I’m currently preaching through 1 Corinthians on Sunday mornings here at Sovereign Grace Baptist Church. As has been my habit for many years, I like to start at chapter 1, verse 1 and go through the entire book verse by verse. The technical term for this type of preaching is sequential exposition. It’s the way the Bible was written and for those who have a ministry that can go on week after week, this is a great way to “preach the Word” consistently.
One of the things that has amazed me in this series is that Paul has addressed the divisions and factions within the church for four chapters. I know Paul’s epistle was not originally divided up in chapter and verses, but there was sure a lot of ink spilled to address the problem of division. Think about it….
He wrote 91 before he ever got to the sexual immorality in the church. After 91 verses….
“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.” (1 Corinthians 5:1, KJV)
He never even mentioned it before. Why?
The division was important! And for a church to be healthy, there must be unity.
But a healthy church must also practice proper church discipline. What does Paul say to do with that fornicator? He tells them to exclude him!
Now, some may say Paul is at odds with Jesus who gave the following:
“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:15–20, KJV)
Go and read 1 Corinthians 5 and you will find Paul did not give the church at Corinth the same formula. They were not told to take two or three alone, etc. Was the Apostle Paul at odds with Jesus? I don’t believe so! Did the Holy Spirit inspire a text contrary to Jesus! May it never be! There are no contradictions here. 1 Corinthians 5 picks up where Matthew 18 ends. What was going on in Corinth was not a private sin between two individuals, but a public sin that the whole church already knew about it. Jesus and Paul were addressing different scenarios. The sinner at Corinth needed to be excluded without delay.
Church discipline is absent in many churches today, but there is a great outline to be found in the text of 1 Corinthians 5, laid out by Jonathan Leeman in his book Church Discipline: How the Church Protects the Name of Jesus, published by Crossway:
First Corinthians 5 is especially helpful for discerning the purposes of church discipline. We can observe at least five.
First, discipline aims to expose. Sin, like cancer, loves to hide. Discipline exposes the cancer so that it might be cut out quickly (see 1 Cor. 5:2).
Second, discipline aims to warn. A church does not enact God’s retribution through discipline. Rather, it stages a small play that pictures the great judgment to come (v. 5). Discipline is a compassionate warning.
Third, it aims to save. Churches pursue discipline when they see a member taking the path toward death, and none of their pleading and arm-waving causes the person to turn around. It’s the device of last resort for bringing an individual to repentance (v. 5).
Fourth, discipline aims to protect. Just as cancer spreads from one cell to another, so sin quickly spreads from one person to another (v. 6).
Fifth, it aims to present a good witness for Jesus. Church discipline, strange to say, is actually good for non-Christians, because it helps to preserve the attractive distinctiveness of God’s people (see v. 1). Churches, remember, should be salt and light. (Matt. 5:13)
My series on First Corinthians may be found on Sermon Audio. May God truly get the glory in ALL we do!