PURGE OUT THEREFORE THE OLD LEAVEN

At this stage in his letter Paul turns from the matter of ungodly division to that of ungodly union. A man in the assembly was openly known to be conducting a relationship that was sinful, degrading and of such a nature that even the ungodly would be shocked by his deeds. Not only was this state of things intolerable, it was compounded by the fact that the assembly members were seemingly proud of their tolerance of such sin in their midst. Clearly they had no appreciation of the gravity of the sin or of the holiness of God’s house.

Paul was in Ephesus at the time of writing but he had no hesitation in pronouncing the necessary course of action to deal with the sinful man. This was in itself a rebuke because, if Paul could discern immediately, at a distance, the clear-cut necessity to put the man out of the assembly, why could the Corinthian believers themselves not see it when they were on the spot?

The excommunication of the man was necessary on two counts. First, he was to be delivered ‘unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh’, that is, he was to be effectively put out of the protective fold of the assembly, back into the domain of Satan, with a view to him feeling the full weight of his sinful deeds and, repenting of them; that he might come to a condition whereby he could be restored to the fellowship of the assembly.

Second, the holy character of the assembly must be preserved. To illustrate this point Paul turns to the relationship of the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, applying the principles of these Jewish feasts to Christian behaviour. As surely as Passover was followed by the week-long ritual of purging out every little bit of leaven from the Jewish home, so the same commitment to purging out from God’s house the things that belong to pre-conversion experience must follow the ultimate Passover, that of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Consequent upon the redeeming work of the Saviour at Calvary, believers are to keep the moral principle of the feast of unleavened bread by seeking out and expelling from their lives and assemblies every form of spiritual leaven. Purity and truth are essential requirements in the house of God.