Lesson 11 – 1 Corinthians Chapter 5:6-13 & Chapter 6:1-6

Chapter 5 started out with Paul identifying one of the blatant sins taking place in the church of Corinth, and it had to do with immorality. The sin of immorality can take on many forms, and it affects both men and women.

Today, you would be hard pressed to find any kind of social media expressing the idea that immorality is wrong, except within the confines of a Bible-believing church.

God is the One who has created our sexuality, and He gets to define the guidelines of our sexual behavior. Sex is a gift from God, and it’s between a husband and wife… any other sexual activity outside the husband-wife relationship is a violation of God’s gift.

When it comes to having anything to do with sex, meaning what we look at, think about, or have physical contact with, it needs to take place within the bond of marriage. When it takes place outside of marriage is when it is defined as sinful.

Romans 13:13-14:
“Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”

In verse 1, we see that there is a man who has taken his father’s wife. We’re not told about what happened to this man’s mother, but it’s clear his father’s wife is not his mother. For all practical purposes it doesn’t really matter, because sin is sin, and this man is sinning against his earthly and heavenly father at the same time.

This was a serious issue, because this man was unrepentant in his behavior, he had no shame. There are always consequences when we sin against God, and here, Paul wants this person ousted from the congregation in hopes that he will see the error of his ways and ask for forgiveness.

1 Cor. 5:6:
“Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?”

Your boasting is not good… Paul is speaking to the church.

When is boasting good? You know this… it’s when we boast in the Lord. True boasting in the Lord is actually boasting of the Lord; boasting of His great attributes, boasting of what He has done for us, of what He is still doing and of what He has promised to do.

Jermiah 9:23-24:
“This is what the Lord says: ‘Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!’”

The Corinthian believers were boasting in themselves, they were still hung up on human wisdom and human recognition. By doing this, they have blinded themselves to the holy things of God. There was no excuse for the sinful things going on in the church.

Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?…

This is like saying, “one bad apple spoils the whole bunch.” This suggests that even one negative influence can ruin an entire group’s reputation, and in this case, it was affecting the entire Corinthian church.

Prior to Passover celebrations, in the typical Jewish home you will find that there is non-stop cleaning that takes place. The main focus in the cleaning is to remove all the leaven from the house. There is a game that is traditionally played which involves both the parents and children. Before the game starts, a piece of leaven is hidden somewhere in the house. The children are told to find the leaven, but not to touch it and then call their parents. Without going into greater detail, the father removes the leaven and throws it into the fireplace.

The main point is, leaven represents sin, and it is the father who removes the sin. There is some great symbolism here.

When a loaf of bread was made, a small piece of the dough was cut off and saved for the next loaf, and so on. That small piece of dough (the leaven) would mix throughout the rest of the dough causing it to rise and become bread.

In the same context that Paul is using leaven, it represents sin. Sin left unchecked can spread throughout the church, just like leaven spreads in bread dough. Sin is not easily seen at first, but once it is recognized, it needs to be dealt with.

1 Cor. 5:7:
“Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.”

Clean out… means to clean thoroughly, or to purge… there is a completeness to the cleaning.

Looking back to the Passover, we have the blood of a sacrificed lamb put on the door of each house… blood on wood, which gives us a picture of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Jesus is the Father’s perfect Passover Lamb for us, and by Jesus’ blood we are perfectly cleansed from the sin in our life.

Eph. 1:7:
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”

1 John 1:7:
“But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

When the Bible speaks of our sins being washed away, it means that we are forgiven. Our sins, which had once corrupted us, are now gone. It is by the grace of God through Jesus that we are no longer spiritually corrupt; we now stand justified before God. Justification is an act of God whereby He pronounces a sinner to be righteous because of that sinner’s faith in Christ.

Romans 5:9:
“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”

So when the Bible says we are now justified through the blood of Christ, this points to the completeness of our cleansing through Christ. In Christ, we are considered a new lump… who could ever think being a lump could be a good thing… and here Paul says we are to be a new lump.

