Commentary - 1 Corinthians 5:9-13

Bird's-eye view

In this crucial concluding section of the chapter, the Apostle Paul clarifies a previous instruction and, in doing so, establishes a foundational principle for the church's interaction with the world and its responsibility for its own members. Having commanded the Corinthian church to excommunicate an unrepentant man involved in gross sexual sin, Paul now anticipates a potential misunderstanding. He explains that his command to not associate with the sexually immoral was never intended as a call for monastic separation from the pagan world. Such a move would be both impossible and a dereliction of the church's mission. Instead, the sharp edge of this command is directed inward. The church is to be a distinct community, a holy nation, and this requires maintaining a clear boundary between those who are inside the covenant community and those who are outside. The primary takeaway is this: Christians are called to be missionaries to the lost world, not moral policemen of it. But within the walls of the visible church, we are called to be judges, upholding God's standards for the sake of the church's purity, the offender's soul, and the glory of God.

This passage is therefore a master class in applied theology. It distinguishes between two realms: the world and the church. God judges the former, while He has delegated a form of judgment to the latter. This is not a self-righteous, pharisaical judgment, but rather a necessary, familial discipline. The church must take responsibility for its own holiness. To refuse to judge sin within the church is not grace; it is disobedience and a failure of love. Paul concludes with a direct quotation from Deuteronomy, rooting this New Covenant practice firmly in the Old Testament principle of purging evil from the midst of God's people. The health of the church depends on this bright line.

Outline

Context In 1 Corinthians

This passage directly follows Paul's scathing rebuke of the Corinthian church for their arrogant tolerance of a man sleeping with his stepmother (1 Cor 5:1-8). He has just commanded them, in the name and power of the Lord Jesus, 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" (1 Cor 5:5). He used the analogy of leaven, explaining that a little bit of unaddressed sin can permeate and corrupt the entire community. This section (vv. 9-13) is a necessary appendix to that command. Paul realizes his instructions could be misinterpreted in one of two ways: either as a call to an impossible asceticism, requiring believers to withdraw from the world entirely, or as a license to ignore the command altogether because it seems too difficult. He therefore carefully defines the boundaries of the church's authority. This discussion of church purity and discipline sets the stage for the next chapter, where he will address the sin of believers taking other believers to pagan courts (1 Cor 6:1-8), another instance where the Corinthians failed to understand and exercise their responsibility to judge matters "inside the church."

Key Issues

Judging Inside, Not Outside

One of the most frequently abused verses in the Bible is "Judge not, that you be not judged" (Matt 7:1). This is almost always ripped from its context and used as a universal prohibition against making any moral evaluations, particularly when it comes to the behavior of others. But this is a profound misunderstanding. Jesus, in that very same sermon, goes on to tell us to identify false prophets by their fruits and to avoid throwing pearls before swine, both of which require judgment. Paul, here in 1 Corinthians 5, gives us the divine commentary on how this principle works out in practice. He establishes a jurisdictional boundary. The church has no business trying to act as the moral arbiter of the pagan world. That is God's job. We are not called to picket the brothels of Corinth, but to preach the gospel to the people in them.

However, inside the covenant community, the standard is entirely different. "Are you not to judge those who are within the church?" Paul asks, and the question is rhetorical. Of course you are. A refusal to judge sin within the church is not a mark of humility or grace; it is a mark of cowardice and disobedience. It is a failure to love the sinner enough to warn him, a failure to love the church enough to protect her, and a failure to love God enough to obey Him. Christian morality is for Christians. We start by judging ourselves, and then we have a corporate responsibility to maintain the holiness of the body. Moralism is what happens when we get this backwards, when we thunder against the sins of Hollywood while tolerating the same sins in our pews. True Christian ethics begins at home, in the house of God.

Verse by Verse Commentary

9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people;

Paul refers here to a previous letter, one that has not been preserved for us. This is a good reminder that the apostles wrote more than what we have in the canon, and that what we have is precisely what God intended for us to have. In that earlier correspondence, he had given them a command that was apparently general enough to be misunderstood: do not "associate with" or, more literally, "mix with" fornicators. The word carries the idea of close, intimate fellowship. The Corinthians, in their libertine environment, were apparently confused about the scope of this prohibition.

