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1 Corinthians 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. He accuses everyone in general, so that they do not indulge in carelessness, considering themselves alien to this sin, but, on the contrary, try to correct it as a common dishonor. And he did not say: it is being done shamelessly, but: “there is a true rumor.” If it is forbidden to even allow such a crime to be heard, is it not much more shameless to commit it? Moreover, “among you,” who are honored with spiritual mysteries: and further, strengthening the accusation, he says: “which is not heard even among the pagans,” he did not say: it happens, but: “is not heard. That a man has his father’s wife instead of a wife.” He did not say: stepmother, but “his father’s wife,” in order to make the blow stronger by reminding him of his father. Further, ashamed to pronounce the name of adultery, he used the more decent expression “to have.” 1Cor.5:2. And you became proud. Be proud of the teachings of that fornicator, for he was wise. Notice the wisdom of the apostle: nowhere does he address his words to the fornicator, as a dishonest person and unworthy of being brought into the open, but speaks to others as about a common crime. 1Cor.5:2. Instead of crying, it is better to have the one who did such a thing removed from among you. One should, he says, cry, because reproach has spread to the entire Church; one should tearfully pray, as if for a disease and infection, “so that he may be removed from among you,” that is, may he be cut off from you as a social evil. Again, here he did not mention the name of the fornicator, but said “he who did such a thing.” 1 Cor.5:3. And I, being absent in body, but present with you in spirit, have already decided as if I were with you. Notice the indignation. He does not allow one to wait for his arrival and then bind the fornicator, but he hastens to stop the evil, the infection, before it spreads to the entire body of the Church. “Present with you in spirit,” he said in order to force them to pronounce a sentence and at the same time frighten them with the fact that he knows how they will judge there, and that the spirit, that is, the gift of insight, will reveal to him everything that they do. The words “already decided, as if being with you” does not allow them to do anything else; for, he says, I pronounced the sentence and it should not be otherwise. 1 Corinthians 5:3–4. Who did such a thing in your congregation in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, in common with my spirit. In order not to appear proud, he also accepts them as accomplices: for he says: “in your assembly in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” that is, so that the assembly was compiled not according to human custom, but according to God; so that Christ Himself may gather you together, in whose name you are gathered. Meanwhile, the apostle also placed his spirit over them, so that they would not merit forgiveness for the fornicator, but would judge fairly, as in the presence of the apostle. 1 Corinthians 5:4–5. By the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, hand over to Satan. The meaning is twofold. Or this: Christ can give you such grace that you will be able to hand over the fornicator to Satan, or this: Christ Himself, together with you, will pronounce judgment on the fornicator. And he did not say: gave, but: “betray,” secretly opening the doors of repentance for him. And here again I didn’t mention the name. 1 Cor.5:5. For the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is, to betray him so that Satan could wear him down with illness. For, since lust is born from the satiety of the body, the apostle wants to punish this body so that the spirit, that is, the soul, can be saved. However, this should not be understood as if only the soul was saved, but it should be recognized that when the soul is saved, the body will also be saved. And some by “spirit” mean a spiritual gift and explain it this way: so that the gift of the spirit remains intact with him and does not depart from him like a wicked person. Such a sentence expresses more care than punishment. Very opportunely he recalled the day of judgment, so that the Corinthians, being afraid, offered healing, and the fornicator accepted it with the same disposition. It puts a limit on the actions of the devil, just as it was with Job, that is, it allows him to touch only the body and not the soul. 1 Cor.5:6. You have nothing to boast about. It hints that they themselves did not allow the fornicator to repent, for they boasted about him; and he was one of their wise men. 1 Cor.5:6. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? And about you, he says, and not about him, I only care; for evil, if left unchecked, can infect the rest of the Church. The leaven, small in itself, leavens the whole dough and turns it into itself: so the sin of this man will carry away many others. 