The Greek word lump is: foo’-ram-ah, and besides pertaining to bread dough, it also can mean “clay.”

What better way of being a new lump of clay than to let God take that lump of clay and mold it any way He chooses. The only way this happens is if we give God control over our lives.

The Corinthian believers were dealing with the leaven (sin) of immorality, and needed to shift their focus to Christ crucified and the sacrifice He made on their behalf. When we refresh our mind on just what Jesus did for us, it should cause us to come back to Him and ask for His grace and mercy.

It sounds a little funny, that we’re a “new lump” in Christ. If I’m going to be a lump, I want to be a new lump for God. 😊

Titus 2:11-14:
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”

We are indeed God’s own possession, and the Corinthians needed to put this immoral man out of the church, thus allowing them to become a “new lump.”

Just as you are in fact unleavened…

Paul is reminding them that, as followers of Jesus, they are placed in the “unleavened” category. We can take unleavened to mean “freed” from sin.

For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed…

Again, Paul is referring to Jesus as the perfect Passover Lamb for us.

According to the book of Hebrews in the Bible, Jesus Christ offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for our sins… good for all time. Unlike other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, meaning first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. Christ’s sacrifice was “once” and for “all” who will believe.

Hebrews 9:27-28 (NLT):
“And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for Him.”

Jesus is our Passover… the wages of sin is death, and death has passed over us through Christ. Now we are brand new, yes even a new lump.

1 Cor. 5:8:
“Therefore 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.”

Like we talked about before; to celebrate the feast of Passover, the house would be cleansed of all leaven, and the Corinthians would know what Paul meant by unleavened bread.

What was needed on the part of the Corinthians was a recommitment to God… to come back to the Spirit filled life, with a renewed faithfulness to holiness.

Jon Courson writes, “The picture for us is that we have left Egypt… the world… through the blood of our Passover Lamb shed for us on the Cross. Therefore, let us continue from that point without leaven… without the secret sins that puff up and spread throughout our fellowship so easily.”

Let’s keep in mind that Passover is celebrated once a year, but for the Christian, the realization of Passover and Christ should be with us every day! Everything we think, do, and say should be under the control of the Holy Spirit… that’s giving God the “steering-wheel” of our life.

Not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness…

To me, this speaks of going back to our old evil nature, the very definition of who we used to be before we gave our life to Christ. We should never go back to our old ways.

Luke 9:62:
“But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Phil 3:13:
“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

What lies behind, and going back to the old leaven, can never be beneficial for the believer. Paul encourages us to reach forward to what lies ahead, always growing in Christ.

Hebrews 10:39 (NLT):
“But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.”

Therefore let us celebrate the feast… with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Who’s not invited to this feast? That would be the unrepentant sinner. One way to look at the feast is to see it as the body of Christ coming together and sharing in the Lord’s Supper. If we have unconfessed sin, to take part in Communion in an unworthy manner is a dangerous thing to do.

Our focus has been on the man who is having an incestuous relationship with his father’s wife. How do you think God would look upon this person partaking of the Lord’s Supper without giving a second thought to his grievous sin?

The unleavened bread that God wants us to eat is that of sincerity and truth.

Sincerity… meaning genuineness, honesty, or humbleness. These are all words defining a godly attitude, and when they are present in a person’s life, truth is the result… all evidence of a new life in Christ.

1 Cor. 5:9-10:
“I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.”

(NLT) “When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that.”

Immoral people; are people who wallow in all kinds of sexual sin. Believers and unbelievers alike, can both fall into the sin of immorality. Paul says (I’ll paraphrase), “I don’t want you hanging out with immoral people, but let’s be clear, I’m not talking about the people you find in the world, but the “unrepentant ones” you find hiding out in your church.”

