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 1 Cor 5:1-5

1 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. 3 For though absent in body I am present in spirit, and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment 4 in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled, and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

228. – After discussing matters which pertain to the sacrament of baptism, the Apostle begins to consider matters which pertain to matrimony. First, he attacks a sin contrary to matrimony, namely, fornication; secondly, he discusses matrimony itself (c. 7). In regard to the first he does two things: first, he mentions the crime; secondly, he censures it (v. 6). As to the first he does two things: first, he mentions the crime of a certain fornicator; secondly, the crime of those who condoned this sin (v. 2).

229. – In regard to the first he mentions three things which pertain to the gravity of the crime. First, he shows that the sin is notorious, saying: It was not without reason that I asked whether you wish me to come to you with the rod. For there is one among you deserving the rod of discipline, because it is actually reported, i.e., publicly known, that there is immorality among you, against which it is said: “Fornication must not even be named among you” (Eph 5:3); “They proclaim their sin like Sodom, they do not hide it” (Is 3:9).

230. – Secondly, he amplifies the sin by a comparison when he says: and of a kind that is not found or regarded as lawful, even among pagans. For example, fornication was not considered a sin among the pagans; hence to rid them of this error the apostles (Ac 15:29) imposed on pagans converted to the faith the obligation to abstain from fornication. Yet it was a form of fornication regarded as unlawful even among pagans; hence he says: for a man is living with his father’s wife: “Unstable as water, you shall not have pre-eminence because you went up to your father’s bed and defiled his couch” (Gen 49:4). This was monstrous even among the pagans, being contrary to natural reason. For the laws of every civilization dictated that the natural reverence owed to parents prevents sons and daughters from marrying their father or mother. This is even implied in Gen (2:24): “Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother (in contracting matrimony) and shall cleave to his wife.” Furthermore, since it goes on to say that the man and woman “will be two in one flesh,” the wife of the father is excluded from marrying; just as the person of the father or mother, for it says in Lev (18:8): “You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; for it is the nakedness of the father.”

231. – Then when he says, you are arrogant, he mentions the guilt of those who condoned this sin: first, he condemns them for condoning it; secondly, he supplies what they failed to supply (v. 3).

232. – In regard to the first he detects three vices: first, pride, when he says: You are arrogant [puffed up], namely, with the wind of pride, for considering yourselves innocent as compared with the sinner, just as the Pharisee who said: “I am not as the rest of men…or even as this tax collector” (Lk 18:11); “He will dash them puffed up and speechless to the ground” (Wis 4:19). Secondly, he touches on their injustice, when he says: Ought you not rather to mourn? Namely, by suffering for the benefit of the sinner: “O that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughters of my people!” (Jer 9:1). For true justice, as Gregory says in homily 34, On The Gospel, shows compassion, not disdain. Thirdly, he touches on their failure to judge: let him who has done this be removed from among you. For such compassion on the part of a just man bruises the sinner to deliver him: “If you beat him with the rod, you will save his life from Sheol” (Pr 23:14). Is also helps to correct others, for it says in Pr (19:25): “The wicked man being scourged, the fool shall be wiser.” Hence Ec (8:11): “Because sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the sons of men is fully set to do evil.” Indeed, if others are to be corrected, the sinner must sometimes be cast out, when there is fear of his conduct spreading: “Drive out the scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease” (Pr 22:10).

233. – Then when he says, For though absent in body, he supplies for their failure by pronouncing sentence against the sinner. In regard to this he does three things: first, he shows the authority of the judge; secondly, the method of judging; thirdly, the sentence of the judge (v. 5).

234. – As to the first he does two things: first, he shows the authority of the minister, i.e., himself. Here he seems to act contrary to proper judicial procedure by condemning an absent person, for “it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone, before the accused met the accusers face to face” (Ac 25:16). But the Apostle justifies this, saying: For though absent in body I am present in spirit, i.e., with love and concern: “For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ” (Col 2:5). Or present in spirit, because by the spirit he knew what was taking place among them as if he were there, as Elisha also says: “Did I not got with you in spirit when the man turned from his chariot to meet you?” (2 Kgs 5:26). Because I am present in spirit, I have already pronounced judgment, i.e., I have passed a sentence of condemnation on the one who has acted in this manner. Secondly, he mentions the authority of the principal lord, saying: in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, i.e., in His place and by His authority, or with the power and invocation of His name: “Whatever you do in word or in deed, do all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Col 3:17).

