Day: Sep 1, 2021

Chapter 5: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. The cancer of sexual immorality

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we give You permission to speak to speak, teach, convict, correct, instruct, and train us in righteousness as only You can. We pray for the anointing and presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

VV 1-2, 1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles, that a man has his father’s wife! 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.

Someone from the Corinthian church had written a letter to Paul to informed him that a member of the Corinthian church had committed incest but the church turned a blind eye instead of taking action against the culprit.

VV 3-5, 3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Paul was absent from Corinth in person but was with them in spirit. Paul condemned that person, delivering him to Satan in the hope that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord’s second coming.

VV 6-8, 6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Concerning sin, Paul asked a rhetorical question. A little bit on leaven in the dough will influence the whole lump. Leaven represents sin. Sin in the church is like cancer and will continue to spread if not radically removed. They should confront that person and persuade him to confess and repent. If he was unwilling to do so, the church would have no choice but to excommunicate him. Passover feast and Passover lamb are foreshadows of Jesus Christ. Passover lamb’s blood painted on the door frames of the Israelite’s houses on the Passover night was a foreshadow of the blood of Christ on the cross of Calvary. Passover lamb was a foreshadow of Jesus, the Lamb of God.

VV 9-10, 9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.

We should not shy away from non-Christians who are involved in sexual immorality but use this opportunity to share the gospel with them.

VV 11-13, 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, not even to eat with such a person. 12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

Concerning sexual immorality, Paul asked one rhetorical question. We should not associate with Christians who are involved in sexual immorality unless they are willing to confess and repent. We should not judge non-Christians who are involved in sexual immoral but leave them to God. We should judge and counsel Christians who are involved in sexual immorality to bring them to repentance.

Application:

Sexual immorality is cancerous. If we detect cancer in our body, we must quickly go for radical surgery to remove cancer. If sexual immorality is detected in the body of Christ, and the person refused to repent, it is appropriate to excommunicate that person.

Christ is our Passover. If we apply the blood of Christ to cover our sins, God justifies and declared us just as if we have not seen. If we confess our sins, believe that Christ died for us, and surrender our lives to Him, we have passed over from death to life, John 5:24.

John 5: 24, ESV, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank You that Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us on Good Friday. Spiritually speaking, help us keep not to keep the Passover with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the new unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, in Jesus’ name, Amen.