Paul’s not saying for them to stop witnessing to the world, but to detect in the church who is being a “make-believer” among them, challenge them, and if they’re unwilling to change, tell them to leave the congregation. This is by no means an easy thing to do, but it is to maintain the purity of the church.

John 17:15:
“I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.”

For God’s church to continue and grow, we must remain in the world, but we are not to be of the world. Quite frankly, the Corinthian believers were acting just like the world, and even worse, they were doing things that even the world found deplorable.

1 Cor. 5:11:
“But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler – not even to eat with such a one.”

A so-called brother… (ono-mad’-zo) means to bear the name of a person. Other words used to describe this are; supposed, alleged, questionable, and presumed. We might even add the word imposter to the list.

When it comes down to it, we don’t really know who is and who isn’t a believer… only God knows. What we can know, is a display of habitual sin patterns. This isn’t restricted to just immorality, Paul adds to it… a person who is covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler.

The believer is not immune to sin. Even though we are saved through Jesus Christ, we soon notice that our propensity to sin is still a very real part of us. We won’t be completely sin free until we receive our glorified bodies. Come soon Lord Jesus!

For every person who has given their life to Christ, their sins are forgiven, and that person is no longer a “slave to sin” like they were before. For the believer, sin is now a choice, it’s voluntary… and with unconfessed sin, it can take on a pattern of frequency in their life. Not good.

The point Paul is making is, when we come across so-called believers engaged in various kinds of sin, we are not to associate with them… that is unless they choose to repent.

1 Cor. 5:12:
“For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?”

Paul has been focused on this man who had taken his father’s wife for his own. With that, we might ask, “What about the woman, the step-mother… why isn’t Paul calling her out?”

Paul says, For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Evidently, there’s nothing indicating that the woman was a believer. We have no responsibility when it comes to judging unbelievers… that’s up to God.

Christians are very good at identifying what’s wrong in this world. We see the evil and corruption that seems to be taking over the world… how could we not? As far as judging unbelievers around us… that’s not our job.

The first part of verse 13 gives us the answer…

“But those who are outside, God judges.”

What is our job? Paul asks, Do you not judge those who are within the church? The NLT points out, “but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.”

1 Cor. 5:13b:
“Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.”

Paul is teaching us that we actually have a responsibility to carry out church disciplines within the church.

When it comes church discipline you might hear, “You do it, (the other says) “No you do it.” Discipline is difficult.

For those who have children, you know it first-hand. Just as “spare the rod, and spoil the child” is wise advice for those who love their children, we are to employ church discipline because we love Jesus, His church, and His Word even more.

Again, this is about the insolent habitual sinner who has no intention of stopping their sin, so they must be removed. A little side note; if we were to kick all sinners out of the church, the church would be empty. 😊

In regards to the habitual sinner, we should continue to pray for them, that they would get to the place of repentance, and if they do repent and confess, allow them back into the fold in the love of Christ.

Chapter 6

This chapter will deal with the two remaining problems that had been reported to Paul. The first part is; “clashes in the courts.”

Some commentaries seem to think that it might have been the Greeks in the church who were dragging fellow believers into court. It was the Greeks who were enamored with laws and courts. Each Greek city had its courts and councils, and it was not uncommon for a son to sue his very own father. Litigation was a part of everyday life.

Every citizen over 30 was subject to serving as a juror. Either as a party to a lawsuit, as a arbitrator, or as a juror, most citizens were regularly involved in one way or another to the legal process. In the old writings, it has been said, “Every Greek from Athens was a lawyer.”

1 Cor. 6:1:
“Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints?”

A case against… simply means a law suit against someone.

A paraphrase from The Message says, “How dare you take each other to court! When you think you have been wronged, does it make any sense to go before a court that knows nothing of God’s ways instead of a family of Christians.”

Here’s an unwritten rule; Christians are not to take other Christians into a worldly court of law. Somehow through the decades, the Christian standard has lost this premise. For Christians not to forgive each other and reconcile their own differences, is to demonstrate spiritual defeat, all while the world watches.

