1 Corinthians 5
1 Corinthians 5
[00:00:00] Hey everyone, welcome to God's Plan, Your Part, Year Two, where this year we're reading through and studying the entire New Testament one chapter at a time. Thanks again for joining us in discovering God's Plan and your part in it. Today we are looking at 1 Corinthians chapter 5. And before we dig into the chapter, I think apologies are in order because Jenny and I are both going Very obviously getting over colds, I guess, in the middle of summer.
And I didn't think it was as noticeable as it is until I did the edit for yesterday's episode. Uh, so sorry that we sound like, I don't know what, pathetic it's a, it's a rough season in the Zook household for some reason, uh, I don't know who gets colds in the summer, but it's terribly, we do, it's very annoying.
So, anyway, we're back in this episode for Chapter 5, which is extremely short. However, it's extremely pointed. So, on top of the fact that we fe well, at least I felt like there Issues in their church were like following after the wrong [00:01:00] pastor or like associating themselves only with the pastor or, or speaker rather than with God.
We've got like this whole new layer that's getting peeled back in chapter five about um, sexual immorality and choices that are being made by individuals within the church that are just like, Ugh. It's like really heavy to even read, like how, how is that even an issue? And this is not just somebody, Joe Schmoe, this is like within the body of believers.
Yes. So this is like. Um, really raunch, really gross, um, but it's, it's crazy to know that like this is what they're dealing with on top of all the things that we've been talking about exhausting or like very exhausted conversations we've had over the last several chapters. I think this chapter actually helps to continue to paint the picture of what Paul is dealing with and some of why Paul is so direct and perhaps so.
Um, arrogant sounding. We talked about that a lot yesterday in first Corinthians four and we drew attention to the fact that he's a [00:02:00] more mature established believer calling out these folks about their lack of faith because apparently the Corinthian people, and we'll see this in chapter five, they're bragging about how spiritual they are.
They think they are very spiritually minded people, and yet they tolerate it. We'll see. So many things that are blatantly against Christ and therefore very unspiritual. So you have this group of people that are lifting themselves up in pride and arrogance as very uniquely qualified and spiritual while they are actively sinning in many different ways.
So the specific issue at hand here in chapter five is that a man is sleeping with his father's wife, and it is most likely his stepfather's wife or his stepmother. Um, but there is very clear sexual immorality that is forbidden, um, by the church, specifically by Leviticus. But [00:03:00] Paul even draws attention to the fact that even non believing pagans would not accept this.
And. There is a pretty compelling case to be made that the Corinthian church is like proud of this and is celebrating this Clarification it would not be his stepfather's wife because I would miss make it his mother still it would just oh, yeah Sorry, just be his stepmother. Okay. Anyway, regardless it's wrong I actually kind of was like, oh man, you know, it's not gonna be great when the chapter even opens up with the words It's actually reported.
Mm hmm. Like oh man, what's he about to say? And when he goes into detail it is That's pretty discouraging, but, um, I like that you pointed out the word arrogant. Because that's also in verse two. It says, And you are arrogant, ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
Um, and this arrogance, our study Bible says it could be mistaken as like their arrogance in their knowledge that somehow like separates them from being accountable [00:04:00] for moral sin. Like it's just kind of weird, like this is going on, but this is also happening in the background. It's just like, Paul's calling him out.
Like, who do you think you are? Like, just because you're claiming to be Christians, you can't just like live this secret, weird life of doing all these really horrible things on the side. Well, it doesn't even seem to be secret. Like it seems to be fairly public. And then he uses that arrogance language again, in verse six, you're boasting is not good.
leavens the whole lump? So it, I don't want us to miss this detail and probably. You're already catching on to this. This is a church that is claiming to be uniquely spiritual because they are celebrating clear sexual immorality, clear sin in their midst that apparently people are very aware of and they are holding it up and they are celebrating.
I've said over and over that this letter to the Corinthians is so applicable. To the modern church, um, [00:05:00] because we still fall into this kind of stuff where churches, some churches, uh, some believers, some Christians are very excited actually to celebrate sexual immorality. And we'll try to make the case that they are more spiritual and more mature because they tolerate blatant sin.
