1 Corinthians 5:1-5 We Are God's Temple!

1 Corinthians 5:1-5  It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.  And you are proud!  Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?  Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit.  And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.  When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

Sin that openly invades the sanctuary of the church has the potential to destroy that body of believers, which is the body of Christ.  Paul can say I am with you in spirit because the Spirit of God is one of unity, not of disunity.  Sin is a cancer, and as with the physical body, cancer comes to destroy not build up.  Cancer cells spread and permeate healthy cells, despoiling them, preventing the normal functioning of the cells.  Sin in the church destroys the normal functioning of the church, which is to reveal a loving and holy God to the world.  Paul knew this particular sin in the Corinthian's church was lethal to the health and well-being of the body of Christ in Corinth.  He also knew, A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.  (Galatians 5:9)  Sin is lethal to a body of believers.  Rather than being proud and tolerant of this darkness, the Corinthian church should have condemned it by removing this man from their fellowship who was openly practicing an evil lifestyle.  Why is Paul so black and white with his judgment of the situation?  Why not encourage the church to work with this man, to counsel him, to help him to extricate himself from such a relationship of darkness?  Paul is intolerant because this man's sin is a frontal attack on the body of Christ.  His lifestyle is a conscious choice: an affront to holiness, to righteousness, to eternal life, to a holy God, to the cross.  Such a lifestyle and incorrect ideas about God's grace and mercy brings death to the spiritual man, not life.  Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?  If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.  (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)  This life of open sin, without repentance, was bringing death not only to the temple of the man who practiced it, but also to the temple of the body of Christ.  If the man had problems with lust or was tempted to sin, he could have come to the church for prayer, encouragement, and support; but he acted out his sin openly before God and man.  This left Paul no choice but to pass judgment on his sin.

As believers, we know Christ paid the price so that we might be holy before God and within our communities.  Our attitude and lifestyle should not be just like the world.  But who should judge whether we are living a good life or a sinful life?  Who should determine whether we are faithful Christians of light or Christians who portray a lot of darkness in their lives?  Who is the judge?  Should not God alone be the judge?  Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.  At that time each will receive his praise from God.  (1 Corinthians 4:5)  Yes, God will judge each of us; He will judge not only our actions, but the intents of our hearts.  The writer of Hebrews says, For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.  (Hebrews 4:12-13)  God alone knows our secret lives; He alone knows how holy our thoughts are.  He will judge rightly.  We often judge wrongly, from the outward appearance not what is within a person: The LORD does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.  (1 Samuel 16:7)  Is Paul wrong then by saying this man should be removed from the church?  Should he not have said this troubled man should be counseled to do better, to forsake this sinful life, and to live a better, more upstanding life within the community, for Christ's sake?  Why should this man be handed over to Satan rather than helped?  Only the Lord knows the heart, but Paul knew the church had to deal with this flaunting lifestyle and open rebellion to the Word of God.  Such rebellion against God could lead astray those in the body who are not established in the Word.  Flagrant, open sin has to be dealt with by the leaders of the church.  The rest of us must love and pray for all of our brothers and sisters, even the wayward.

Even though Paul's attitude seems to be very judgmental towards this man, we see that his concern is based on his love for this man, not on anger against him.  He asks the church to remove the man from their fellowship so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.  This should also be our cry when we see a brother or sister wantonly slip back into a sinful lifestyle.  God wants his children to be faithful and true to their calling in Christ.  He wants them to commit every part of their lives to him in righteousness.  We all know God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  (John 3:16-17)  Yet we will eventually face judgment if we are not committed to him in love, revealing his light in the darkness.  We are not bastards, we are of his lineage.  Therefore, our lifestyles should reflect him as we face the different situations of our lives.  Today is the day to seek the Lord.  Today is the day to be faithful to God, to change wayward lifestyles.  Do not let sin destroy your spiritual person.  Let God bless you with his everlasting love.  He wants to cover you with his mercy and grace.  God said, "Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love.  Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you." (Hosea 10:12)