235. – Then when he says, When you are, he shows the manner of judging, and touches on three things: first, the assembling of the congregation when he says: When you are assembled. For serious offenses should be punished according to the considered agreement of many persons; hence in old times judges sat on the gates where the people were gathered together: “You shall appoint judges in all your gates” (Dt 16:18); “In the company of the upright, in the congregation” (Ps 111:1); “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt 18:20). Secondly, he indicates his assent when he says: and my spirit is present, i.e., with my will and authority. Thirdly, he presents the authority of the principal lord, namely, Jesus Christ, saying: with the power of the Lord Jesus, the power which gives strength and validity to the judgment of the Church: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven” (Matt 18:18).

236. – Then when he says, you are to deliver, he delivers the sentence of condemnation, in regard to which he does three things. First, he assigns the punishment when he says: you are to deliver this man to Satan. This can be understood in two ways. First, that just as the Lord gave the apostles power over unclean spirits to cast them out (Matt 10:8), so by the same power they could command the unclean spirits to torment in the body those whom they judged deserved it. Accordingly, the Apostle commanded the Corinthians on his own authority to deliver this fornicator to Satan to be tortured. Hence, secondly, he discloses the effect of this sentence when he says: for the destruction of the flesh, i.e., for the torment and affliction of the flesh in which he sinned: “One is punished by the very things by which he sins” (Wis 11:16). Thirdly, he mentions its fruit when he says: that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus, i.e., that he may be saved on the day of death or on the day of judgment, as was explained above (3:15): “but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire,” i.e., of temporal punishment. For the Apostle did not deliver the sinner over to Satan’s power forever, but until the time when he would be converted to repentance by bodily torment: “Vexation alone shall make you understand what you hear” (Is 28:19). This sentence of the Apostle corresponds to what the Lord observed, when he said to Satan: “Behold he is in your hand (namely, his flesh), but yet keep his life unharmed” (Jb 2:6).

237. – To deliver this man to Satan can also be understood as referring to the sentence of excommunicating by which a person is cut off from the community of believers and from partaking of the sacraments and is deprived of the blessings of the Church. Hence it says in S. of S. (6:10): “Terrible as an army set in array,” i.e., to the devils. For the destruction of the flesh would mean that, being cut off from the Church and exposed to the temptations of the devil, he might more easily fall into sin: “Let the filthy still be filthy” (Rev 22:11). Hence he calls mortal sins the destruction of the flesh, because “He who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption” (Gal 6:8). But he adds: that his spirit may be saved, i.e., that the sinner, recognizing his vileness, may repent and thus be healed: “I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth” (Jer 31:19). This can also mean that his spirit, namely, the Church’s Holy Spirit, may be saved for the faithful in the day of judgment, i.e., that they not destroy it by contact with the sinner, because it says in Wis (1:5): “For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit and will rise and depart from foolish thoughts.”

 

5-2

            1 Cor 5:6-8

6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

238. – After reminding the Corinthians of two crimes, namely, that of the fornicator and that of those who condoned the sin, the Apostle now censures both crimes. First, the crime of condoning his sin; secondly, the sin of the fornication (c. 6). As to the first he does two things: first, he rebukes the Corinthians for failing to pass judgment; secondly, for other vices concerning judgment (c. 6). In regard to the first he does two things: first, he blames them for not casting out the fornicator; secondly, he corrects the false understanding they took from his words (v. 9).

239. – As to the first he does two things: first, he reprehends what they had done; secondly, he shows what should be done (v. 7). First, he reprehends their past crime as to its root; for he had said above that as a result of being puffed up they lack compassion, from which followed their failure to set others straight by correcting them. First of all, therefore, he censures them for being puffed up, saying: Your boasting is not good, because you boast of the defects of others, as though you were without faults. For everyone should boast of the blessings given him by God and not of others: “Let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor” (Gal 6:4). And it is especially evil to glory in the failures of others: “Why do you boast of mischief?” (Ps 51:3).