1 Cor.5:7. Therefore purify the old leaven, that it may be new lump for you, since you are unleavened. That is, drive out this fornicator, or, better yet, drive out all other wicked people (for all evil is called “old leaven”). The Greek text says not just “cleanse” (καθάρατε), but: “purify” (έκκαθάρατε), that is, completely cleanse, that you may be a new dough, without any admixture of evil. “Since you are unleavened,” instead of: as you should be unleavened, that is, alien to the old evil, which, upon repentance, turns out to be both sour and bitter. 1 Cor.5:7. For our Passover, Christ, was sacrificed for us. Having mentioned unleavened bread, unleavened bread, which was eaten at Easter, and having explained allegorically what unleavened bread means, namely, life free from evil, he now allegorically explains Easter itself and says that our Easter is Christ, sacrificed for us. So, we must take care of unleavened bread, that is, of a life pure from all evil. 1 Cor.5:8. Therefore, let us celebrate not with the old leaven, not with the leaven of vice and wickedness. Shows that every time for Christians is a time of celebration, due to the abundance of gifts given to them. For for this purpose the Son of God became man and was slain, so that you might celebrate - not with the leaven of the old Adam, and not with a life full of evil, or, what is worse, wickedness, for everyone who does evil is evil, and he who does it with a hidden and insidious thought is evil. 1 Cor.5:8. But with unleavened bread of purity and truth. That is, leading an immaculate or pure life, as opposed to vicious, and true, that is, unhypocritical, without any deceit, as opposed to guile. Or: in the word “truth” you can understand the opposition to Old Testament images that were not the truth; for it is required that a Christian be above the Old Testament images. Or again: by “purity” you can mean purity in activity, and by “truth” correctness in contemplation. 1 Corinthians 5:9. I wrote to you in a letter - do not associate with fornicators. In what message? Same thing. For when he said above: “clean out the old leaven,” hinting at the one who has committed fornication, as was shown, then from these words it was already clear that one should not mix with fornicators. But since they could think that they should distance themselves from all fornicators, even those who were among the Greeks, he explains which fornicators he is talking about. 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. The word “in general” was used to express the general knowledge of the subject. And the meaning is this: however, I do not forbid communicating in general with the fornicators of the world, that is, with the Greeks, otherwise you would have to look for another universe. Indeed, when so many Hellenes live in the same city as you, how is it possible not to communicate with them? 1 Corinthians 5:11. But I wrote to you not to communicate with someone who, while calling himself a brother, remains a fornicator, (ή πόρνος), 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. You see, there was not only one fornicator, but also others, and not just one vice, but various ones. But how can a brother also be an idolater? Just as the Samaritans were once only half pious, so it happened with the Corinthians, that is, some of them still clung to idols. Moreover, the apostle prepares to speak about those who ate things sacrificed to idols. Well said: “Calling yourself brother”; for everyone who is guilty of the above-mentioned sins bears only the name of a brother, but in fact is not a brother. The word ή πόρνος can be taken in the sense of a disjunctive conjunction (ή), similar to the following expressions, but it can also be taken as the verb “to remain” (ή), so if someone, being called a brother, remains (υπάρχη), a fornicator, etc. “You shouldn’t even eat with someone like that,” so that he recognizes himself as bad because of sin and refrains from it. 1 Cor.5:12. For why should I judge those who are external? He calls Hellenes external and Christians internal. I, he says, do not care at all about outsiders; they live outside my laws; therefore it is unnecessary to prescribe divine commands to those who live outside the court of Christ. “If the law speaks anything, it speaks to those who are under the law” (Rom. 3:19). 1 Corinthians 5:12–13. Do you not (ουχί) judge the internal ones? God judges those who are outside. Some people put a period after the particle ουχί “no, no”; then the following words are read without question, thus: the inner ones you judge. That is, the apostle, having said above: “Why should I judge those who are external,” now added: ουχί - no, that is, it is not my business to judge them. But others read it connectively and with the question: “Are you not judging the internal?” – that is, aren’t you supposed to judge Christians? Those outside await the Last Judgment of God, from which those inside will be delivered if they receive judgment from you. 1 Cor.5:13. Therefore, cast out the wicked from among you. He brought to mind an Old Testament saying (see Deut. 13:5), wanting to show that it had already previously pleased the legislator that wicked people should be cut off from society. By the words “from among you” he shows that it will be more beneficial for them if they cast out the wicked from themselves. You might be interested in: