Lessons #143 and 144
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Specific case of sexual immorality in Corinth (1 Cor 5:1-8)
1It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? 3 Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. 4 When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.
We started in our last study to consider the responsibilities of a local church must fulfill to ensure that it does not tolerate sexual immorality. As we indicated in our last study, a first responsibility is being careful to recognize every unauthorized sexual relationship in its midst. This responsibility, as we also stated, is important because it is possible that there could be a sexual relationship that a member of a local church may be involved in that is talked about, but believers may fail to recognize that such sexual relationship is wrong and so tolerate it. We dealt with this responsibility in detail, so we proceed to consider the second responsibly.
A first way a local church ensures its maintenance of proper attitude towards anyone among its membership involved in unauthorized sexual relationship is never to praise or otherwise consider such relationship acceptable by being complacent. We derive this way of ensuring that local church maintains proper attitude towards anyone among its membership that is involved in unauthorized sexual relationship from Apostle Paul’s rebuke of the Corinthians in the first clause of 1 Corinthians 5:2 And you are proud! This is a strong statement from the apostle in which he expressed strong emotion or surprise in an emphatic manner. We know that the statement of the apostle is one of surprise given in an emphatic manner because we have two indicators that support our assertion.
An indicator of the apostle’s surprise expressed in an emphatic manner is the conjunction and that begins verse 2. I know that it is not easy to perceive my point from the English use of the conjunction so let me prove my point by considering briefly the Greek conjunction used. The word “and” is translated from a Greek conjunction (kai) that has several usages leading to different meanings in the English. For example, it may be used as a marker of explanation to explain what goes before it in which case it may be translated “and so, that is, namely.” Although there are several usages of the Greek conjunction, we will only consider three of these that are possible candidates for translating it in our passage. It may be used as a marker of joining clauses that are coordinate, that is, of equal rank in a sentence hence it may be translated “and.” It is in this sense that it is used by Apostle Paul when he argued to the Roman Christians that God’s promise is realized through faith and not by works in Romans 4:14:
For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless
Here the conditional statement is supported using two clauses. The first clause is faith has no value the second is the promise is worthless. Both are joined with the conjunction “and” to indicate that they are of equal rank/significance in completing the apostle’s conditional clause. Another usage of the Greek conjunction in question that is possible in the beginning of 1 Corinthians 5:2 is as a marker of emphasis in which case it may be translated “even” as the word is used by Apostle Paul to describe the situation he faced that he thought he could die, as we read in 2 Corinthians 1:8:
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
Here our Greek conjunction is translated “even.” Still another usage of it that is possible in our passage of study, that is, 1 Corinthians 5:2, is as a marker of emphasizing a fact as surprising or unexpected or noteworthy, hence may be translated “and yet, and in spite of that, nevertheless.” It is in this sense that the word is used by Apostle Paul in describing something that is surprising but doing it in an emphatic manner as he addressed the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 6:9:
known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed;
The apostle expressed surprise regarding the fact that although he was well known, he was regarded as unknown. He was beaten yet he was still alive. Anyway, we have considered three possible usages of the Greek conjunction in our passage of study, so the task is to determine in which way, it is used in our verse. It is as a marker of emphasizing a fact as surprising or unexpected or noteworthy and so 1 Corinthians 5:2 should begin with “and yet” or “and in spite of that” or “nevertheless” or any connective that conveys surprise in an emphatic manner. Of course, I am not aware of any English translation that used this meaning directly but it seems that majority of our English versions believe that this third usage is applicable because although many of them used the conjunction “and” to begin the verse but they end the first clause with an exclamation mark that supposedly is considered a remark that expressed surprise and perhaps a strong emotion. That notwithstanding, Apostle Paul’s use of the Greek conjunction translated “and” in the NIV is an indicator of his surprise conveyed in an emphatic manner.
