1 Corinthians 5

Introduction

Chapter 5 marks an abrupt shift in the letter. Paul has spent four chapters addressing the problem of factionalism and the Corinthians' inflated self-regard; now he turns to a specific moral crisis that makes their arrogance all the more outrageous. A man in the congregation is living in a sexual relationship with his father's wife (likely his stepmother), and the church -- far from being grieved -- is actually proud of its tolerance. The situation is doubly shocking: the sin itself exceeds even pagan moral standards, and the community's response to it reveals a fundamental confusion about the nature of holiness, community boundaries, and the difference between genuine Christian freedom and moral indifference.

Paul's response is swift, authoritative, and theologically dense. He issues a verdict of excommunication (vv. 1-5), grounds it in the theology of Passover and the metaphor of leaven (vv. 6-8), and then clarifies a misunderstanding from a previous letter about what it means to avoid immoral people (vv. 9-13). Throughout, Paul insists on a distinction that the Corinthians have blurred: the church is responsible for the moral integrity of those within its fellowship, not for judging outsiders. This chapter lays the groundwork for the discussion of lawsuits (ch. 6), sexual ethics (ch. 6), and the broader questions of Christian freedom and community life that dominate the rest of the letter.

The Case of Sexual Immorality (vv. 1-5)

BSB

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father's wife. And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been stricken with grief and have removed from your fellowship the man who did this?

Although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of the Lord Jesus, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.

Translation

It is actually being reported that there is sexual immorality among you -- and sexual immorality of a kind not found even among the Gentiles -- that a man is living with his father's wife. And you are puffed up! Should you not instead have mourned, so that the one who has done this deed might be removed from your midst?

For I, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already passed judgment on the one who has carried out this act, as though I were present. When you are gathered together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and my spirit is with you, together with the power of our Lord Jesus -- hand over such a person to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.

Notes

• πορνεία (porneia, "sexual immorality") -- This word appears twice in verse 1 for emphasis. Porneia is a broad term covering all forms of sexual sin outside of marriage. It derives from pornē ("prostitute") and the verb pernēmi ("to sell"), originally referring to the activity of prostitutes. In the New Testament it functions as a catch-all for sexual transgression -- fornication, adultery, incest, and other violations of God's sexual ethic. Paul specifies that this particular porneia is of such a kind (toiautē) that it does not occur even among the Gentiles (ethnesin). Both Roman law (the Lex Iulia de adulteriis) and Jewish law (Lev 18:8; Deut 22:30; 27:20) prohibited sexual relations with one's stepmother. The phrase γυναῖκά τινα τοῦ πατρὸς ἔχειν (gynaika tina tou patros echein, "to have a father's wife") uses the present infinitive echein ("to have, to possess"), indicating an ongoing relationship rather than a single incident. The expression "father's wife" rather than "mother" strongly suggests a stepmother.

• πεφυσιωμένοι ἐστέ (pephysiōmenoi este, "you are puffed up") -- The verb physioō ("to inflate, puff up") returns from 4:6, 18, 19, now in the perfect passive: the Corinthians are in a settled state of inflation. This is the same distinctive word Paul uses throughout the letter for the Corinthians' arrogance (it appears seven times in 1 Corinthians, more than in all the rest of the New Testament combined). The scandal is not simply that an individual is sinning but that the community is proud in the face of it. What exactly they were proud of is debated: perhaps they saw their tolerance as a sign of spiritual maturity or freedom, or perhaps their arrogance was a general attitude unrelated to the specific case. Either way, Paul sees their pride and the man's sin as a single interconnected crisis.

• ἐπενθήσατε (epenthēsate, "you mourned, grieved") -- The verb pentheō means "to mourn, to grieve, to lament," the kind of grief associated with death or catastrophic loss. It is used in the Beatitudes (Matt 5:4, "Blessed are those who mourn") and for mourning the dead (Mark 16:10). Paul's point is that sin within the body of Christ is not an occasion for boasting about one's liberality but for grief -- it is a kind of death in the community. The aorist tense (epenthēsate) points to an action they should have already completed: their mourning should have already led to the removal of the offender. The verb αἴρω (airō, "to take up, remove, take away") in the purpose clause (hina arthē, "so that he might be removed") is a strong word -- the same verb used for Jesus "taking away" the sin of the world (John 1:29).

