Church Discipline

1 Corinthians 5

Having dealt with the divisions in the church, Paul now addresses discipline in the church.

God’s purpose for the church is to be a witness to the world of the difference God can make in a person’s life. Therefore, the church’s testimony before the world is absolutely critical. If the church’s conduct is no different than the conduct of the world, it’s testimony is lost. The unsaved sees no difference between himself and the Christian who acts like the rest of the world.

The church exists in a sinful world, but must guard against the world existing within the church. A boat in the water is OK, but when water gets in the boat you’ve got a problem.

Here Paul addresses the problem of immorality in the church and how to deal with it.

I. A SERIOUS PROBLEM (5:1-2).

A. There was WRONG ACTIVITIES.

1. It was common knowledge that the Corinthian Church had some serious moral problems, first being FORNICATION & INCEST. It was not only condemned by God (Lev. 18:8; Dt. 22:30), but even the unsaved considered it despicable.

2. The difference between FORNICATION and ADULTERY:

• The modern generation seeks to re-define Bible terms: “Fornication” is now  ”pre-marital sex.” This is a perversion of what the word means. (The letter “f” in old English was used interchangeably with the letter “p.” Hence, pornication, pornography.)  Fornication is any sexual act (“deed,” v. 2) practiced outside the perimeters of marriage. “Fornication” is mentioned in many places (6:9, 18; 2 Cor. 12:21; Gal. 5:19, 21; Eph. 5:3; Col. 3:5; 1 Thess. 4:3).
• Adultery is a single case of unfaithfulness to a spouse.

B. There was a WRONG ATTITUDE. 5:2 ”…ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned….  v. 6, ”“Your glorying is not good…”

1. They were glorying when they should have been weeping. Their spiritual pride blinded them to their true condition (Obad. 3; Rev. 3:17)

Paul shows the Corinthian Church that they were not as well off as they supposed (cf. 4:8-10). They were “puffed up” and “glorying” thinking they were God’s “super-church,” when in reality their testimony was a reproach.

2. They should have been humiliated by the behavior of some of the members in the church. Instead of bragging, they should have been mourning as if there were a death in the family.

3. The church should never adopt a passive attitude towards dealing with sin.  Sinful behavior must be addressed and corrected. Even secular organizations uphold ethical standards that govern it’s members.  Likewise, the local church must have high standards regarding shameful behavior if it is to be respected by society.  The Corinthian’s testimony in their community was severely hurt because of this sin.

II. A SPECIFIC PLAN (5:3-5). Excommunication

NOTE: v. 4 ”…when ye are gathered together” indicates the church assembled together in Jesus name at a regular time (Heb. 10:25; cf. Mt. 18:20).

A. The Procedure.

1. The particular sin must be public knowledge, i.e. not based on rumors (v. 1).
2. Sinful behavior must be confronted (Luke 17:3 cf. Mt. 18:15-17).
3. Sin that is public must be rebuked in public (1 Tim. 5:20).
4. We must not be “soft” in our attitude towards sin (Tit. 1:13; 2:15).
5. When sinful behavior persists, church discipline must be practiced (5:2-5; Tit. 3:10). The sinful party must be put “away from among you.” Notice the theme of separation throughout the chapter: “taken away from among you” (v. 2); “Purge out” (v. 7); “not to company” (v. 9); “not to keep company” (v. 11); “put away from among yourselves that wicked person” (v. 13).

B. The PUNISHMENT.

1. To deliver a person unto Satan means to hand him over to Satan. God turned Job over to Satan and look what Satan did to Him.  Satan could kill the person if God permitted it.

2. If the person is going to act like one of devil’s children, he is to be turned over to the devil.

3. Paul delivered blasphemers to Satan (1 Tim. 1:20).

C. The purpose of this action is RESTORATION. The expelling of a wayward saint from the church was not the end, but a means to an end” “that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” The man was to be delivered to Satan for his own highest good.

