1 Corinthians

5:1-13

2. Some moral issues affecting unity, 5:1-6:20

i] The case of incest, 5:1-13

Having dealt with the issue of his apostolic authority, 1:10-4:21, Paul tackles a number of specific evils in the Corinthian congregation which reflect a breakdown of apostolic authority, 5:1-6:20. He looks at a case of incest, then litigation between church members, and finally the visiting of prostitutes. First, the issue of incest, 5:1-13. After initially expressing his amazement that incest should exist within the congregation and the inaction of the congregation in the face of this sin, v1-2, Paul calls on the congregation to excommunicate the person concerned, v3-5. This excommunication is not the casting off of a brother, but an action which exposes his sin and promotes repentance. Paul then warns the congregation that they too are in danger of undermining their salvation along with the sinner - like leaven, sin infects, v6-8. Paul has already warned the congregation not to associate with sinners and now he warns them again and clarifies the sinners he is speaking of, v9-13. The sinners we are to break fellowship with are not those outside the Christian fellowship, but those inside. Disciplining a wayward society is not the business of the church, disciplining a wayward brother/sister is.

It is interesting how Paul initially deals with sexual sins when confronting the problems evident in the Corinthian congregation. This is very much in line with the Levitical holiness code, cf. Leviticus chapter 18.

ouk + ind. "don't [you know]" - A negation expecting an answer in the positive. "You are well aware, aren't you, that ...?"

zumh (h) "yeast" - leaven. Yeast was not readily available in most households. Some of the sour and fermenting mixture of the previous batch of dough was kept back to leaven the next day's dough, so "leaven" is a better reading than the NIV "yeast". The rancid, and often quite unhealthy sour dough of the ancient household, serves as a good illustration of the infectious evil that should be removed from the Christian fellowship. "Infection", Mitton.

zumoi (zumow) pres. "works through" - leavens. A gnomic present tense expressing a universal principle. "An evil influence can, from the smallest beginnings, spread like an infection through a whole community", Barclay.

ekkaqarate (ekkaqairw) aor. imp. "get rid of" - purge out, clean out, cleanse. The aorist possibly suggests a command to perform a specific act, although the imperative often rules out any sense of duration. The prefix to the verb suggests both motion and intensity and therefore the urgency of the action, cf. Thiselton. "Clean out every bit [of the old infection]", Phillips.

iJna + subj. of verb to-be. "that [you may be a new batch without yeast]" - that [you may be a new/fresh lump of dough]. Probably introducing a purpose clause, "in order that", although consequence is always possible, "with the result that", eg. CEV. Paul is heading toward a sanctification by obedience position, so he quickly qualifies this statement in the next phrase. The sense of 7a is "be what you are" - an imperative based on an indicative.

neon adj. "a new [batch without yeast]" - new, fresh, young [mixture]. As of unleavened bread, "then you will be like fresh bread made without yeast", CEV.

kaqwV este azumoi "as you really are" - as / insomuch as / as indeed you are unleavened [uninfected]. The adjective "unleavened" may be functioning as a substantive and therefore, verbal in form. In which case the phrase is "you are unleavened loaves" (loaves understood).

kai gar "for" - indeed for. Explaining how it is that the Corinthians are a new batch of dough. Another possibility, "for besides", Barrett.

to pasca "Passover lamb" - the passover. The NIV (as with NRSV, REB, Moffatt, NAB... ) assumes, and probably correctly, that Paul has in mind Christ's role as the Passover lamb, rather than just the Passover festival as a whole. "Christ is for us the Passover lamb, sacrificed for our deliverance", Barclay.

etuqh (quw) aor. pas. "has been sacrificed" - was sacrificed. Aorist indicates a once-and-for-all sacrifice. "Has already been sacrificed", CEV.

wJste + subj. "therefore" - so, therefore, thus. Here wJste is followed by a subjunctive rather than the usual infinitive in the formation of a consecutive (result) clause, but this may well indicate that it is an independent clause.

eJortazwmen (eJortazw) mh pres. subj. "let us keep the festival" - let us not keep the feast [with ..... but with]. A hortatory subjunctive, "let us", although the usual negated aorist is replaced by a rare negated present (a hapax legomenon) indicating continued action. The negation expresses the positive.

en + dat. "with [the old yeast]" - with, by. The dative is most likely local, "with", as NIV, although an instrumental sense, "by", is possible; "we who observe the festival must not use the old leaven", REB. The best sense is "not with" = "having got rid of the old leaven", Bruce.

kakiaV kai ponhriaV gen. "of malice and wickedness" - nastiness / wickedness and evil. Objective genitives. Here, Paul describes the old leaven, the "infection". "So let us keep the feast with no trace of the yeast (infection) of the old life, nor the yeast (infection) of vice and wickedness", Phillips.

en azumoiV "with bread without yeast" - with unleavened. "In the uninfected state of purity and truthfulness."

eilikrineiaV (a) gen. "the bread of sincerity" - of purity. A sincerity that is expressed in pure and unadulterated motives is possible. Because the word touches on motives it is not quite the opposite of "malice" (nastiness), a more generalized word. Conzelmann suggests the appropriate opposites would be "goodness" and "righteousness", in which case "innocence", Moffatt, or better, "purity", Goodspeed.

alhqeiaV (a) "truth" - of truth. Often used of divine knowledge, "the truth", but also used of being truthful, "integrity", even moving toward firmness, stability, "faithfulness."

1 Corinthians Introduction.

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