• κέκρικα (kekrika, "I have judged, I have decided") -- The perfect tense indicates a settled, completed verdict. Despite being physically absent (apōn tō sōmati, "absent in body"), Paul considers himself present tō pneumati ("in spirit"). This is not a mystical claim but an apostolic one: Paul's authority operates even at a distance. The contrast between σῶμα (sōma, "body") and πνεῦμα (pneuma, "spirit") here refers to physical presence versus spiritual-apostolic engagement, not to the body/spirit dualism of Greek philosophy. Paul has already rendered his verdict; the syntax of verses 3-5 is notoriously difficult, but the essential meaning is clear: when the Corinthian assembly meets in the name and power of the Lord Jesus, with Paul's apostolic authority standing behind them, they are to carry out the sentence.

• παραδοῦναι τὸν τοιοῦτον τῷ Σατανᾷ (paradounai ton toiouton tō Satana, "to hand over such a person to Satan") -- The verb paradidōmi ("to hand over, deliver up") is the same verb used for Judas "handing over" Jesus (Matt 26:15) and for God "handing over" sinners to the consequences of their sin (Rom 1:24, 26, 28). To "hand over to Satan" means to put the person outside the sphere of the church's protection and into the domain of Satan -- the realm outside the covenant community. The only other occurrence of this exact phrase is 1 Timothy 1:20 (Hymenaeus and Alexander). The purpose is not vindictive but remedial: εἰς ὄλεθρον τῆς σαρκός (eis olethron tēs sarkos, "for the destruction of the flesh"). The word olethros means "destruction, ruin" (cf. 2 Thess 1:9; 1 Tim 6:9). Whether "flesh" (sarx) here means the physical body (i.e., physical suffering or death) or the sinful nature (i.e., the destruction of the sinful impulse) is debated. The ultimate goal is redemptive: ἵνα τὸ πνεῦμα σωθῇ (hina to pneuma sōthē, "so that the spirit may be saved") on the Day of the Lord.

• ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου (en tē hēmera tou Kyriou, "on the Day of the Lord") -- This eschatological phrase reaches back to the Old Testament "Day of YHWH" (Amos 5:18; Joel 2:1; Zeph 1:14) -- the day of God's final intervention in judgment and salvation. Paul has already used it in 1:8 and 3:13. There is a textual variant here: some manuscripts (the Byzantine and Textus Receptus traditions) read "the Lord Jesus" (tou Kyriou Iēsou), while the earliest manuscripts (P46, Sinaiticus, Vaticanus) simply read "the Lord" (tou Kyriou). The shorter reading is almost certainly original. The entire sentence reveals Paul's conviction that even severe church discipline is oriented toward the eschatological horizon -- the point is to save the person's spirit at the final judgment, even if the process involves devastating temporal consequences.

• κατεργασάμενον (katergasamenon, "the one who has carried out, accomplished") -- The verb katergazomai is a strengthened form of ergazomai ("to work"), meaning "to work out thoroughly, accomplish, produce." It implies deliberate, sustained action rather than a momentary lapse. Paul uses the same verb in Romans 7:15-20 for sin "producing" death, and in 2 Corinthians 7:10 for godly grief "producing" repentance. The choice of this verb underscores that the man's behavior is not a slip but a settled pattern of conduct.

The Leaven of Sin and Christ Our Passover (vv. 6-8)

BSB

Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.

Translation

Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven, so that you may be a new lump -- as indeed you are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. So then, let us celebrate the feast -- not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Notes

• καύχημα (kauchēma, "boasting, ground for boasting") -- This noun refers not just to the act of boasting but to the thing boasted about -- the basis or content of one's pride. Paul uses the kauch- word group extensively (it appears over 50 times in his letters). The Corinthians' kauchēma -- their self-congratulation in the face of the incest case -- is emphatically οὐ καλόν (ou kalon, "not good, not fine"). The understatement is devastating: their proud tolerance of gross sin is not merely inadequate but positively destructive.

• μικρὰ ζύμη ὅλον τὸ φύραμα ζυμοῖ (mikra zymē holon to phyrama zymoi, "a little leaven leavens the whole lump") -- This was a proverbial saying in the ancient world (cf. Gal 5:9, where Paul quotes the same proverb). Ζύμη (zymē, "leaven, yeast") is almost always negative in biblical symbolism. Jesus warned against "the leaven of the Pharisees" (Matt 16:6; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1), and at Passover all leaven was to be purged from the house (Exod 12:15-19). The word φύραμα (phyrama, "lump of dough") appears five times in the New Testament, all in Paul (here, v. 7; Rom 9:21; 11:16; Gal 5:9). The metaphor is precise: tolerating even a small amount of moral corruption will eventually permeate and corrupt the entire community. Sin is not a private matter -- it spreads.