Another indicator of the apostle’s surprise expressed in an emphatic manner is his independent use of a Greek second person pronoun “you” in the Greek. The clause of 1 Corinthians 5:2 And you are proud is literally And you, you are proud which is redundant in the English. However, the Greek usage of a verb is such that the subject of the verb is included when it is written. In effect, by looking at the ending of a Greek verb one could recognize whether the subject is “I” or “you” or “he,” etc., so that there is no need to use an independent pronoun unless the author wants to emphasize the subject. Thus, there should be no doubt the apostle wanted to emphasize the Corinthians as the subject of the verb he used in the Greek text. They are the ones he charged with being proud or complacent.
The word “proud” of the NIV is translated from a participle of a Greek verb (physioō) that literally means “to blow up, inflate”, but figuratively means to cause to have an exaggerated self-conception hence means “to puff up, to make proud.” Some suggest that the figurative meaning could include “being complacent.” The word is used in the NT only by Apostle Paul. He used it seven times and six of these are found in his first epistle to the Corinthians. The only other usage of the word outside 1 Corinthians is in Colossians where he used it to encourage believers to live in fullness of Christ than be “puffed up” with angel worship, as stated in Colossians 2:18:
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 5:2, the apostle used it in the sense of “being proud” or “being puffed up” with implication of “being complacent.”
How were the Corinthians proud of the believer in their congregation that had his father’s wife? The passage does not provide us direct answer, but we can project how this happened. However, before we get to it, let me emphasize that because of the perfect tense used in the Greek participle translated “proud” in the NIV that the situation was that when the incident in question first happened the Corinthians were proud of the act or were complacent and continued to be until the apostle wrote this epistle to rebuke them.
Be that as it may, it seems that the way the Corinthians were proud of the man who had his father’s wife was that they thought it was a wonderful thing to do it that they probably boasted to the outsiders of how their liberty in Christ was responsible for them being welcoming to the man involved. In other words, they might have said to the outsiders that among them such a thing would never happen because they are bound by Greek law or Roman law that prohibits that kind of incestuous relationship, for example, but for them, they have been freed from the law and therefore they have no problem with such a thing. If that was the case, their attitude would imply that they did not understand what freedom in Christ means. In fact, they have not understood the instruction of Apostle Paul that was directed to the Galatians about being careful not to interpret the freedom in Christ as a license to sin, as stated in Galatians 5:13:
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
Furthermore, it would seem the Corinthians did not consider what was taking place with one of their members as sinful so they could freely speak to others about what they might have considered wonderful example of being accommodating. This is possible since members of this church had not seen anything wrong with partisanship in that they were boasting about various ministers that have preached or taught the word of God to them, leading to what the apostle communicated to them regarding boasting about human agents of God in 1 Corinthians 4:6:
Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.
Anyway, if the Corinthians considered the kind of sexual immorality the apostle spoke as sinful, they would probably be ashamed of their attitude. I am saying that because of their misunderstanding of the nature of freedom in Christ they did not see the sinfulness in the activity of their member. It is true that because of their background in pagan worship that they might have had a loose understanding of sexual immorality but the case in their local church would not in their mind have risen to that of prohibited sexual relationship because of their new faith in Christ.
The Corinthians being proud of their member who was involved in incestuous relationship, as we stated, was probably because they misunderstood the freedom in Christ or what it means to be free from the Law. Their attitude is similar to the kind of thing we see today among some denominations. These denominations claim to be loving and caring to the point that they are proud that they welcome homosexuals in their midst in such a way that it can be said that they are extending the love of Christ to such individuals. Yes, we are supposed to extend the love of Christ to all people, but we are not supposed to focus on any particular sin and act as if it does not matter that those involved are in violation of God’s word. If local churches make no boast of welcoming homosexuals but are open for anyone to come to their local church to receive the gospel message or God’s truth, then that is admirable. That is the way to extend the love of Christ. However, we should not extend the love of Christ when we act in violation of His command. You see, love of Christ is incompatible with disobedience to His word. In effect, we cannot disobey His word and claim to be showing love. He is the One that instructs believers on how to deal with those who are involved in sexual immorality as we will see in this passage. To ignore it and claim to be showing God’s love to homosexuals is to dishonor Him. I should add, showing Christ’s love or extending His love does not mean we should declare what is sinful as acceptable since doing so brings us under God’s curse, as we may gather from Isaiah 5:20:
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
A local church, therefore, cannot afford to give the impression that what is sinful is acceptable because they claim to be extending Christ’s love to others. This would be doing the same kind of thing the apostle chastised the Corinthians for being proud of their member involved in incestuous sexual relationship. In any event, a first way a local church ensures its maintenance of proper attitude towards anyone among its membership involved in unauthorized sexual relationship is never to praise or otherwise consider such relationship acceptable or become complacent about it.
