Thy Strong Word — 1 Corinthians 5:1-13: Not Even the Pagans Do That!

Rev. Christopher Gillespie, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church, Random Lake, WI joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 5.

Sexual immorality is a common sin today, but it was no less pervasive back in the first century. Corinth was known for its loose morals, and some pretty grievous behavior had crept into the Corinthian congregation. The Holy Spirit inspired St. Paul to admonish the Corinthians with a simple command: do not associate with such people and remove them from the congregation. Was Paul telling them to give up on these wayward Christians? No. Rather, he wanted it clear that such behavior is unacceptable to God. Paul hoped such people would repent. In this episode, Pastors Booe and Gillespie contemplate just how bad these sexual sins were and the role of Church discipline then and today.

Thy Strong Word reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations.

Thy Strong Word is hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, and graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation.

1 Corinthians 5

Sexual Immorality Defiles the Church

5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. ²And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

³For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. ⁴When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, ⁵you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.^[a]

⁶Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? ⁷Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

⁹I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— ¹⁰not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. ¹¹But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. ¹²For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church^[b] whom you are to judge? ¹³God judges^[c] those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

Footnotes

1 Corinthians 5:5 Some manuscripts add Jesus
1 Corinthians 5:12 Greek those inside
1 Corinthians 5:13 Or will judge

Rev. Dr. Phil Booe

Native North Carolinian Rev. Dr. Phil Booe serves pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, and host of Thy Strong Word on KFUO Radio. His parishioners probably think he can’t teach Bible study without a mug of coffee in his hand, and he’ll always be happy to eat a plate of sushi. When he’s not shepherding his flock or teaching on the radio, you might find him watching bad movies from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and especially binging RiffTrax and MST3K episodes. Some day he’d love to travel to the Lutheran homeland in Germany, but for now he spends time in Minnesota with his wife, son, daughter, and cat, and looks forward to Holy Week every year.