5:1KJV 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.
B:E Project There are widespread reports of sexual immorality among you - the kind not even tolerated among pagans - a man is sleeping with his father's wife.
Context: Paul turns from the leadership disputes of chapters 1-4 to the first specific moral crisis in the church: a case of incest the community has tolerated rather than addressed.
Meaning: Paul names the problem bluntly - this isn't private speculation, it's public knowledge, and it's a level of misconduct that even the surrounding non-religious culture found shocking. The scandal isn't only the act, but that the church has done nothing about it.
Lesson: Some things are wrong not because a rulebook says so, but because they cause real damage to real people - and pretending not to notice doesn't make a community loving, it makes it complicit. Real care sometimes means naming a problem plainly.
See Also: Leviticus 18:8 (a father's wife forbidden); 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 (Paul's later follow-up on this same discipline).
5:2KJV And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
B:E Project And you're proud of yourselves, instead of being grieved enough to remove the person who did this from your community.
Context: Paul contrasts the Corinthians' pride with the grief and action he expects, setting up his instruction to remove the offender.
Meaning: The Corinthians seemed to treat their tolerance of this situation as a badge of open-mindedness, when Paul sees it as a serious failure of care - both for the man himself and for the wider community affected by it.
Lesson: True tolerance isn't looking away from harm and calling it broad-mindedness. If something is genuinely damaging someone, grief and honest action are more loving responses than a comfortable shrug.
See Also: James 4:9 (let your laughter be turned to mourning); 2 Corinthians 12:21 (bewailed many which have sinned already).
5:3KJV For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
B:E Project Even though I'm physically absent, I'm present with you in spirit, and I've already reached a judgement on the person who did this, as if I were there.
Context: Paul asserts his apostolic authority to make a ruling on this case despite being far away in another city.
Meaning: Paul emphasises that distance doesn't disqualify him from exercising real spiritual leadership and accountability - his concern and authority travel with the relationship, not just his physical presence.
Lesson: Real care for people isn't limited by geography. You can hold someone accountable, care about them, and be genuinely present in their life even from far away - what matters is the honesty of the relationship, not proximity.
See Also: Colossians 2:5 (though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit); 1 Corinthians 5:4.
5:4KJV In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
B:E Project When you're gathered together in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I'm there with you in spirit, along with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Context: Paul describes the setting for the church's formal action against the offender - gathered as a community, invoking Christ's authority, not merely his own.
Meaning: This underscores that church discipline, as Paul envisions it, isn't a personal vendetta or a solo decision - it's meant to be a communal act done under real spiritual authority, not casual gossip or exclusion.
Lesson: When correction needs to happen, do it openly and together, not through whispers and cliques. Real accountability is done in the light, with a clear purpose, not as social punishment dressed up as concern.
See Also: Matthew 18:20 (where two or three are gathered together in my name); Matthew 18:17-18 (the process of church discipline).
5:5KJV To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
B:E Project hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of his sinful nature, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
Context: Paul's actual instruction for how the church should discipline the man - a severe but ultimately restorative measure aimed at his eventual salvation.
Meaning: This difficult verse describes removing the man from the protective, supportive community of the church, exposing him to the consequences of his choices - not as final rejection, but as a severe wake-up call intended for his ultimate good.
Lesson: Sometimes real love means letting someone face the consequences of their choices rather than shielding them from every hard outcome. It's painful, but the goal is never destruction - it's always restoration.
See Also: 1 Timothy 1:20 (Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered unto Satan); 2 Corinthians 2:6-8 (the later restoration of an offender).
5:6KJV Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
B:E Project Your boasting isn't a good thing. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?
Context: Paul challenges the Corinthians' pride again, then introduces the yeast metaphor he develops through verse 8 to explain why tolerated sin can't be treated as a small, contained issue.
Meaning: The image is a simple kitchen fact turned into a warning: unchecked wrongdoing doesn't stay isolated - it spreads through and affects the whole community's culture and character, even if it looks small at first.
Lesson: Don't assume a small compromise stays small. The things you tolerate quietly in a community, a friendship, or your own habits tend to spread further than you expect - deal with them early.
See Also: Matthew 16:6 (beware of the leaven of the Pharisees); Galatians 5:9 (a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump).
5:7KJV Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
B:E Project So get rid of the old yeast, so that you can be a fresh batch of dough - as you truly are, unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has already been sacrificed for us.
Context: Paul continues the yeast metaphor, connecting it to the Jewish Passover tradition of clearing all leaven from the house, and identifying Christ as the Passover sacrifice.
Meaning: Paul draws on the Passover story, where Israelites removed all yeast before the feast, as a picture of spiritual cleansing: since Christ's sacrifice has already dealt with the fundamental problem, the community should live in a way that matches that clean slate, not carry on with old corrupting habits.