This is not a problem that has gone away. This is a problem that continues to today. I think also it's crazy too, is in verse five, he is saying, um, to deliver this man. Whoever he was, deliver him to Satan, which feels really weird to say. Um, but what our study Bible mentions too, is that it's probably just removing him from the church.
Yes. And just allowing him to be outside of that, that realm, I suppose, in Satan's realm. Yeah. And because of that, hopefully that, that acts as a way to say, you need to get your stuff together, because you're not coming in here to do those things, [00:06:00] and essentially like he was saying with the leaven. to, like, mix that in with the rest of the church and the rest of the body of Christ, um, in hopes that, because that verse does go on to say that his spirit may be saved so that hopefully, ideally, he would repent, um, and want to enter back in without those Crazy situations going on.
If you want extra credit for this passage, you can go and read 2nd Corinthians chapter 2. Uh, because it is a letter that Paul wrote about a year after this. And it seems very likely that Paul is writing about this man in 2nd Corinthians chapter 2. Essentially saying like, hey, Where is he? It's time to restore this guy back to fellowship.
So this discipline that he's encouraging them to do. And actually, I would say even further than that, he's, he's basically saying he's going to accomplish himself when he gets there is not long term. It's meant to bring this man to repentance so that he would desire community with the believers and he would stop sinning.
And then he actually [00:07:00] expands on this idea. Um, Basically in verse 11, but now I'm 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. So he's making it very clear, uh, believers are not.
So in verse 12, it actually does call out to, like, he's not actually talking about the people of the world who are not associated or associating themselves with the church. It says in verse 12, 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. So essentially, like, that's, I think, encouraging to us as well. Like, people within the church, like, we're supposed to hold each other accountable for things. Um, and I think we [00:08:00] can oftentimes get ourselves caught up in What the world is doing that would not associate themselves with the church and be like, Oh, they're so terrible or all the decisions they're making the lives that they're living.
Like, I'm not going to judge you for that because you don't claim to know Christ. Like, I don't agree with you, but at the same time, like my job and my duty first and foremost is to make sure that myself, my family. Believers around me that like we're keeping each other in check so that we aren't actually a light to the world and hopes that they come in.
Um, and we can continue that accountability process over time and forever. This is an important chapter for us today. One, because we, we are living through this period of time where we are encouraged to celebrate actively sinful lifestyles and we need to know what's going on here in first Corinthians to help us in those kinds of conversations and decisions.
Even furthermore than that, I would say there's, there's a common argument made that the church should be a hospital [00:09:00] for sinners, not a refuge for the righteous. And this passage would seem to say that is not the case. Like the church is not meant to be a place where we just welcome and endure sinful people like actively sinful.
Exactly. It doesn't. And I, I think. I think a lot of people make that argument, and I think they are very well intentioned people. I think they have a clear heart for evangelism. They definitely want to seek and save the lost. But I do not think that the church exists to be a hospital for sinners. I think the church is meant to be the body of Christ, and you cannot be the body of Christ if you are actively doing things that Christ would not allow.
Allow and look, look what it's done. It has caused serious division across many churches and there is no unity. And it feels like there is very little room to hold each other accountable at all. Because a little Levin has actually the whole lump and I don't [00:10:00] know how we come back from this. This is one of the reasons I'm really passionate about biblical podcast because we're not making a case from our own opinions.
We're making a case from what's actually revealed in scripture. So. I should call out Paul's not calling out only sexual immorality. Paul's calling out a whole list of things that we are not supposed to tolerate within the church. We're not supposed to, um, we're, uh, we should not, I'll just read the actual text.
We should not associate with anyone who bears the name of brother. That means who is a believer. If he is guilty of listen to these sexual immorality. Okay. That's a problem in the church today. Greed. That's a problem in the church today. And I doll at her. I don't know that there's a lot of people in the church today that are actively worshiping other idols.
You can say that there are people that are worshiping money, power, influence, all those things. Um, I don't know that people are carving images and bowing down before them. Uh, reviler, like. Basically, just like a like a party or somebody who's like, [00:11:00] just actively of disrepute drunkard. Certainly that occurs a swindler.
Somebody dishonest. Paul says, don't associate with them. Do not even eat with them. Another popular thing is like, well, you know, Jesus, he was out there eating with sinners. And he spent a lot of his time with sinners and yes, he did, but always to call them to repentance and sinners were not in his inner circle of people like the time, the, the people that he invested in and associated with and passed on his ministry to were sinners.
we're believing people that were striving to be holy and righteous before God. So this is first Corinthians five is wildly applicable to, uh, us as individuals and the church as a whole today. And we should pay attention to it and we should strive to apply it to our lives and our communities and our churches and our families, all those things.
I think it is actually pretty surprising how we get to the end of the chapter and it's like, okay, Like, that was one issue that was coming up, but there's so many [00:12:00] that can cause division and, like, complete chaos within the church if we don't address it, if we don't, um, again, just hold each other accountable to the things that we're supposed to.
So I guess overall, I'm not sure. Is there a specific verse that stuck out to you as far as, uh, I mean, there's not many to choose from, but they're all pretty punchy. So it's not a good, uh, your part verse. I'll say that in front. But one of the, one of the things that sticks out to me is verse 13. Uh, God judges those outside purge the evil person from among you.
That's so strong. Um, Paul's not trying to. Because like, I guess he is trying to be kind actually, because he wants what's best for this guy that is discipline, uh, that is to come to repentance, but he uses very strong language and he doesn't water it down at all. Yeah, we're not. Um, but this is important to us.
So I think, um, man, I don't know. We, we do try to pull specific verses and it's not because I don't think this chapter is valuable. [00:13:00] Um, yeah. I would say perhaps, um, verse 12 for what do I have to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church who you are to judge? I think when we are living well and functioning well as the body of Christ, we should actually hold each other accountable.
And one of the best ways to hold each other accountable is to accept it first and foremost, like allow people to correct you. Um, and then. Um, also correct others in love, in a desire to seek reconciliation and repentance. And I think what's really important just to kind of wrap that up to, I'm going back to your verse 13 where it said, purge the evil person from among you.
Again, our study Bible says it's very similar to Israel in that they needed to preserve their holiness, um, of life. And I think that's super important. And it sounds like if, if you're hearing that and it's rubbing you the wrong way, um, you That is not just a me saying this, that's not just a Paul saying this, that's not just a [00:14:00] Ryan saying this, that's for all of us.
So if I am caught in a situation where any of these things, God forbid, is prevalent in my life as a believer, I would hope that someone would hold me accountable to those very things. Just like I'm sure, I'm sure in your own life or people around you, I would hope that those people or you would hold others accountable.
To those things as well. Like that is the encouragement. It's not meant to be like a shameful, awful thing. It's like, let's keep the holiness, uh, within our faith. So that's what we have for you today. That's the verse we have to, to leave you with. Hopefully that's encouraging to you in some way, shape, or form.
And we'll be back again tomorrow with chapter six, which is equally short, but I'm sure has some more, uh, really valuable nuggets for you. On your Thursday. We'll see you then again tomorrow. Thanks for joining today's episode of God's plan. Your part as always, please consider partnering with us as we are a listener supported podcast that we hope to continue to grow with support from listeners.
Just like you, we've made [00:15:00] it super easy to partner with us and you can support us by following the link in our show notes. Or our description you can support us with as little as three dollars a month Every little bit of this helps so much and we're so thankful for your support with that in mind Here's today's reading first corinthians chapter five 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 [00:16:00] 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, or a pervert. 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 [00:17:00] you. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of God's Plan, Your Part. Don't forget, you can find us on just about every social media platform and YouTube. Let us know what you thought of today's episode, and if you have any questions, go ahead and post them there.
You can also reach out to us directly at godsplanyourpartatgmail. com. As always, if you don't have a Bible, or if you'd like to use the one that we use, reach out to us via email, and we'll be happy to send one to you. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you again tomorrow.
