CHAPTER V. _Account of the incestuous person, or of him who had married his_ _father's wife_, 1. _The apostle reproves the Corinthians for their carelessness in_ _this matter, and orders them to excommunicate the transgressor_, 2-5. _They are reprehended for their glorying, while such scandals... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 5:2. _YE ARE PUFFED UP_] Ye are full of strife and contention relative to your parties and favourite teachers, and neglect the discipline of the Church. Had you considered the greatness of this crime, ye would have rather _mourned_, and have put away this flagrant transgressor fr... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 5:3. _ABSENT IN BODY, BUT PRESENT IN SPIRIT_] Perhaps St. Paul refers to the gift of the discernment of spirits, which it is very likely the apostles in general possessed on extraordinary occasions. He had already seen this matter so clearly, that he had determined on that sort o... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 5:4. _IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS_] Who is the _head_ of the Church; and under whose authority every act is to be performed. _AND MY SPIRIT_] My apostolical authority derived from him; _with_ _the power_, συν δυναμει, with the _miraculous_ energy _of the Lord_ _Jesus_, which i... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 5:5. _TO DELIVER SUCH A ONE UNTO SATAN_] There is no evidence that delivering to Satan was any _form_ of excommunication known either among the Jews or the Christians. _Lightfoot, Selden_, and _Schoettgen_, who have searched all the Jewish records, have found nothing that answer... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 5:6. _YOUR GLORYING IS NOT GOOD._] You are triumphing in your superior knowledge, and busily employed in setting up and supporting your respective teachers, while the Church is left under the most scandalous corruptions-corruptions which threaten its very existence if not purged... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 5:7. _PURGE OUT THEREFORE THE OLD LEAVEN_] As it is the custom of the Jews previously to the _passover_ to search their houses in the most diligent manner for the old leaven, and throw it out, sweeping every part clean; so act with this incestuous person. I have already shown wi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 5:8. _THEREFORE LET US KEEP THE FEAST_] It is very likely that the time of the passover was now approaching, when the Church of Christ would be called to extraordinary acts of devotion, in commemorating the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ; and of this circumstance the... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 5:9. _I WROTE UNTO YOU IN AN EPISTLE_] The wisest and best skilled in Biblical criticism agree that the apostle does not refer to any other epistle than _this_; and that he speaks here of some general directions which he had given in the foregoing part of it; but which he had no... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 5:10. _FOR THEN MUST YE NEEDS GO OUT OF THE WORLD._] What an awful picture of the general corruption of manners does this exhibit! The Christians at Corinth could not transact the ordinary affairs of life with any others than with fornicators, covetous persons, extortioners, rail... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 5:11. _BUT NOW I HAVE WRITTEN_] I not only write this, but I add more: if any one _who is called a brother_, i.e. professes the Christian religion, be a _fornicator, covetous, idolater,_ _railer, drunkard_, or _extortioner_, not even to eat with such-have no communion with such a... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 5:12. _FOR WHAT HAVE I TO DO TO JUDGE THEM ALSO THAT ARE_ _WITHOUT?_] The term _without_, τους εξω, signifies those who were not members of the Church, and in this sense its correspondent term: החיצונים _hachitsonim_, those that _are without_, is generally understood in the Jewi... [ Continue Reading ]