• ἐκκαθάρατε (ekkatharate, "clean out, purge") -- The verb ekkathairō is an intensified form of kathairō ("to cleanse, purify"), with the prefix ek- ("out of") adding the sense of thorough removal. It appears only here and in 2 Timothy 2:21 in the New Testament. The aorist imperative conveys urgency: do it now, do it completely. The allusion is to the Jewish practice of bedikat chametz -- the ceremonial search for and removal of all leaven from the house before Passover (Exod 12:15, 13:7). Paul is saying the Corinthian church needs to conduct its own spiritual housecleaning.

• ἄζυμοι ... τὸ πάσχα ἡμῶν ἐτύθη Χριστός (azymoi ... to pascha hēmōn etythē Christos, "unleavened ... Christ our Passover has been sacrificed") -- The adjective ἄζυμος (azymos, "unleavened") connects to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which immediately followed Passover (Exod 12:17-20). Paul makes a remarkable theological claim: the Corinthians already are unleavened (kathōs este azymoi, "as indeed you are unleavened") by virtue of Christ's sacrifice. This is the indicative-imperative pattern central to Paul's ethics: because you are already cleansed (indicative), now live in accordance with that reality (imperative). The verb ἐτύθη (etythē, from thyō, "to sacrifice, to slaughter") is the aorist passive -- Christ was sacrificed, a completed historical event. The identification of Christ with the Passover lamb is one of the earliest and most important typological connections in the New Testament (cf. John 1:29; 1 Pet 1:19; Rev 5:6).

• ἑορτάζωμεν (heortazōmen, "let us celebrate the feast") -- This is a present subjunctive (hortatory), suggesting continuous or habitual celebration. The verb heortazō appears only here in the New Testament. Paul is not speaking of the literal Jewish Passover or even of the Lord's Supper specifically, but of the entire Christian life as a perpetual Passover feast. Since Christ, the true Passover lamb, has been sacrificed once for all, the whole of the believer's existence is now a festival of deliverance -- and it must be celebrated with the right kind of bread.

• κακίας καὶ πονηρίας ... εἰλικρινείας καὶ ἀληθείας (kakias kai ponērias ... eilikrineias kai alētheias, "malice and wickedness ... sincerity and truth") -- Paul constructs a contrast between two kinds of leaven/bread. Κακία (kakia) is a general term for moral badness, depravity, or ill will. Πονηρία (ponēria) denotes active wickedness, evil in action. Together they represent the "old leaven" of the pre-Christian life. Against these Paul sets εἰλικρίνεια (eilikrineia, "sincerity, purity of motive") -- a word whose etymology is debated but may derive from heilē ("sunlight") and krinō ("to judge"), meaning "tested by sunlight, found pure when examined in the light." Ἀλήθεια (alētheia, "truth") is not merely intellectual correctness but moral integrity, genuineness, and faithfulness. The unleavened bread of the Christian feast is characterized by transparent sincerity and truth.

Judging Those Inside the Church (vv. 9-13)

BSB

I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. I was not including the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a verbal abuser, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

What business of mine is it to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."

Translation

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people -- not meaning the sexually immoral of this world in general, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would have to leave the world altogether. But what I actually wrote to you was not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a reviler, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a person, do not even eat.

For what is it to me to judge outsiders? Is it not those inside whom you are to judge? God will judge those outside. "Drive out the wicked person from among you."

Notes

• Ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ (egrapsa hymin en tē epistolē, "I wrote to you in my/the letter") -- This is one of the most historically significant statements in the chapter. Paul refers to a previous letter he had written to the Corinthians -- a letter that predates our "1 Corinthians" and is now lost. This means that our canonical 1 Corinthians is actually at least the second letter Paul wrote to this church. The lost letter (sometimes called "the previous letter" or "Corinthians A") apparently contained instructions about avoiding immoral people, which the Corinthians misunderstood as requiring total separation from all sinners. Paul now corrects that misreading. The definite article tē before epistolē ("the letter") indicates a specific, known letter.