A second way a local church ensures its maintenance of proper attitude towards anyone among its membership involved in unauthorized sexual relationship is to be in grief regarding the member. It is this second way that is stated in the question of 1 Corinthian 5:2 Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief. This second way presents an alternative that is contrary to what was taking place in Corinth. We say this because of the word “rather” used in the question.
The word “rather” is translated from a Greek word (mallon) that may mean “more,” that is, to a greater or higher degree of something. It is with this meaning that Apostle Paul used the word in his apostolic prayer for the Philippians that he wanted to demonstrate their love more and more to each other and for their love to be accompanied by spiritual and moral insights, as we read in Philippians 1:9:
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
The Greek word may mean “all the more” as in the encouragement to believers to attend regularly their local church meetings in Hebrews 10:25:
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
The word may mean “rather” in the sense of “instead” of something used as a marker of an alternative to something. It is with the meaning “rather” that Apostle Paul used it regarding the acceptable form of communication from believers in Ephesians 5:4:
Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
It is with the meaning “instead” that the apostle used it in his instruction of the alternative action expected of believers to being judgmental towards their fellow believers in Romans 14:13:
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
By the way, the passing of judgment here is concerned with debatable matters of food and days of worship and so does not imply that believers are not to point out sin or failures to their fellow believers. That aside, our Greek word is used in 1 Corinthians 5:2 in the sense of “on the contrary” so that it may be translated “rather” or even “instead.” The implication is that the second way a local church ensures its maintenance of proper attitude towards anyone among its membership involved in unauthorized sexual relationship involves that which is contrary to the first way of praising or accepting what is sinful or being complacent.
The main requirement of the second way is in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 5:2 filled with grief. The expression “filled with grief” is translated from a Greek word (pentheō) that means “to be sad, grieve, mourn”, that is, to experience sadness as a result of some condition or circumstance as the word is used in the defense of the Lord Jesus of His disciples for not fasting while He was with them as in Matthew 9:15:
Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
It is in the sense of to grieve over the sin of another that Apostle Paul used the word to describe what he wished would not happen when he visited the Corinthians again because of those who are unrepentant of their sins, as stated in 2 Corinthians 12:21:
I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.
It is in this sense of feeling grief or sorrow regarding sin that the Greek word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 5:2. Of course, it is possible that the apostle in using the Greek word we stated has the sense of “to feel grief or sorrow,” thought of the Jewish custom of mourning that in addition to sorrow included an expression of horror and condemnation.
A spiritually vibrant local church is one that is characterized with the attitude of grieving over sinful conduct of any member of its congregation of the type that affects the testimony of the individual and the local church regardless of its nature. In effect, members of such a local church find themselves grieved when they see in any member sinful conduct that is of public knowledge since not every sinful conduct is of public knowledge. Today, a good example of sinful conduct that would be public nature is that of persons living together without being married. A local church where such individuals attend should be filled with grief about such sinful conduct. Anyway, it is our assertion that a spiritually vibrant local church is characterized with the attitude of grieving over sinful conduct of any member of its congregation. Since a congregation consists of believers what we have stated implies that spiritually vibrant individuals are grieved when they perceive sin that is public knowledge in any member regardless of its nature. This point is demonstrated by the examples of some spiritually vibrant individuals mentioned in the Scripture. When some of the returnees from exile in Judah violated God’s law regarding marriage with unbelieving nations, the priest Ezra was grieved so he took the action described in Ezra 9:2–6:
2 They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.” 3 When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. 4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the LORD my God 6 and prayed: “O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.