NOTE: The spirit is not a reference to the salvation of a man’s soul. The word saved does not always mean saved from hell (e.g., 1 Cor. 3:15; 1 Tim. 2:15; 4:16).  The spirit in this text is referring to a Christian’s testimony and life (cf. vs. 4; 2 Chron. 9:4) which are saved at the rapture (1:18; 4:8; 2 Thess. 2:2; Phil. 1:6). A man’s spirit can be destroyed without ever going to hell (Prov. 15:4; 17:22; 18:14). [From note at 1 Cor. 5:5 in the Ruckman Reference Bible.]

1. God may use Satan for the discipline and correction of His own.  He did so with Job and with Peter (Luke 22:31). God always puts limitations on Satan regarding how far he can go.

2. It appears this man in the Corinthian church repented and was restored to the church (2 Cor. 2:5-10).

III. A SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLE (5:6-7a).

“Leaven” is a substance, like yeast, added to dough to make it rise (as in “levitate”). Leaven was made from fine white bran kneaded with mold then mixed with water and allowed to stand until it turned sour or fermented. It is a form of corrupted meal. Leaven is never a reference to anything good.

A. Leaven is a type of three things:

1. False doctrine (Mt. 16:11-12)

2. Hypocrisy (Luke 12:1)

3. Sinful living (1 Cor. 5:1-8)

B. The EFFECTS OF LEAVEN.

1. Puffs up bread

2. Pollutes the whole (Matt. 13:33). If something is not done about this sin in the church, that sin will spread and infect the whole church. If sin is accepted, then sin rules in the church instead of righteousness.

ILLUS: One drop of sewage would pollute an entire gallon of pure distilled water.  Would you season your food from a salt shaker that is 90% pure salt and 10% dirt?

The church is to be ”the salt of the earth.” The importance of purity in the church is to enhance the community’s taste for the Gospel.  A soiled testimony repels the unsaved man’s taste for the Gospel.

IV. A SCRIPTURAL PICTURE (5:7b-8).

A. Picture of the Passover. This Old Testament Jewish feast pictured Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage. During the Passover Feast, each Jewish family would conduct a solemn search for leaven in their household. If they found any leaven, they disposed of it. This purging preceded their offering of a passover lamb at the Temple (Ex. 12:15; Dt. 16:1-8).

B. Picture of Purity “…ye are unleavened.” (v. 7,  8). We must “purge out” the corrupting influence of sin from our lives and the church. The sins of the old life do not belong in the life of God’s people whom He has delivered from the world. Those deeds of the old man must be “put off.”

V. A SENSIBLE PRACTICE (5:9-11).

A. Grounds for separation:  We are not to be completely isolated from the world. As long as we are in the world, we will have to associate with all kinds of sinners. But within the church, we are to separate ourselves from “any man that is called a brother” who persists in flagrant sin (vs 9-11).

• Fornicators (Christians who are morally impure)
• Covetous (a life characterized by discontent and lusting after more than God graciously provides)
• Idolators (worshipper of a false god)
• Railers (verbal abuse; ranting, cf. 2 Chron. 32:17; Luke 23:39; Mark 15:29; 2 Pet. 2:11; Jude 9; 1 Tim. 6:4)
• Drunkards
• Extortioners (“Ex=to take; tort=torture;” To take something by force, threats, misuse of authority, or exacting too high a price)
• Heretics (1 Tim. 6:1-5; Rev. 2:20-24; 1 Tim. 1:19-20; 2 Tim. 2:16-18)
• Promoters of dissension (Rom. 16:17-18)
• Disorderly (contrary to rules or authority–unrully, 2 Thess. 3:6, 11-15)

B. Persons who practice these things are not to be a part of the Lord’s Supper (v. 11).

SUMMATION: Verses 12-13, Christians are not responsible for judging the sins of the unsaved. That is God’s job. However, Christians in the church are responsible for discipline among themselves.

Could society be expected to heed the Surgeon General’s warning regarding the health risks of tobacco smoking if he was a chain smoker himself? Obviously no. Likewise, the world will never pay attention to the church’s offer of salvation from sin, if sin is practiced by it’s members.