• συναναμίγνυσθαι (synanamignysthai, "to associate with, to mingle together with") -- This compound verb is built from syn ("with") + ana ("up, among") + mignymi ("to mix, mingle"). It pictures thorough mixing or blending together, like ingredients combined in a recipe. It appears only here (vv. 9, 11) and in 2 Thessalonians 3:14 in the New Testament. The instruction is not about casual contact but about intimate fellowship -- the kind of close association that implies acceptance and solidarity. Paul's distinction is sharp: total separation from the immoral people of the world would be impossible and is not required; but deliberate, ongoing fellowship with someone who claims to be a Christian while living in flagrant sin is prohibited.

• ἀδελφὸς ὀνομαζόμενος (adelphos onomazomenos, "one called a brother, one bearing the name of brother") -- The participle onomazomenos (from onomazō, "to name, to call by name") is a present passive: someone who "is being called" or "bears the name of" a brother. The phrasing is carefully chosen. Paul does not say "a brother who sins" but "anyone called a brother" -- the emphasis falls on the claim to Christian identity. The issue is not whether the person is truly saved (Paul leaves that to God) but whether someone who professes to be a believer continues in a pattern of gross sin. The vice list that follows -- πόρνος (pornos, "sexually immoral person"), πλεονέκτης (pleonektēs, "greedy person"), εἰδωλολάτρης (eidōlolatrēs, "idolater"), λοίδορος (loidoros, "reviler, verbal abuser"), μέθυσος (methysos, "drunkard"), ἅρπαξ (harpax, "swindler, extortioner") -- expands the scope well beyond the specific incest case. Church discipline applies to all persistent, public sin that contradicts the Christian confession.

• μηδὲ συνεσθίειν (mēde synesthiein, "not even to eat with") -- The verb synesthiō ("to eat together with") carries special weight in the ancient Mediterranean world, where table fellowship signified acceptance, intimacy, and shared identity. To eat with someone was to declare solidarity with them. This is why Jesus' habit of eating with tax collectors and sinners was so scandalous (Luke 15:2). The prohibition likely extends to both ordinary meals and the Lord's Supper (cf. 11:17-34). The emphatic mēde ("not even") indicates that shared meals are the minimum threshold of fellowship -- if you cannot even eat together, then all closer forms of association are also excluded.

• τοὺς ἔξω ... τοὺς ἔσω (tous exō ... tous esō, "those outside ... those inside") -- Paul introduces a clear boundary distinction using the spatial metaphors "outside" (exō) and "inside" (esō). This language echoes rabbinic terminology: the rabbis distinguished between those "inside" (penimiyyim) the covenant community and those "outside" (hisoniyyim). Paul's logic is remarkable: the church has no jurisdiction over outsiders -- that is God's prerogative. But the church is both authorized and obligated to exercise moral judgment over its own members. The Corinthians had the situation exactly backwards: they were judging the world (as Paul will address in 6:1-8, taking disputes to pagan courts) while refusing to judge the flagrant sinner in their midst.

• κρίνειν ... κρίνετε ... κρίνει (krinein ... krinete ... krinei, "to judge ... you judge ... he judges") -- The verb krinō appears three times in verses 12-13, creating a concentrated meditation on the scope and limits of judgment. In chapter 4, Paul told the Corinthians not to judge prematurely (4:5), and some may have taken that as a blanket prohibition on all judgment. Here Paul corrects any such misunderstanding: the church must exercise judgment within its own community. The prohibition in 4:5 was about evaluating the hidden motives of faithful ministers; the command here is about responding to open, undeniable sin. These are two entirely different situations, and Paul expects the Corinthians to distinguish between them.

• Ἐξάρατε τὸν πονηρὸν ἐξ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν (exarate ton ponēron ex hymōn autōn, "Drive out the wicked person from among you") -- Paul concludes with a direct quotation from the Septuagint. The phrase exareis ton ponēron ex hymōn autōn ("you shall purge the evil from your midst") is a refrain that appears repeatedly in Deuteronomy (13:5; 17:7, 12; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21, 24; 24:7) as the conclusion to laws prescribing the death penalty for serious offenses within Israel. The verb ἐξαίρω (exairō, "to remove, drive out, expel") is an aorist imperative, demanding immediate and decisive action. By citing this Deuteronomic formula, Paul grounds the church's disciplinary authority in the Old Testament pattern of Israel's responsibility to maintain the holiness of the covenant community. The wicked person (ho ponēros) -- whether read as masculine ("the wicked man") or neuter ("the wickedness") -- must be expelled so that the community's integrity is preserved. The New Testament church inherits the calling of Old Testament Israel to be a holy people, even though the form of the sanction has changed from execution to excommunication.