Before we comment on this passage as it relates the point we are illustrating, let me point out that the phrase the holy race of verse 2 is not a good translation as the word “race” nowhere appears in this passage or in anywhere in the OT for that matter. The Hebrew literally reads the holy seed that is a reference to Israel as God’s covenant people that He chose for His own purpose. This observation is important because people often describe the Israelites as Jewish race. There is no such thing as race in describing any group of people let alone the chosen people of God. That aside, Ezra was grieved because some of the Israelites were involved in marriage relationship with the nations that the Lord had instructed them not to intermarry with because they would lead Israel into idolatry, as we read in Deuteronomy 7:1–4:
1 When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— 2 and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your sons away from following me to serve other gods, and the LORD’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you.
Ezra could have looked the other way and say nothing about this failure in Israel but because he was spiritually vibrant, he was grieved and took the actions he took. Another spiritually vibrant believer that was grieved over the sin of others was the psalmist, as stated in Psalm 119:136:
Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed.
Tears here convey that the psalmist was grieved because people violated God’s law. Prophet Jeremiah was grieved because of the arrogance of the Israelites as he stated in Jeremiah 13:17:
But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly,
overflowing with tears, because the LORD’s flock will be taken captive.
The examples we have cited support our assertion that spiritually vibrant individuals are grieved when they perceive sin that is public knowledge in any member regardless of its nature. This being the case, a spiritually vibrant congregation is one that its members grieve over sin of their fellow believer that is of public knowledge. Anyway, a second way a local church ensures its maintenance of proper attitude towards anyone among its membership involved in unauthorized sexual relationship is to grieve regarding the member.
Grief or sorrow because of sin should lead to an action that addresses the sin in question. This means that mourning or grief over sin should lead to repentance observable through one’s action. Thus, the Ninevites grief over their wickedness led to genuine repentance that included a call for people to forsake their wickedness, as stated in Jonah 3:8:
But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.
So, grief or sorrow over sinful conduct should lead to an action that addresses the sin. This being the case, the third way we will get to shortly is a result of Corinthians showing grief over the sin of their member. We say this because of a Greek conjunction (hina) the apostle used that was not directly translated in the NIV and many English versions, but it may mean “that, so that, in order that.” In our passage, the Apostle probably used it to convey result that is expected of those who show grief and outrage over sin that should lead to the third way we consider next.
A third way a local church ensures its maintenance of proper attitude towards anyone among its membership involved in unauthorized sexual relationship is excommunication of such an individual. It is this action that is indicated in the last expression of the question of 1 Corinthians 5:2 and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? Literally, the Greek reads that the one-who did this deed might be removed from your midst?
The expression “put out” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (airō) that may mean to raise to a higher place or position hence means “to lift up, take up, pick up.” This meaning can refer to literal usage as in action of those who wanted to stone Jesus, as stated in John 8:59:
At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
The word may mean “to keep in a state of uncertainty about an outcome,” that is, “to keep someone in suspense as the word is used with the word “life” in the Greek in the question of the Jews to Jesus about His identity in John 10:24:
The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
The question How long will you keep us in suspense? is literally until when will you take away our life? that is an idiom for keeping one from reaching a conclusion about something. The word may mean “to carry away, remove” as the word is used in Mary Magdalena’s question to the Lord Jesus that she thought was the gardener regarding the body of Jesus, as narrated in John 20:15:
“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
The word may mean “to raise a ship’s anchor for departure,” hence “to weigh anchor, depart” as the word is used in Acts 27:13:
When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.
The word may mean “to take away” in the sense of “to get rid” or “to remove” as it is used in the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:31:
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
The expression Get rid of of the NIV is literally must be removed. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 5:2, the word means “to remove, expel” from a certain place or position or environment. Thus, the action required of a local congregation involves expulsion.
