1Cor 5:1-5 - Part 1 - Pussycats and Tigers

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. 3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.


Thank goodness nothing like this ever happens in our modern churches! Or, if it does, thank goodness we have the sense to hush it all up and keep it out of sight. We don’t want to draw attention to such goings on, much less deal with them.

All right! Not all churches are like that, but the appalling thing is that there are many that are. And it is not just congregants but shepherds who are found dilly dallying, and are winked at for appearances sake, or to avoid scandal, or out of a misplaced sense of loyalty, tolerance or non-judgmentalism.

But the Corinthians seem to have gone a step further. In their ignorance, or willfulness (in either case they are culpable) there seems to be an attitude of "So what!" It may be that one of the local gurus doesn’t think it so bad and is telling them that Paul can’t do anything about it anyway. Paul is a has-been whose relevance has waned over the years. He’s old hat and not a very striking sort of fellow to begin with.

So long as they are attacking him and not the gospel, Paul is a relative pussy cat. But whenever the gospel is at stake, or the Name of Christ is liable to be blasphemed among outsiders on account of the church’s conduct, a different Paul comes to the fore. He is a tiger. One only hopes we are all able to make the same distinctions in our own walk.

Here, of course, for a man to be in a carnal relationship with his step mother (from 2Co 7:12 it’s not likely that the father was already dead) is something abhorrent, even for a notoriously pagan society such as Corinth. But for this to be tolerated (much less endorsed) is a terrible smear on the church and a wicked perversion of Christian liberty. And though Paul is indignant about it, it seems clear that his hope is still that they have fallen to this through misunderstanding their freedom, rather than on account of unregenerate hearts.

So where is Paul’s heart in this matter? What is he concerned about? Well, first and foremost his concern is the purity of the bride for whom Christ died. This is the forgotten doctrine. The purity of the Bride of Christ is precious in the eyes of the Saviour who bought her. And every shepherd of the flock ought to be moved by such considerations. There is both outward and inward purity - both that which is perceived (the appearance of evil) and that which is pure heart work (the sanctification of the soul through the mortification of sin). The shepherd addresses both - and doesn't neglect to keep himself, either.

Note that Paul is not immediately concerned with the one who is guilty of this sin. That is so straightforward a matter as to hardly be the subject of Paul’s’ main theme. The man is to be put outside the church. No fellowship. No communion with the saints as brethren. No participation in the body. Cut and dried. Next case. This is not unfeeling, because a person who has demonstrated gross immorality that remains unrepented of is to be treated as a pagan, and not as a believer, precisely so that he can be evangelized. It doesn’t mean that he either is or isn’t one thing or the other. God knows the heart. But the church has the responsibility of discerning the fruit. God is able to make plain the actual truth through the person’s final apostasy, or though his repentance and reconciliation.

Remarkably, Paul isn’t even concerned with the offended party (the father and the husband of the wife in question). There’s no attempt to rush to his side and bring comfort or encouragement - at least, not in the context here or in 2Corinthians. Again, that’s not to say such a person ought not to be helped and encouraged in some way, depending on the circumstances. Perhaps the father (and the wife) were not Christians - who knows? Whatever the details are we can tell a very great deal from what is not done and said, as well as what is. Paul’s overriding concern is the purity of the body of Christ. Is this the concern of churches today? Is it the concern of Pastors, and to what lengths are they prepared to go (in Christ) to preserve it?

If they preach sermons that widen the narrow gate or that blaze a broader way are they not admitting unbelievers and their behaviours into the church body? If they are more concerned with numbers than purity what will the result be? Or if elders refuse to see and to discipline behaviours and acts that shame the Name above all names - that sully the bride - what then? Are these not lessons to be learned from this passage? Has Paul not proclaimed sound doctrine and true spirituality to be foundational in the first part of the letter? And does he not now, by dealing with cases, come to the matter of how errors in those things bear fruit in the body? This is no mere theoretical religion. It’s not words separated from reality. It’s not pie in the sky philosophy. It’s where the rubber meets the road and where true spirituality is separated from mere socializing and pure sentimentality. This is love in action - love first for Christ and the purity of His bride and, from that, springs love for the Bride herself.

It ought not to be missed that it is God who is the authority, the power and the mover in this excommunication that Paul is commanding. Things are to be done in good order and openly under the auspices of God Almighty. It’s not ceremony. To the world it can appear as ceremony. Even in apostate churches that are governed by form and not the Spirit, only the outward things will be seen. But, to those who live by faith, the unseen realities are present in the whole thing. The Lord Jesus is not just believed to be there in some abstract way, He is there. He is the power at work by the Spirit. He is the husband of the bride. He is the knower of hearts and the mover of wills.

There seems to be some implication about the mystical communion of the saints here. Though not physically present, Paul will nevertheless by present in spirit because He and they are all indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Hence the brotherhood of all believers is universal and what true believers do under the authority and blessings of God in one place is for the good of all, the Holy Spirit moving all, and being in all. Because Paul has discerned this matter and disposed of it in the Holy Spirit through the commandment to the Corinthians then, if they are in the same Spirit, all their actions (Paul’s and theirs) are of the same mind and purpose - for God is not divided.

Indeed, if and because Paul acts with Apostolic authority from the Holy Spirit, that very same power will be present at the disciplinary meeting. Paul has no doubt of it. He assures them that God will be in it, even though Paul himself will not be there. What confidence and faith Paul has. How wonderful it must feel to be so sure that a course of action is the express will of God. And yet we can all have that same assurance when we are truly submitted to the Spirit of the Lord.