|
1Co 5:1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and
such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should
have his father's wife.
It is generally understood that this would be his step-mother as opposed to his
own mother. Fornication of anyone should never be an action of a born-again
believer in Christ for we are to be saved from sin, not to return to the bondage
of sin. To return to the sin we were saved from kind of undermines the effort
Jesus went through to save us in the first place. To ignore repentance, could
result in the loss of one's soul for eternity since sin is what causes us to be
separated from God, surely sin would result in a lost condition after we have
accepted Christ if it is a continuing sin that goes unrepented of year after
year. In spite of what so many teach, holiness is taught in New Testament
scriptures. Why would Jesus preach, "Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is at
hand," if we didn't need to repent.
Repent means to change our direction and return to the direction given to us by
God.
1Co 5:2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath
done this deed might be taken away from among you.
Sin should cause us to mourn and weep, not rejoice that we can get by with sin
and still be saved. That is the wrong thinking. If we love God, we love what He
has to say to us. If we love His word, we will hate sin.
1Co 5:3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged
already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed.
1Co 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together,
and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Co 5:5 To deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh,
that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
We have to be careful here. First of all it is better for someone to suffer in
the flesh than to lose his soul for eternity but this is not a license for us to
do any harm to the person ourselves. This is where so many middle age leaders
went wrong. They began to put people to death by burning them at the stake. The
people put to death were not those that sinned in this manner but they merely
wanted to print the word of God in a common language for all to read. Some of
the church leaders and popes that condemned others to torture and death were the
ones committing the sexual sins of the type mentioned in this book.
To deliver one to the destruction of Satan is to allow a person be get sick and
not pray for their recovery until they repent and stop sinning. We are not to
harm anyone but leave that type of judgment to God. Some have taken this verse
the wrong way which is the only reason I mention these things at this point.
This destruction of the flesh refers to sickness and disease, not to physical
harm caused by the church.
Notice they were to deliver this one to Satan by allowing God's protection to be
removed from him for a season.
Another teaching on this subject is that this merely meant that the person is to
be excommunicated from the church. If he is excommunicated that is a way of
turning him over to Satan. The belief is that Satan has no authority inside the
church.
However, I question that because the church are those who have been born again
by the spirit of God and they may or may not be part of a physical body of
believers which we call the church. Seems like only God could excommunicate
someone from the real church.
To me the idea would be to correct the person in word and if he rejects our
correction, then we are to allow Satan to destroy his flesh without our prayers
stopping the destruction.
These verses really seem to indicate the power of prayer. We should be very
careful how we pray and learn to pray in the Lord's will. I don't think I have
ever prayed for someone to get sick.
In all this we must remember that the apostle ordered this and it wasn't just a
body of people that took it upon themselves to judge someone on their own.
1Co 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth
the whole lump?
The main message we are to get is that sin defiles the church. Sin in one
confessing Christ as Lord, brings reproach upon the church. This is talking of
real sin here. Its talking of fornication, not making a slight mistake or
publishing bibles in the English language. This is not talking of having a
difference of opinion and disagreeing with those in authority. Its talking about
open uprepented sexual sin.
There are some that think they can put curses on those that come against their
ministry. Since there are so many ministries and opinions on the bible, how can
poor souls discern and know who is false and who is real? Of course they should
ask questions and compare scriptures to determine who is telling the truth. Why
should we ever just take the word of someone claiming to be a spokesman for God.
We owe it to ourselves and our families to ask questions, search and discern.
Back in the days of the Corinthians, there was most probably only one body of
believers in a given city. Today there are thousands and we have to have
discernment and search the scriptures. To condemn everyone that disagrees with
our train of thought would be unfair.
1Co 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye
are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
This has to be at a local level. If we attempt to have a body of believers who
meet together to pray and study God's word, we can't allow someone to teach and
usurp authority who is living in open sin that has never been renounced.
1Co 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with
the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity
and truth.
Old things pass away when we come to Christ. All things are to become new and we
are changed from an old sinner to a new creation in Christ Jesus.
1Co 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
1Co 5:10 Yet not altogether the fornicators of this world, or with the
covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of
the world.
1Co 5:11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that
is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer,
or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no not to eat.
We have to work among, go to school with and be around fornicators of this
world. We are not, however, to eat with or keep constant company with a brother
or sister who we know for sure are living in open sexual sin and still claiming
Christ as Lord if by doing so we would be seen as agreeing with their lifestyle
or sin. If we go to them to try to turn them back to the way of truth that is
one thing but to run around with them and be in their constant company may be a
sign of agreeing with their sin.
1Co 5:12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye
judge them that are within?
1Co 5:13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among
yourselves that wicked person.
Put away here means to remove them from your company and fellowship, not put
them to death.
1 Corinthians should be read along with second Corinthians so that we see that
this person was restored to fellowship. This person was brought to repentance
and Paul urged for his forgiveness. This had a happy ending.
1 Corinthians 6
|