Church Discipline – 1 Corinthians 5

One of the most important things Jesus did for the ordering of the congregations of disciples that would form after his ascension was directions on how to deal with sin in the congregation:

Matthew 18:15–20, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (ESV)

It does not seem that many congregations have embraced this teaching of Jesus.

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. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

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. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 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.

Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”  (1 Corinthians 5 ESV)

Paul is dealing with reports of misconduct among the Corinthians, the first having been their divisiveness over teachers they prefer or follow.  Now he deals with immorality among them that is being tolerated, even, we might say, encouraged.  He mentions that case of a man who is sexually involved with his step-mother (his father’s wife, not his mother), and they arrogantly applaud themselves for their enlightened perspective toward him and this situation instead of mourning.

So Paul urges his removal from the fellowship via church discipline, which he inaugurates as an apostle and commands them when they meet again to hand him over to Satan, to expel him, with the authority of Jesus Christ (Paul is alluding to the last step of discipline that Jesus outlines in Matthew 18:15-20).  Where two or three agree on a discipline they have Jesus’ authority to implement it.  His hope is that the man will repent because he genuinely is a believer or get saved when he realizes he is separated from the Lord.

Paul bolsters their willingness to do this with a reminder that the Passover celebration in Israel included the removal of all leaven from their households just like when they were leaving Egypt and that Christ is the ultimate Passover lamb sacrificed for sin.  They keep the intent of this festival when they remove the leaven of sin from their midst.  If they claim that Paul himself told them not to associate with immoral unbelievers he corrects that and says his meaning was to not associate with those who call themselves believers but are living immorally.  The church doesn’t judge outsiders.  We know they are sinners under the devil’s sway and cannot change without becoming followers of Jesus.  But those inside the church must be judged to keep the body of Christ pure and discourage sin.