Lesson: You're not defined by your worst old habits - a fresh start is genuinely available to you. But a fresh start means actually clearing out what corrupts you, not just believing something changed while nothing actually does.
See Also: Exodus 12:15 (remove leaven out of your houses); John 1:29 (Behold the Lamb of God); 1 Peter 1:18-19 (redeemed with the precious blood of Christ).
5:8KJV Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
B:E Project So let's celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the bread of sincerity and truth.
Context: Paul completes the Passover/leaven metaphor, applying it to how the Corinthians should now live as a community.
Meaning: 'Keeping the feast' here means ongoing, everyday life together - Paul wants that life characterised by honesty and genuine goodness, not the bitterness, spite or dishonesty that had crept in.
Lesson: Character isn't a one-off event, it's how you live day to day. Choose honesty and genuine goodwill as your daily bread, not resentment or bitterness dressed up and hidden.
See Also: Ephesians 4:31-32 (put away all malice, be ye kind one to another); Philippians 4:8 (whatsoever things are true, honest, just).
5:9KJV I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
B:E Project I wrote to you before, telling you not to associate with sexually immoral people.
Context: Paul refers back to a previous, now-lost letter to Corinth, clarifying a point of confusion that arose from it.
Meaning: This is a rare direct reference confirming Paul wrote at least one earlier letter to Corinth that we don't have - showing this correspondence was an ongoing, practical relationship, not a single one-off document.
Lesson: Correction and guidance often need clarifying and revisiting - don't expect one conversation to settle everything. Real relationships involve going back and explaining more clearly when you're misunderstood.
See Also: 2 Corinthians 2:3-4 (Paul's other prior letters to Corinth); 1 Corinthians 5:11 (his clarified instruction).
5:10KJV Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
B:E Project I didn't mean people outside the church entirely - the sexually immoral of this world in general, or the greedy, or swindlers, or idol-worshippers - because then you'd have to leave the world altogether.
Context: Paul clarifies the misunderstanding from his earlier letter, explaining that his instruction wasn't about avoiding all contact with immoral people in wider society.
Meaning: Paul makes an important, practical distinction - you cannot and should not withdraw from the world entirely to avoid contact with people who live differently from you; that would mean total isolation, which was never his point.
Lesson: You don't need to cut yourself off from people who live differently to you, or see the world differently. Genuine engagement with a messy world, not withdrawal from it, is part of living well.
See Also: John 17:15 (not that thou shouldest take them out of the world); 1 Corinthians 10:27 (if an unbeliever bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go).
5:11KJV But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
B:E Project What I actually meant was: don't associate with anyone who calls themselves a fellow believer but is sexually immoral, greedy, an idol-worshipper, abusive, a drunk, or a swindler - don't even eat with someone like that.
Context: Paul sharpens his clarification: the earlier instruction was specifically about those within the church claiming to be believers while living in serious, unaddressed wrongdoing.
Meaning: The distinction Paul draws is about accountability within a community that claims shared values - not enabling or normalising serious, unaddressed harm inside a group meant to hold each other to something better, not about shunning outsiders.
Lesson: Hold the people closest to you, who share your values, to real accountability, rather than quietly enabling harmful behaviour because confronting it feels awkward. Genuine community means caring enough to be honest, even when it's uncomfortable.
See Also: Matthew 18:15-17 (steps for confronting a brother); 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14 (withdraw from a disorderly brother).
5:12KJV For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
B:E Project What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Isn't it those inside the church you should be judging?
Context: Paul reinforces the inside/outside distinction, focusing accountability on the church community rather than wider society.
Meaning: Paul is clear that spiritual accountability is meant for people within a committed community, not a mandate to judge or condemn the wider world - a distinction often lost in how religious groups have behaved throughout history.
Lesson: Focus your honesty and accountability on the people and communities you're actually part of and responsible to, not on passing judgement on strangers or the wider world. Sort out your own house first.
See Also: Matthew 7:3-5 (the mote and the beam); John 8:7 (he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone).
5:13KJV But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
B:E Project God will judge those outside. So remove that wicked person from among yourselves.
Context: Paul's closing instruction of the chapter, returning to the specific case from verse 1 with a final, direct command.
Meaning: Paul entrusts judgement of outsiders to God alone, while giving the church a clear, concrete responsibility for its own internal integrity - ending the chapter with decisive action rather than more discussion.
Lesson: You're not responsible for judging everyone in the world - that's not your job to carry. But you are responsible for the integrity of your own close community, and sometimes love requires clear, decisive action, not endless discussion.
See Also: Deuteronomy 17:7 (so shalt thou put the evil away from among you - a recurring Old Testament phrase); Romans 12:19 (vengeance is mine, saith the Lord).