Глава 5

About the Corinthian incest (1–5). On church discipline in general (6–13) 1 Corinthians 5:1–5. Beginning his speech on church discipline, Ap. First of all, it points to a special case when it was necessary to demonstrate this discipline in all its rigor. One of the Corinthian Christians took his stepmother as his wife, and Ap. Therefore, he announces to the Corinthian Christians who were indifferent to this outrageous act that he decided to betray this criminal to Satan. 1Cor.5:1. There is a true rumor that fornication has appeared among you, and, moreover, such fornication as is not heard even among the pagans, that someone has his father’s wife instead of a wife. “There is a true rumor” - more correctly: it is generally heard... - “It is not heard even among the pagans.” The Law of Moses, under threat of death, forbade marrying a stepmother (Lev. 18:8). Roman law also did not allow this 1. Thus, the Corinthian incest took his stepmother as his concubine without any legal sanctification. Since Ap. condemns only one incestuous man, leaving his stepmother unpunished, it is more likely to consider her a pagan. 1 Cor.5:2. And you became proud, instead of crying, so that the one who did such a thing would be removed from among you. “And you became proud.” If the Corinthian Christians were a close community in which the concept of their high, holy purpose would be preserved inviolably, then they, without a doubt, having learned about such a misdemeanor of one of their brethren, would immediately put on mourning, as a family does when it loses its head. But they were so carried away by the opinion of their perfections that they did not pay attention to such an incident! - “So that it would be taken away” - this result, obviously, stood regardless of the decision of the Corinthians themselves and, therefore, here Ap. does not mean simple church excommunication. The one who must eliminate the incestuous man is, according to Paul, God Himself, who, of course, would respond to sorrowful requests to remove the criminal from their midst in the same way as when he carried out His Judgment, after Peter’s speech, over Ananias and Sapphira. The verb to take away (αίρειν) in the New Testament is sometimes used to refer to the death penalty for criminals of the law (Deut. 21:19–21). 1 Cor.5:3. And I, being absent in body, but present with you in spirit, have already decided, as if being with you: whoever did such a thing, The indifference of the Corinthian Christians to the terrible sin of their brother Ap. contrasts his strict attitude. Although he was far away, he was with them in spirit, and therefore what happened in Corinth outraged him so much that he decided that he had the right to decide the fate of the incest. 1 Cor.5:4. in your congregation in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, together with my spirit, by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, "In your congregation". The trial of the criminal should be formed from Corinthian Christians. The Apostle himself will be spiritually present at this meeting. The sentence will be pronounced “in the name of the Lord... Jesus Christ,” with the guarantee that this sentence will be carried out “by the power of our Lord I. X.” . Apostle, in this case, means the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ given to the Apostles: “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Truly I also say to you, that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in Heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:18–20). “Binding” the criminal, that is, those believing Corinthians who will gather “in the name of Christ”, having a completely “identical” opinion about the crime of their brother, must now bring him to justice. Even if this meeting is not large, it does not matter that the Head of the Church Himself, Christ, will be among them, and they will decide the matter not by majority vote, but unanimously. In the same way, the decision will be carried out by Christ through the unanimous prayer of those gathered. "Common with My Spirit". The Apostle, conscious of his unity with Christ (Gal. 2:20), boldly says that where Christ is invisibly present, there he, Paul, will be, especially in the assembly of the Corinthian Church, which he founded. About such a movement of one’s soul Ap. hints in the 2nd last. to Cor. (2 Cor. 12:3): “I do not know whether in the body or out of the body” (I was caught up to the third heaven). “By the power of the Lord” - these words should be attributed to the following verb: “to betray.” Human action here is united with the “power” (σύν δυνάμει) of the “Lord” and is therefore successful. 