In the above focus we see Paul warning about allowing sin to invade the church by accepting sinful practices within the church. Paul has discovered that a man in the Corinthian church was living openly in sin. He reminds the Corinthians that this kind of sinful behavior is looked upon as wrong even in a dark world full with sexual perversion: immorality of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. Ifincestuous relationships are not welcomed in a sinful and dark world, they should not be accepted in the church of the living God. Of course many sins are still resident in the body of Christ for the Passover does not necessarily get the spirit of Egypt out of God’s chosen. We see that condition in the Old Testament. The Passover frees the Israelites from slavery, a state indicating subservience to Satan or this world. The Israelites, after passing through the Red Sea, still possessed the Egyptian lifestyle and desires. In fact after three days from escaping Egypt, the Israelites are grumbling, wishing they were back in Egypt where at least there was good water to drink. Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” (Exodus 15:22-24) A couple weeks later, we see the Israelites in total rebellion against Moses and Aaron because of the lack of food. On the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt, the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” (Exodus 16:1-3) They were now idealizing their 400 years of slavery in Egypt, forgetting that their baby boys were thrown into the Nile, either to be eaten by crocodiles or to decompose in the river. They were forgetting their desperate conditions in Egypt, working hard to make Egypt beautiful while they lived in poverty. Even though freed by the passover, Egypt was ingrained within them. At Mount Sinai, they had Aaron make them an idol to worship when Moses was away from them for forty days on Sinai, talking to God. When Moses came down from the mountain, he saw the Israelites in revelry, celebrating boisterously their gods, acting unrestrainedly, even sexually. The Egyptian lifestyle surfaces completely at the base of Sinai 50 days after leaving Egypt, after their escape from the grip of the devil in their lives. In the above focus we see this same syndrome in the Christians. Paul is clearly upset about incest being accepted within the church of Corinth. But the Corinthians are involved with many other things that also emulate the secular world. They are enmeshed in envy, gossip, arrogance, boastfulness, discord and strife. (Romans 1:29-32) Their quarreling and fighting over who is the best leader to follow was destroying the church.
Even though Paul is disgusted about the incest within the Corinthian church, he approaches this abomination to the righteousness of God with the grace and mercy of God. Paul knows about the mysterious plan of God that was present in the heart of God when He made men and women. God desires that all of his creation be redeemed from the dustbin of death. Jesus Christ, his Son, was sacrificed on the Cross for the salvation of all people from slavery to Satan. Jesus IS THE PASSOVER LAMB. He frees permanently those who accept his blood sacrifice for their sinful lives. Now we see Paul saying to the church, this man who is practicing incest in his life should be handed over to Satan, allowing his sinful life to die quickly so that his soul will be saved: hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. The sinful man is mired in deep darkness; Egypt is still possessing his soul, but he also has experienced the Passover. His escape from darkness has already happened, but for him to not be lost in his rebellious darkness, pray that he die in the body so that his soul will be saved. The Israelites on the day they should have entered the Promised Land, they were still in rebellion to God’s authority in their lives. They wanted to choose other leaders for their congregation, leaders who would take them back to Egypt. God harshly judged their decision to go back into sin. He forced them back to the wilderness where all the men and women over twenty-years-old would die. They had rejected the Passover that delivered them from slavery. Paul is telling the church of Corinth, pray for the death of this man so the Passover he has experienced will still be evident on the day of judgment. And we know this man repented of his sinful lifestyle and preserved his soul while he was still living. God was faithful to him in the end
Jesus told his disciples that their belief in him has given them eternal life at that moment. Eternity was in them through their belief in Jesus, the Lamb of God. How are we to restore a Christian who has fallen into sin. Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:1-2) We should deal with our fallen brothers and sisters with grace and mercy. We should confess our own faults and sins so our brothers or sisters know that flesh is in all of us, letting them know that God is gracious and good to all of us. If we repent of our misdeeds, He quickly forgives us of our sins. This is a process of restoring a wayward Christian to Christ. We should be careful to deal with the sinful lives of others without indulging in their way of living or thinking, watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. As Christians in the household of God, we should bring life to the wayward Christians. We should bring good to them, light to them, not anger and grief to them. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21) Our Christian brethren are not our enemies; they are just lost in the thinking of Egypt. Therefore, let the light of the new creature be seen in your reaction to them--serve them in love. In your interaction with someone who is dabbling in sin, let the Spirit’s attributes be seen abundantly in you: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5) Jesus who was without sin, no waywardness in his life, associated with sinners, maybe the scum of society as the Pharisees depicted these people. He ate with tax collectors and sinners. Why? They needed a doctor in their lives, a redeemer in their lives, someone who truly loved them as they were. The man who was living in incest needed a doctor in his life. He needed someone who would tell him the truth about his destructive life in a merciful and kind manner. He did not need a righteous, holier-than-thou person in his life. He needed someone without malice towards him. He needed someone who would speak life into his life, one who would explain again the efficacious Passover in sincerity and truth. As with the Corinthians themselves in their own waywardness of disruption and arguing with each other over leadership, they needed to regain their understanding of Jesus and the Passover. They are no longer caught in the slavery of Egypt. They are absolutely and forever free under the leading of the Holy Spirit. Not dustpan people, but jewels in God’s domain of redemption. Our breakfast friends around this table, celebrating the food of the Passover, drink and eat freely of the provisions of Jesus Christ the Lord. Confess your sins before each other and treat each other as you want to be treated, AS HIS JEWELS. Jesus has come to deliver you from Egypt and to establish you in the Promised Land.
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