There can be no uncertainty about the target of the instruction regarding expulsion so the person to be expelled is described in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 5:2 as the man who did this but literally the Greek reads the one-who did this deed because of the words used. The word “did” is translated from a Greek word (poieō) that may “to work” as in the parable of workers that complained because they were paid what they did not expect in Matthew 20:12:
‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
The word may mean “to produce” of a fruit tree as in Luke 3:9:
The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
The word may mean “to keep, carry out” in the sense of carry out an obligation of a moral or social nature as the word is used in Jesus’ rebuke of the Jews for failure to do what the law requires, as stated in John 7:19:
Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”
The word may mean “to commit, be guilty” in relation to sin as the word is used in the Lord Jesus’ assertion recorded in John 8:34:
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
The clause everyone who sins is a slave to sin may alternatively be translated as everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. The word may mean “to do, make,” as in describing the Sovereign Lord as the creator in the prayer of the early church, as stated in Acts 4:24:
When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 5:2, the word is used in the sense of to carry out an action that here is not acceptable hence means “to do, commit.”
The thing the individual in view in Corinth did is described with the pronoun this in the NIV in the sentence the man who did this but the Greek reads this deed. This is because the word “deed” in the literal translation is translated from a Greek word (ergon) with several meanings. It may mean “thing, matter” in the sense of something having to do with something under discussion. It is in this sense that the word is used in the advice of Gamaliel to the Sanhedrin regarding their persecution of the apostles, as we read in Acts 5:38:
Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.
The clause if their purpose or activity is of human origin may alternatively be translated if this plan or this matter is from people although literally the word “matter” is “work.” The Greek word may mean “deed, action”, that is, that which displays itself in activity of any kind. It is with the meaning “deed” that Apostle Paul used it to convey that every activity of the believer should be carried out with glorifying God in the mind of the believer in Colossians 3:17:
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
It is in the sense of “action” that the word is used in the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle John as it pertains to displaying of love in 1 John 3:18:
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
The Greek word may mean “work, occupation, task” in the sense of that which one does as regular activity. It is in the sense of “task” that the word is used to describe the desire to occupy the office of an overseer of a local church in 1 Timothy 3:1:
Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.
It is with the meaning “work” that the Greek word is used by Apostle Paul to describe the activities of Epaphroditus that nearly cost him his life, as we read in Philippians 2:30:
because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.
The Greek word may mean “product, undertaking, work” in the sense of that which is brought into being by work. Although our Greek word is translated “work” in many passages but in some passages the meaning is that of product as in Romans 14:20:
Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.
The phrase the work of God refers either to the weak believer or the church in general as the product of what God has done. It is in the meaning of “undertaking” that the word is used to describe devil’s activity in 1 John 3:8:
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 5:2, the word has the sense of “deed” or “act,” that is, something people do or cause to happen. In our passage, it is the deed of being in incestuous relationship with a man’s stepmother that is concerned.
The person who has committed the sexual immorality in the passage of 1 Corinthians is to be expelled or excommunicated from other believers in Corinth. Thus, the NIV used the phrase your fellowship which is a good interpretation of the Greek although literally the Greek reads from your midst. The literal translation implies that the person is to be removed from the congregation of believers in Corinth. The implication is that excommunication of a member of a local church is a means of ensuring that a local church maintains proper attitude towards anyone among its membership involved in unauthorized sexual relationship. Some people think that such an action is harsh and incompatible with love of Christ. A person who thinks that way is one who has a low view of holiness. God wants His people to be holy so it is necessary that a local congregation of believers should act to maintain purity of the local church. Love does not mean that sin is to be tolerated.
Anyway, there is a process involved in excommunication of a member from a local church but before we consider it as the Holy Spirit states through Apostle Paul, we should observe that the concept of excommunication is difficult to implement in many local churches today because of the issue of church membership in such local churches, among other problems, are a mixture of believers and unbelievers and in the United States there is the issue of freedom that has enabled the courts in some instances to intervene in the spiritual matter of church discipline. This takes place through members who after they have been disciplined and removed from the church turn around and sue their local churches for monetary damage. This has probably caused some local churches not to follow the requirement of the Scripture. Of course, that does not mean that those who do are correct since they would be obeying man instead of God.