1 Cor.5:5. hand over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. "Betray". It is more natural to make this word dependent on the verb: “decided” (v. 3). As for the Apostle, he, by virtue of his apostolic power, had already decided to “deliver the criminal to Satan.” The meeting of Corinthians who sympathize with this decision must ensure that this decision is carried out, and the Apostle has no doubt that such sympathizers will be found. - “Betrayed to Satan.” This expression is found only in 1 Tim. 1:20. Some interpreters see in this expression a designation of simple excommunication from the Church, but this interpretation does not pay attention to the expressions: “by the power of the Lord... and to the destruction of the flesh.” In addition, mentioned in 1 Tim. the false teachers Hymenaeus and Philatus were betrayed to Satan so that they would learn not to blaspheme. But would excommunication from the Church force them to stop their blasphemies?! Others, paying attention to the expression: “to the destruction of the flesh,” see in the present case the betrayal of the criminal to Satan, so that the latter, due to his characteristic malice and cruelty, would torment the sinner, and some assume that this betrayal to Satan was closely connected with excommunication, while others do not see the need to make such an assumption. This last opinion must be considered the most probable. Satan in Holy Scripture is often attributed the power to cause physical harm to people (for example, the story of Job; Luke 13:16; 2 Cor. 12:7). He burns with such malice towards people that, in favorable circumstances, he always attacks them, torments them, without discerning whether they are sinners or righteous before him. He does not even understand whether this will be harmful or useful for his power over the world... Finally, the bodily suffering that the sinner had to endure from the devil (illness) should have forced him to come to his senses and repent. "To the destruction of the flesh" (εις όλεθρον τῆς σαρκός). Some see here the destruction of the flesh in the moral sense of the word, that is, the suppression of sinful aspirations, due to the pain and repentance that would be caused in the sinner through his exclusion from the Church. But we cannot agree with this opinion, because this exception could lead a person to hardening in sin, and then for such an idea Ap. would have used other, more appropriate expressions (for example, “to abolish” - Rom. 6:6; “to put to death” - Col. 3:5; “crucify” - Gal. 5:24). Others see in this “wasting of the flesh” a real weakening of the body, which (weakening) must end in death. In this sense - in the sense of a “living body” - the expression “flesh” is often used by Ap. Paul (Phil. 1:22; Gal. 2:20) and, consequently, this interpretation can be considered correct, especially since we already have an example of such condemnation in the court of St. Peter over Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11). Only there the death of the criminals followed immediately after the pronouncement of the sentence, but here it had to come after a long illness. - “So that the spirit is saved.” Ap. does not say that the spirit, this highest side of the human being, will certainly be saved, that is, it will enter into communion with the Divine and will be blessed. But in any case, for the salvation of the spirit, the means that the Apostle chose - namely, the exhaustion of the body, where sin had built its nest - is the only suitable one! “On the day of the Lord,” i.e., during the final judgment of the world, which the Lord Jesus Christ will perform at His second appearance on earth. - Where will the incest bring repentance, which will serve him for salvation? Here on earth, before death, because beyond the grave it is too late to bring repentance (see the parable of the rich man and Lazarus) 2. 1 Corinthians 5:6–13. The case of the incestuous man now gives Ap. Paul had occasion to make a few comments to the Corinthians about maintaining strict church discipline. Having pointed out the reason why they were so indifferent to the sin of their brother (vv. 6–8), Apostle. says that you need to be especially strict towards sinners from your Christian environment - not to enter into communication with them and remove a bad person from Christian society. 1 Cor.5:6. You have nothing to boast about. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Even earlier, Ap. said that the Corinthians' complacency was unfounded (1 Cor. 4:19). Now he expresses the same idea as applied to the case of the incest. Intoxicated by their external successes in the Christian life (an abundance of spiritual gifts), they did not pay enough attention to this very important case. This is what their praise led to! (instead of: “you have nothing to boast about,” it is better to translate: “your praise does not lead to good”!). “Don’t you know...” They, who are so proud of their knowledge, should understand what such condescension, shown even once, leads to. A small amount of leaven makes the whole dough sour, i.e. even the most insignificant sin can have a harmful effect on the life of the entire Christian Church. 1 Cor.5:7. Cleanse out therefore the old leaven, that you may be new lump, since you are unleavened, for our Passover, Christ, was sacrificed for us. 1 Cor.5:8. Therefore let us celebrate, not with old leaven, not with the leaven of vice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of purity and truth. Every Christian should try to suppress old sinful habits in himself and influence others in the same direction. - “Clean out the old leaven.” Just as the Jews on the eve of Passover removed from their homes all leaven, which was a symbol of the Egyptian vices with which they were infected while living in Egyptian slavery, so the new Israel - Christians - must remove from their hearts all the bad inclinations that were in them before turning to Christ. - “So that you can be a new test.” The result of this will be that the entire Christian community will be renewed - it will be similar to the unleavened dough from which bread was baked for Passover and the week of unleavened bread. - “Because you are unleavened,” that is, they are in idea, as members of the body of Christ, completely pure. They must turn this ideological purity into reality. “For our Easter, Christ, was sacrificed for us.” Since the death of Christ, which was the beginning of people dying to sin, the great spiritual Passover has come for the Church and for each individual believer, when all sins must be removed from the society of Christians, just as leaven was removed from the day of Passover from Jewish homes. Every Christian is a person without sinful leaven. “Therefore let us celebrate.” For Christians, Easter lasts not just one week, but a lifetime. “For a true Christian, all days are Easter, all days are Pentecost and Christmas” (John Chrysostom). “Vice” (κακία) is generally the depravity of a person when he is unable to fight evil, and “cunning” (πονηρία) means deliberate indulgence in evil, based on the evil will of a person. - “But with unleavened bread of purity and truth,” that is, with unleavened bread, which Christians should have, “purity” of the soul, in which it is impossible to have sympathy for evil, and “truth,” when a person honestly and openly fights evil. – It is very likely that the Apostle uses all these images here in view of the fact that he wrote his message during Easter. 1 Corinthians 5:9. I wrote to you in a letter - do not associate with fornicators; 1 Cor.5:10. however, not in general with the fornicators of this world, or the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, for otherwise you would have to come out of this world. In the preceding verses the Apostle pointed out the weakening of church discipline in the Corinthian Church. Now he makes some explanations of what he was told, so that the Corinthians would not fall into misunderstandings. When he spoke in the letter (Articles 2, 6 and 7 of the chapter under consideration) 3 so that they should not enter into fellowship with fornicators (cf. 2 John 1:10), he meant in this case only sinners among Christians, and not all sinners in general who live in the world of “this world,” for otherwise good Christians would need to leave the cities and retire into the desert! – “Idolaters” could also be found among Corinthian Christians. These were those who, even after their conversion, could continue to perform pagan customs, for example. attended meals held in pagan temples (see 1 Cor. 8). 1 Corinthians 5:11. But I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who, while calling himself a brother, remains a fornicator, or a covetous person, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or a predator; You can’t even eat with someone like that. Ap. lists those vices that must meet with strict condemnation from the Church, when someone who has any of these vices continues to call himself a Christian. 1 Cor.5:12. For why should I judge those who are outside? Are you not judging the internal ones? 1 Cor.5:13. God judges those who are outside. Therefore, cast out the wicked from among you. Here is Ap. justifies his different attitude towards believers and non-believers. However, saying that he does not want to judge “outsiders,” Ap. here he means himself as a Christian in general, and not as an Apostle. Any Christian can himself break off fellowship with his fellow believer as soon as he sees that he does not want to correct himself. Christ the Savior said: “Let it be to you (the stubborn sinner) as the pagan and the tax collector” (Matthew 18:17). - “External”. This is what the Jews called pagans, but Ap. uses this expression, obviously, in application to both pagans and Jews. Ap. as if it contradicts the commandment of Christ: “do not judge...” (Matthew 7:1). But Christ forbade malicious condemnation, when a person condemns his neighbor on the basis of only assumptions, trying to guess his hidden intentions. Such condemnation is also prohibited by Ap. Paul (1 Cor. 4:5). But here is Ap. advises, even makes it an obligation for a Christian to judge an action that clearly violates the correct order of Christian life, and, moreover, a judgment combined with loving concern for finding means that could put a person on the true path (“so that the spirit is saved” - v. 5). The former judgment is accompanied by some feeling of gloating, and the latter by humility and sorrow (v. 2). - “So, spew out...”. The Apostle, repeating here the thought expressed in the Law of Moses (see Deut. 17:7, 22:21, 24:7), commands the removal of all the corrupt from the midst of Christian society. The means for this are indicated above - namely, crying to God, turning to God with a request to remove such sinners (v. 2) and a personal break with them (v. 11). Other means of church discipline towards sinners Ap. doesn't know, or at least doesn't indicate. Of course, he did not consider it necessary to mention here about the admonitions that should precede the church court (Matthew 18:15–20). See Dobschütz. Urchristl. Ehe. S. 269 et seq. Ph. Bachmann, also understanding the expression εις όλεθρον της σαρκος as a designation of bodily death, points to the words of Christ (Matthew 18:6), which convey the idea that it is sometimes better for a sinner to die, so that the development of his sinfulness is stopped and thus the hope of salvation remains... Ph. Bachmann sees here indications of the existence of some unknown letter to the Corinthians. But there is no need to make this assumption. Just Ap. stopped composing the message for a while at verse 8 and then, continuing it, said: “I wrote.” You might be interested in: