It is actually being reported that sexual immorality exists among you — of a kind not even tolerated among the nations: a man is living with his father’s wife.
And instead of grieving, you have become arrogant. You should already have removed the one who committed this act from among you.
Even though I am absent in body, I am present with you in spirit. And as one present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who has done this.
When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus, with His power present, deliver such a person over to the realm of destruction — so that the flesh is undone, and the spirit is rescued within the day of the Lord.
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven permeates the whole batch?
You have already been cleansed. So remove the old leaven, so you may live as what you already are — an unleavened people. For Christ, our Passover, has already been sacrificed.
So let us keep the feast — not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
I wrote to you not to associate with sexually immoral people — not meaning the immoral of the world, or the greedy, the dishonest, or idolaters, since you would then have to leave the world entirely.
But now I am writing to clarify: do not associate with anyone who claims the name “brother” yet lives in unrepentant sexual immorality, greed, idolatry, abusive speech, drunkenness, or exploitation. Do not even share a meal with such a person.
What do I have to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the community that you are already responsible for?
God addresses those outside. You are to remove the corrupting influence from among yourselves.
Corinth prides itself on spiritual gifts and freedom, but tolerates behaviour that actively destroys the community. Paul does not treat this as private morality — he treats it as temple corruption. Chapter 3 declared the church to be God’s temple. Chapter 5 explains what happens when that temple is polluted.
Paul does not postpone judgment to the future. He says he has already judged the situation (5:3), and instructs the church to act decisively. This is covenant order being protected in real time, not speculation about final destinies.
This phrase does not mean demonic torture. It describes exclusion from the Spirit-ordered community into the realm where destructive fleshly patterns dominate. The aim is restoration, not annihilation.
Paul does not say Christ will be sacrificed. He says Christ has been sacrificed (5:7). The community is already living in post-Passover reality. Old leaven has no legitimate place.
Paul explicitly rejects withdrawing from society. The boundary applies only to those claiming covenant identity while refusing covenant transformation.
Grace does not mean ignoring destruction. Love does not mean tolerating what poisons community life. New Creation holiness is not moral panic — it is the protection of shared life, truth, and freedom.
Where have I confused tolerance with love, or avoided responsibility in the name of grace?
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