240. – Secondly, he gives the reason for what he had said, saying: Do you not know that a little leavens the whole lump? As if to say: Certainly you cannot be unaware of this. It should be noted that there are two factors to consider in leaven: the first is the taste it gives to bread. In this way leaven signifies the wisdom of God, through which everything human is rendered tasteful; accordingly, it says in Matt (13:33): “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.” The second factor is corruption. Then in one way leaven can signify sin, because by one sin all of a man’s works are corrupted; for example, by the sin of hypocrisy which is compared to leaven in Lk (12:1): “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” In another way a sinful man himself can be signified by leaven.

241. – And this is precisely the point of his metaphor, for just as the entire lump of dough is corrupted by a little leaven, so by one sinner a whole group can be defiled: “From one spark comes a great fire and from one deceitful man much blood” (Sir 11:34). This happens when by the sin of one person others are prompted to sin or even when they consent to his sin, by not at least correcting him when they can: “They are worthy of death not only who do these things but also who consent to those what do them” (Rom 1:32). Consequently, the Corinthians should not have boasted of another’s sin but rather taken steps to prevent others from being defiled by associating with him, according to what it says in S of S: “As a lily among brambles, so is my love among maidens” (2:2), on which a Gloss says: He was not a good man, who could not endure evil men.”

242. – Then when he says, Cleanse out the old leaven, he shows what should be done in the future: first he presents the teaching; secondly, he assigns reason (v.7).

243. – He says, therefore: Because a little leaven corrupts the whole lump, cleanse out the old leaven, i.e., cleanse yourselves by casting out from your midst the old leaven, i.e., the fornicator who returned to the old state of former corruption by sinning: “You are growing old in a foreign country, you are defiled with the dead” (Bar 3:10). And this is what he says, because by cutting off one sinner the whole group is cleansed; hence when Judas left the Lord said: “Now is the Son of Man glorified” (Jn. 13:31). By the old leaven can also be understood the old error: “The old error is passed away” (Is 26:3), or even the corruption of original sin: “Seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices” (Col 3:9), for a man is cleansed by removing them.

244. – Secondly, he mentions the effect of this cleansing, saying: that you may be a new lump. Here lump means a mixture of water and new flour, before leaven is mixed with it. Therefore, once the leaven, i.e., the sinner or sin, is removed from the faithful, they become as it were a new lump, renewed in purity: “Your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Ps 103:5); “Be renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Eph 4:23). Thirdly, he mentions the form of cleansing should take when he says: as you really are unleavened, i.e., without the leaven of sin. In this sense the Lord says: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Matt 16:6).

245. – Then when he says, For Christ our paschal lamb [pasch] has been sacrificed, he assigns the reason for what he had said, namely, why the faithful should be unleavened and it is taken from the mystery of Christ’s passion. First, therefore, he mentions the mystery; secondly, he concludes to his point (v. 8).

246. – As to the first it should be noted that the most excellent sacrament of the Old Law was the paschal lamb which, as was commanded in Ex (c. 11), was sacrificed by the whole multitude of the children of Israel in commemoration of the event in which the angel striking the first born in Egypt passed by the homes of the Jews, whose posts were smeared with the blood of a lamb. The word “pasch” is derived from this event: “It is the Lord’s Passover” (Ex 12:11). It was in virtue of the blessing that the people passed over the Red Sea (Ex 24:15ff). But this lamb was a figure of the innocent Christ, of Whom it is said: “Behold the Lamb of God” (Jn. 1:36). Therefore, just as that lamb was slain by the children of Israel in order that God’s people be delivered from the avenging angel and after being freed from the slavery under the Egyptians, pass over the Red Sea, so Christ was slain by the children of Israel, in order that God’s people be delivered from the attacks of the devil by His blood and from the slavery of sin by baptism, as though by the Red Sea. Now that lamb was called the pasch of the Jews, because it was immolated as a sign of the passing; hence the disciples ask: “Where do you wish us to prepare for you to eat the pasch?” (Matt 26:17), i.e., the paschal lamb. Therefore, the Apostle says: You ought to be unleavened, for, i.e., because as the pasch of the old people was the sacrificed lamb, so our pasch, i.e., of the new people, is the sacrificed Christ. His immolation deserves the name pasch both by reason of what the word means in Hebrew, namely, passage, and what it means in Greek, namely, “passion”: for Christ passed from this world to the Father by means of the passion, in which He was sacrificed (Jn. 13:1).