10 I did not at all mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the greedy and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.

Here is the clarification. Paul says his command was absolutely not a call to Gnostic withdrawal from society. He lists the kind of garden-variety sins that characterized the pagan world of Corinth: sexual immorality, greed, swindling, and idolatry. If Christians were forbidden from having any contact with such people, they would have to pack up and leave the planet. This is because the world is fallen, and this is what fallen people do. You cannot be a fisherman if you refuse to go near the water. You cannot be salt and light if you stay in the saltshaker and under the bushel. We are sent into the world to proclaim the gospel, and this necessarily means we will have unbelieving neighbors, co-workers, and family members. We are to be in the world, but not of it.

11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is a sexually immoral person, or greedy, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler, not even to eat with such a one.

This is the razor's edge of the passage. The prohibition is not against associating with a sinner, but against associating with a so-called brother who is living in unrepentant sin. The list of sins is expanded here to include revilers (those who are verbally abusive, slanderers) and drunkards. The key is the combination of a Christian profession ("so-called brother") and a pagan lifestyle. When a man claims the name of Christ but lives like the world, the church must draw a line. Paul makes the application intensely practical: "not even to eat with such a one." This does not prohibit a casual lunch to call the man to repentance, but it certainly prohibits the kind of table fellowship that signifies approval, acceptance, and peace. In that culture, sharing a meal was a sign of intimate fellowship. Most importantly, it points directly to the Lord's Table. A man living in such sin cannot be welcomed to the communion meal, which is the ultimate expression of our fellowship with Christ and with one another.

12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Are you not to judge those who are within the church?

Paul now lays down the governing principle, the jurisdictional line. He, as an apostle, has no authority to pronounce judgment on those outside the visible covenant community. "Outsiders" are the world's responsibility, and ultimately God's. But then he turns the question on them. While he cannot judge outsiders, the Corinthians most certainly have a responsibility to judge insiders. The church is a defined community with a shared confession and a shared standard of conduct. To be a member of this community means submitting to its authority and its standards. When those standards are violated without repentance, the community has a God-given duty to make a judgment.

13 But those who are outside, God will judge. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.

The first clause reiterates the point: God is the judge of the world. We can leave them in His hands. Our task is not to condemn them but to evangelize them. But the final command is sharp, authoritative, and rooted in the Old Testament. "Remove the wicked man from among yourselves" is a direct quotation from several passages in Deuteronomy (e.g., Deut 17:7, 19:19, 22:21). In the Old Covenant, this purging often meant capital punishment. In the New Covenant, the principle of purging remains, but the means is excommunication. The unrepentant sinner is to be put out of the formal fellowship of the church. This act is the church's final verdict, declaring that this person's profession of faith is not credible. It is a severe mercy, intended to warn the sinner, protect the church, and honor the holy name of God.

Application

This passage is profoundly relevant for the modern church, which has largely abandoned the practice of church discipline. We live in an age where tolerance is considered the highest virtue and judgment the most heinous sin. As a result, many churches have become indistinguishable from the world, filled with "so-called brothers" whose lives are marked by the very sins Paul lists here. We have gotten it completely backwards. We are often harsh and judgmental toward the unbelieving world, while being endlessly tolerant of flagrant sin within our own ranks.

We must repent of this. We need to recover the biblical understanding of the church as a holy nation, a distinct covenant community. This means we must be winsome, gracious, and evangelistically bold toward outsiders. We should be the best neighbors and the most honest employees. We should be known for our love for the lost. But at the same time, we must take the holiness of the church seriously. This means holding one another accountable. It means that when a brother or sister falls into sin, we pursue them in love, calling them to repentance. And if they refuse to repent, we must, with tears and sorrow, practice biblical church discipline. This is not about being harsh or unloving; it is the most loving thing we can do. It is a formal protest against their decision to destroy themselves. It protects the flock from the leaven of sin and preserves the church's public witness. A church that will not discipline its own members has lost its saltiness and is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.