1 Corinthians 5:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.

NIV: It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father's wife.

NASB: It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and sexual immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, namely, that someone has his father’s wife.

CSB: It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and the kind of sexual immorality that is not even tolerated among the Gentiles--a man is sleeping with his father's wife.

NLT: I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you — something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother.

KJV: It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.

NKJV: It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife!

Scripture was originally written without chapter and verse divisions. While this verse seems to take a turn from the end of 1 Corinthians 4, it builds on Paul's warning that he will come to them with the rod of correction if necessary.

Paul had received a report about a serious sin being committed by someone belonging to the group of Corinthian Christians. This report may have come from visitors to Paul in Ephesus, either Chloe's people (1 Corinthians 1:11) or Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus (1 Corinthians 16:17) or both.

The report was this: a man in the Corinthian church had either married or was having an affair with his father's wife. Paul's phrasing that the man "has" this woman indicates a present-tense, ongoing sexual relationship of some kind. It seems clear the woman was not the man's biological mother, but someone who was or had been married to his father.

Paul describes this as sexual immorality. The Greek word for "sexual immorality," porneia, covered all forbidden sexual activity, including incestuous sex with a relative, whether biological, adopted, or by marriage. New Testament teaching is clear that any sex outside of heterosexual marriage is sinful for Christians (2 Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3).

Beyond that, sex with your father's wife was a crime for Jews who followed the law of Moses, punishable by death (Leviticus 20:11). It was even a serious violation of the otherwise very lax moral standards of the Greek and Roman culture. The following verses will make clear that Paul's outrage has as much to do with the Corinthian church's response to this sin among them—or lack of a response—as it does with the sin itself.

First Corinthians 5:1–8 contains Paul's primary example of how the Corinthian's pride and self-sufficiency is hurting their community. He has just asked if they would prefer he come in gentleness, or ''with a rod,'' symbolic of harsh judgment. Here, Paul details a grievous sin: the believers in Corinth have failed to rebuke a member who is committing incest with his father's wife. They must remove him from the church and turn him over to Satan in hopes of his ultimate salvation. This is also crucial for the health of the church—just as tiny bits of leaven eventually spread to an entire batch of dough, sin left unconfronted can poison an entire church.

Paul confronts the church in Corinth for failing to respond to a self-identified believer having a sexual affair with his father's wife. He insists they must remove the man from their community—to refuse his participation in the church—referred to here as delivering him to Satan. As the Jewish people would do during Passover, they must remove the leaven of this man and his sin from among them, to prevent it from spreading to the entire church. Christian congregations should not associate with those who claim to be believers, yet flaunt their sin.

First Corinthians 5 continues Paul's confrontational tone from the previous chapter. There, he warned the arrogant that he might return to them with a rod of correction. Now he points to a specific result of their pride: They have failed to respond to one among them who is openly committing incest. Paul commands them to remove the man from their community by turning him over to Satan for destruction of his flesh, in hopes that his spirit would be saved. They must not even share a meal with a Christian continuing in unrepentant sin. Paul will distinguish between the judgment of believers with that of non-believers. In the next chapter, this will include more details on how to handle conflict, as well as the ability of God to forgive any and all sin.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.