247. – Then when he says, Let us, therefore, celebrate, he reaches his conclusion. To understand this it should be noted that the paschal lamb, after being sacrificed, was eaten with unleavened bread. Therefore, just as the paschal lamb was a figure of our sacrificed pasch, so the observance of the new pasch should conform to the old paschal observances. Accordingly, because the sacrificed Christ is our pasch, let us celebrate the festival by eating Christ not only sacramentally: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (Jn. 6:54), but also spiritually by relishing His wisdom: “Those who eat me will hunger for more, and those who drink me will thirst for more” (Sir 24:21), and doing so with spiritual joy: “With glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving; a multitude keeping festival” (Ps 42:4).

248. – Then he describes the way to feast by conforming the truth to the figure, saying, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil. For it was commanded in Ex (c. 12) that no leaven be found in the homes of those eating the paschal lamb. But leaven involves oldness and corruption. Hence the removal of leaven could mean the removal of the obligation to observe the precepts of the Old Law, which was made dead by the passion of Christ: “The new coming on, you shall cast away the old” (Lev 26:10). Secondly, the removal of leaven could mean the removal of the corruption of sin, as we said above, namely, that a little leaven corrupts the whole lump. In this sense, therefore, he says: nor with the leaven of malice and evil, where malice would refer to perverse actions: “Casting away all uncleanness and abundance of malice” (Jas 1:21), and evil to crafty mischief: “When he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven mischiefs in his heart” (Pr 26:25). Or, according to a Gloss when he says, not in the old leaven, he refers to sin in general, but in adding, nor in the leaven of malice and evil, he becomes more precise, because malice refers to sin committed against oneself, and evil a sin against someone else.

249. – Therefore, having set aside the improper way to feast, he describes the proper way when he continues: but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, i.e., in sincerity and truth which are signified by unleavened bread. Here sincerity is set in opposition to the corruption of sin, which he signified when he said: not in the leaven of malice and evil: for sincere means without corruption; hence in 2 Cor (2:17) he says: “We do not adulterate the word of God but with sincerity in Christ we speak.” But truth is set in opposition to the figures of the Old Law, as it says in Jn (1:17): “Truth and grace came by Jesus Christ,” namely, because we should celebrate the true pasch in truth and not in figures. Hence according to a Gloss, by sincerity is understood innocence from vices or newness of life; by truth the righteousness of good works or directness which excludes deception.

 

5-3

            1 Cor 5:9-13

9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with immoral men; 10 not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But rather I wrote to you not to associate with any one who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Drive out the wicked person from among you.”

250. – Above the Apostle had advised the Corinthians to remove a sinner from their midst. But they postponed doing this, because they gave a false interpretation to something he had written in a previous epistle. Consequently, in correcting this misunderstanding he does three things: first, he repeats what he had said in the previous epistle; secondly, he corrects the false interpretation (v. 10); thirdly, he gives the true interpretation (v. 11).

251. – First, therefore, he says: I wrote to you in my letter (which is not in the canon) not to associate with fornicators, i.e., not have any fellowship or communion with them: “My son, walk not with them, restrain your feet from their paths (Pr 1:15); “Give not your soul to harlots in any point” (Sir 9:6).

252. – Then when he says, not at all meaning, he corrects the false interpretation of the above words: first, he states what he does mean; secondly, he draws a conclusion (v. 10b).

