UNCORRECTED SIN CONTAMINATES. AMBROSIASTER: Just as the sin of one person contaminates many, if it is not dealt with once it is known, so also does the sin of the many who know what is happening and either do not turn away from it or pretend that they have not noticed it. Sin does not look like sin if it is not corrected or avoided by anybody. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

A PROBLEM FOR THE WHOLE CHURCH. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul says that the Corinthians are to blame, because by taking pride in this man they have hindered him from repenting. Here he indicates that the problem is one for the whole church, not just for an individual. This is why he uses the symbol of the leaven, which, although a small thing in itself, transforms the whole lump into its own nature. This man will do the same thing if he is allowed to go unpunished. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 15.5.

5:7a | Cleansing Out the Old Leaven

SIN OF EVERY KIND. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul is not referring to this man only but to others as well. The old leaven is not just fornication but sin of every kind, which must be rooted out if the lump is to be pure. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 15.5.

5:7b | Christ, Our Paschal Lamb

THE CROSS OUR PASSOVER PRECEDES MORAL REFORMATION. AMBROSIASTER: The old leaven has a double meaning here. On the one hand, it refers to false teaching, just as Jesus warned his disciples to beware the leaven of the Pharisees. On the other hand, it also refers to the sin of fornication being dealt with here. Paul teaches that the passover is the sacrifice, and not the exodus, as some people think. The sacrifice comes first, and then it is possible to make the transition from the old life to the new. For this reason it is the cross that is the saving reality signified by the passover in the Old Testament. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

5:8a | Celebrating the Festival

THE OLD LEAVEN. CHRYSOSTOM: The old leaven refers among other things to the priests who allow an enormous amount of the old leaven to remain within the church, namely, the covetous, the extortioners and those guilty of doing anything that would keep them out of the kingdom of heaven. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 15.11.

5:8b | In Sincerity and Truth

THE UNLEAVENED BREAD OF SINCERITY. AMBROSIASTER: Just as a little leaven leavens the whole lump, an evil life corrupts the whole man. Therefore Paul wants us to avoid not only evil acts but all interest in sin, so that sincerity may cleanse our lives and truth may exclude all deception. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.