There’s the case to be made here… that Christians possess love, kindness, patience, understanding, wisdom and truth among other attributes. So, if this is true, why can’t Christian’s settle things with each other whenever they have a dispute.

1 Cor. 6:2:
“Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts?”

Paul is speaking about what is to come.

Revelation 2:26:
“He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations and he shall rule them with a rod of iron,”

The glorified saints will both enforce God’s will and adjudicate disputes during the Millennial Kingdom.

2 Tim. 2:11-12a:
“It is a trustworthy statement: for if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him;”

Rev. 3:21:
“He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

If we can’t handle the little disputes, how can we handle the big issues that will come our way in the future? It’s a reasonable question, don’t you think?

In the movie, “A Few Good Men,” Jack Nicholson famously says, “You can’t handle the truth.”

As Christians, can we “handle” the responsibility of just living as Christians? If we are going to rule and reign with Christ, can we settle a dispute between ourselves in the here and now? This is Paul’s question to the Corinthians and to us as well.

John MacArthur says, “The Corinthian Christians, however, not only were not ruling themselves but were making a spectacle of themselves before unbelievers, airing their pride, carnality, greed, and bitterness before the world… the world that one day they would be called on by the Lord to help judge and rule in righteousness.”

1 Cor. 6:3:
“Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?”

Scripture doesn’t give us any details as to what kind of angels we will be judging. It’s pretty hard to imagine judging any angels.

1 Peter 2:9:
“But you are a chosen race, a royal Priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

Being a royal Priesthood means taking on responsibilities. Some think we will help judge satan’s fallen angels, while at the same time exercise some kind of authority over God’s holy angels… this is all very humbling to say the least.

I think Paul might be bringing this up to give us the incentive to get things right on this side of eternity. Granted, when this happens, we will be in our glorified bodies. Our glorified bodies will be imperishable, honorable, and powerful, but it is truly humbling to think God will use us in this way.

So, if we are going to judge and rule over the world and over angels during the Millennial Kingdom, we should be able to settle things with other Christians, with the help of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word.

1 Cor. 6:4:
“So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church?”

To roughly paraphrase… “Why in the world would you turn to the world to handle these matters, when these people know nothing of God’s divine truth?” To put it bluntly, even the person least respected in the church has more wisdom than the most highly esteemed of the world.

1 Cor. 6:5-6:
“I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you, one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?”

If you watch enough crime dramas on TV, you will find that the main motivating factor usually turns out to be sex, money, or power. In this case, I think the motive is money or greed. It’s the carnal behavior of a Christian looking for a cash cow, trying to make a buck, even if it’s from another believer… brother goes to law with brother.

Paul says, I say this to your shame… and Paul was ashamed of them. Paul must have been saying to himself, “Who are these people, the ones I poured my heart and soul into.” The Corinthians were acting out contrary to the Word of God. Where was the love?

1 John 3:10-11 (NLT):
“So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another.”

These Corinthian believers were obviously not living righteously. It makes me mad whenever I see public figures wearing a cross around their neck, when their actions or speech say otherwise. These Corinthian believers weren’t acting like Christians at all. It makes me wonder why God didn’t just wipe this church out.

Grace is the answer, we serve a God of second chances! Paul totally understood that.

We’ll close with a statement from John MacArthur, “Sometimes in our society a quarrel between Christians over rights and property cannot help coming before a secular court. When, for instance, a Christian is being divorced by his or her spouse, the law requires a secular court to be involved. Or, in the case of child abuse or neglect, a Christian parent may be forced to seek court protection from a backslidden former spouse. But even in those kinds of exceptions, when for some reason a Christian finds himself unavoidably in court with a fellow believer, his purpose should be to glorify God, and never to gain selfish advantage. The general rule is: Do not go to court with a fellow Christian, but settle matters among yourselves.”