1
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such immorality as is not even found among the nations that do not know God: that a man has his father’s wife.

2
And you are puffed up. Should you not rather mourn, and remove from among you the one who has done this deed?

3
For I, though absent in body, am present in spirit; and as though present, I have already judged the one who has done such a thing.

4
When you are gathered together in spirit, with me among you, and with the power of our Lord Jesus,

5
you are to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

6
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

7
Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you are truly unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.

8
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

9
I wrote to you in my letter not to keep company with sexually immoral people.

10
Yet I did not mean altogether with the sexually immoral of this world, or with the greedy and swindlers, or with idolaters; for then you would need to go out of the world.

11
But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone who is called a brother, if he is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or a swindler; with such a one do not even eat.

12
For what have I to do with judging those who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?

13
But those who are outside God judges. Therefore put away from among yourselves the wicked person.

📖 1 Corinthians 5 – The Holiness of the Church and Spiritual Discipline

🧾 Summary of the Passage

Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for allowing grave sexual sin to remain among them — even worse than what is commonly found outside the church. He instructs the church to discipline the offender and to guard the purity of God’s people. Paul makes clear that sin must not be allowed to take root in the body of Christ.

✨ Explanation by Section

1. A Serious Sexual Sin (verses 1–2)

“It is reported that there is sexual immorality among you… even to the point that a man has his father’s wife.”

• Paul is deeply grieved: the church allowed incestuous sin to continue without correction.
• They were even proud, instead of mourning.
• The church is commanded to remove the man from fellowship.

💡 Lesson: Tolerating sin damages the witness of the church.

2. Church Discipline: Delivering to Satan (verses 3–5)

“The man must be delivered in the name of the Lord Jesus to Satan, so that the flesh may be destroyed…”

• This does not mean abandoning the man to ruin, but using spiritual discipline so that he may come to his senses and repent.
• The purpose of this discipline is that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

💡 Lesson: Strong correction is given for love and the saving of the soul.

3. A Little Leaven Spoils the Whole Lump (verses 6–8)

“Purge out the old leaven, that you may become a new lump.”

• Paul uses the image of leaven to show that a little sin can corrupt the whole community.
• He reminds the church that they are a new lump because Christ, the Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed.

💡 Lesson: The holiness of the community matters so that the Lord may be pleased to dwell among it.

4. Do Not Keep Company with One Who Claims to Be a Believer but Lives in Sin (verses 9–13)

“You must not keep company with one who calls himself a brother, if he lives in sexual immorality…”

• Paul distinguishes between people of the world and believers who live in sin.
• We do not judge those outside, but maintain holiness within the church.

💡 Lesson: Discipline in the church is a sign of love and responsibility.

📘 Main Teachings of 1 Corinthians 5

1. Sin must not be ignored in the body of Christ.
2. Church discipline is an act of love to save a soul.
3. A little sin left unchecked can corrupt the whole community.
4. Believers must guard the holiness of their lives and associations.

✨ Spiritual Meaning of 1 Corinthians 5

This chapter is very firm, yet it is necessary in forming a healthy Christian community. Paul does not recommend punishment in anger, but discipline so that the sinner may repent and return to the Lord. The holiness of the church reflects the witness of Christ in the world and preserves the integrity of the community of faith.