Be that as it may, the more troubling problem with excommunication of members from a local church is the issue of mixed membership of the local churches of today. Some Christians do not realize that it is important to be a member of a given local church and so they do what is known as church hopping in which they go from one church to another without being committed to any, either because they are afraid of commitment or because they are not willing to submit to the authority of the leadership of a local church. Regardless of the reason, it is unbiblical not to be a member of a local church. The Scripture indicates that there is such a thing as joining a local church as we may deduce from what is recorded in Acts 5:12–13:
12 The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.
This passage tells us quite a bit about the early church. It consists only of believers that met regularly. The early church was revered by the outsiders. Unlike today, except for those countries that are hostile to Christians, it was risky to be members of the early church. This is clear from the verbal phrase dared join them. The word “dared” is translated from a Greek word (tolmaō) that means “to show boldness or resolution in the face of danger, opposition, or a problem.” The implication of this word is that it was a risky business to belong to the church in Jerusalem. Another thing we learn from this passage about the early church is that those who become members saw it as a serious commitment similar to that one expects in marriage relationship. You see, the word “join” is translated from a Greek word (kollaō) that is used to describe the uniting of a man to his wife after leaving his parents as the word is used in Jesus’ quotation of an OT Scripture as recorded in Matthew 19:5:
and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
The verbal phrase be united to his wife is literally be joined to his wife. Anyway, the sense of the Greek word in Acts 5:13 is “to establish a relationship with someone,” that is, “to attach oneself.” Thus, those who become members of the church attached themselves to other members and have a genuine relationship with them. The point is that it is unheard of that a believer would have existed in Jerusalem without being a member of the local church in Jerusalem. This was also evident in the Gentile church in Antioch since all those who believe joined the local church where believers were first described as “Christians.”
How does a person become a member of a local church; you may ask? This question is important because many local churches have different ways of admitting people into their local church. A person becomes a member of a local church by first being saved and deciding to be a part of a local church. It is true that the person would then go through whatever process a local church has established but that does not invalidate that it is the one who has become saved that attaches self to a local body. Here is where we have problem today regarding church membership. There are some in local churches that are not believers but by following the prescribed process of being accepted into a local church they are accept as members and that would cause problem with church discipline. The early church did not have that problem, at least in Jerusalem or in the early years of Christianity. We have records that prove this point. After the preaching of Peter on the day of Pentecost we are informed of those who became members of the church in Jerusalem because they believed and were baptized, as we read in Acts 2:41:
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Later in this second chapter, we are informed of the number in the church increasing by admission of others who believed, as stated in Acts 2:47:
praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
We also are informed of the number of men who became members of the church by believing the gospel message they heard as recorded in Acts 4:4:
But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
Certainly, the church consisted of men and women so that we are also informed that the church continued to increase in number, according to Acts 5:14:
Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.
What is clear from these passages is that a prerequisite for belonging to the church is being saved. If a person is saved that individual should then belong to a local church and be willing to submit to the authority of the spiritual leadership since that is expected of all believers in a local church, as implied in Hebrews 13:17:
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
The command of obeying spiritual leaders, that is, submitting to their authority could only make sense if there is such a thing as church membership. Thus, if you do not belong to a local church as a believer you are not being obedient to God’s word.
By the way, there is there is the question of whether a church should maintain a list of its membership. There is no stated rule to this requirement although some argue that because the early church knew the numbers of their members that it is necessary to have a register of membership. It may be a good thing but that is not necessarily the case based on the examples in Acts. It is probably the case that they knew the number by counting those who attend rather than having a list of members. Another support for having a list of membership is that Apostle Paul instructed the church to maintain a list of widows that are to be supported, as stated in 1 Timothy 5:9–11:
9 No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, 10 and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds. 11 As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry.
Having a list of widows is a far cry from having a list of all believers since the number of widows would normally be small. Having said this, a local church should follow whatever it feels is helpful in recognizing membership of an individual in a local church. But our concern is that no one should be considered a member of a local church without the person being saved. For only if a person is saved could the church be able to apply the requirement of excommunication to the individual.
In any event, the Corinthians were required to expel from their local church the individual that was guilty of incestuous relationship. Therefore, it is a requirement on local churches to practice excommunication of those who do not live in accordance with the word of God, as specified later in this fifth chapter we are considering. There is a process of doing this, and we will consider it in our next study.
07/05/19