Church Discipline (5:1-13)

Paul had received a report. We don't know if this report came from Chloe's household (1:11) or if Paul received this after finishing a shorter letter to the Corinthians (chapter 1-4). In any case, it was a very bad report, one involving sexual immorality in the church.

- It is a shocking report (note the word 'actually')
- It is of a kind even worse than what pagans do (man has his father's wife)
- Even more shocking, the Corinthians were proud (I don't quite understand in what sense)
- Paul says they should have been grieving, not proud
- Paul insists that they deal with the problem at their next assembly
- He reminds them that both he and Jesus will be in attendance (spiritually)
- Dealing w/the problem means expelling this wicked man from the congregation

The phrase 'hand this man over to Satan' has caused some confusion. It seems to me it is used here as another way of saying 'send him out into the world' (the world being the realm of satan's power). The goal is not to have the man killed, but to bring him to repentance so that he can re-enter the church. Since the man couldn't be brought to repentance within the safe confines of the body of Christ, perhaps being expelled would draw him to his knees.

Paul then (5:6-8) turns his attention to the church, for it wasn't only this man who was sinning, but the church for not disciplining a sinning member. They should have disciplined him on the following grounds:

- One corrupt agent can ruin the entire group (like yeast affects dough)
- They've been called to be a non-corrupt group
- They have access to purity through Christ
- True fellowship includes sincerity & truth, and this has been lost in this circumstance

Next (5:9-13) Paul hopes to clear up a seeming misunderstanding. Paul had written them, in a previous letter, not to associate with the sexually immoral. But since the church had continued to associate with this sinning member, they must have misunderstood his words to be a command against associating with sinning non-Christians. Paul has to correct this mistake. A command against associating with non-Christian sinners would have been the same thing as a command to leave the world! What Paul had meant was that we should not associate with an immoral person who insists they are a brother or sister in Christ. Fellowship must be broken off in these cases, otherwise the offender feels his actions are legitimate.

Paul's final statements are often ignored in the contemporary church. Whereas we focus on judging the outside world for its sins, and turn a blind eye to sins inside the church, Paul commands the Corinthians to do the opposite. We should judge those inside the church and leave the judgment of those outside the church to God. Paul is quoting here from a number of passages in the Law that speak of capital punishment for certain serious offenses. It should be noted, here, that ex-communication has, for Paul, replaced the death penalty under the New Covenant.