253. – In regard to the first it should be noted that the Corinthians had given two false interpretations to his statement. First, they supposed that he was referring to fornicators who are unbelievers. He corrects this when he says: not at all meaning to say that you shall avoid communicating with the fornicators of this world. He refers to unbelievers by the name “world” in keeping with Jn (1:21): “The world has not know him”; “The world did not know God through wisdom” (1 Cor 1:21). Secondly, they falsely supposed that the Apostle’s prohibition referred only to fornicators and not to other sinners. To correct this he now adds: or the greedy, who unjustly retain what belongs to others: “No one who is covetous (which is serving of idols) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God” (Eph 5:5), or robbers, who violently plunder the property of others; or idolaters, against whom it says in Wis (14:27): “The worship of abominable idols is the cause, and the beginning and the end of all evil.” Consequently, the Apostle is prohibiting fellowship not only with fornicators but with all other sinners. It should be noted that by fornication a person sins against himself; by greed and robbery against his neighbor, and by the worship of idols he sins against God. Consequently, in mentioning these he includes every type of sin.

254. – Then when he says, since then, he gives the reason for this clarification, saying: since then, i.e., if he had meant the fornicators of this world, you would need to go out of the world, for the whole world is filled with them; hence you could not avoid them except by going out of this world: “The whole world is in the power of the evil one” (1 Jn. 5:19). Or, you would need to go out of the world, could mean: since you should have been separated from the sinners of this world from the time of your conversion, there is no need to advise you further about this, for it says in Jn (15:19): “I chose you out of the world.” Or again: you would need to go out of the world, i.e., by dying, for it is better for man to die than consent to sinners in sin; hence it says below (9:15): “For I would rather die than have any one deprive me of my ground for boasting.”

255. – Then when he says, But rather, he presents the true interpretation. First, he states his intention; secondly, he assigns a reason (v. 12), thirdly, he draws the intended conclusion (v. 13b).

256. – First, therefore, he says: But rather I shall explain what I have written to you earlier not to associate with fornicators and other sinners, who bear the name of brother in the sense in which the Lord speaks, when he says in Matt (23:8): “You are all brothers.” The Apostle does not say if any man is a brother, but if any man is called a brother, because by mortal sin a man departs from charity, which is the cause of spiritual brotherhood. Hence it say in Heb (13:1): “Let brotherly love continue.” Therefore a man is called a brother on account of the true faith, even though he is not really a brother, if he lacks charity as a result of sin. Hence he adds: if he is guilty of fornication or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard or robber—not even to eat with such a one. “If any one comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into the house or give him any greeting” (2 Jn. 1:10). In other words: when I said that you should not keep company with sinners, I meant with believers who are called brothers and live among you.

257. – [However, by this it should not be understood, as Augustine says in Contra Parmenianum, and as it says here in the Gloss, that someone by an extraordinary judgment should be separated from communion with others, because often one can be mistaken, but rather this ought to be done according to the order of the Church, when someone is expelled from communion as convicted or freely confessed. And this he says clearly, if any are called, so that we understand that designation which is made through the sentence of the Church by a judicial order against someone brought forward. But those who are expelled from communion are to be shunned as to the Table, as it says here, and as to greeting, as it says in what is preached by the authority of John, and further, as to sacred communion. Hence it is said in verse: “the mouth, to pray, farewell communion, the table is denied,’ that is, he is excommunicated.]

258. – It should be noted that the Apostle mentions only mortal sins to show that a man should not be excommunicated except for mortal sin. However, there seems to be some question about one of these sins, namely, drunkenness, which does not always seem to be a moral sin. For Augustine says in a sermon on purgatory that drunkenness, unless it is frequent, is not a mortal sin. I believe the reason for this is that drunkenness is a mortal sin in general. For it seems to be contrary to charity that for the pleasure of wine a man is willing to lose the use of reason and expose himself to the danger of committing many other sins. Yet it might happen that drunkenness is not a mortal sin, because the strength of the wine or one’s own physical weakness were not known. However, this excuse loses its validity, when drunkenness is frequent. Hence it is significant that the Apostle does not say “a drinker” but “a drunkard.” It is noteworthy that to the list given earlier he added two sins, namely, the reviler and the drunkard. Drunkenness is among the class of sins committed against oneself, which includes not only lust but gluttony as well. Reviling is among the sins committed against one’s neighbor, whom a man can harm not only by deed but also by word, by calling down evil upon him or by defaming him, which pertains to detraction, or by speaking evil to his face, which pertains to contumely. All this is included under the notion of reviler, as has been stated.

259. – Then when he says, For what have I, he gives the reason for what he had said. In regard to this he does three things: first, he gives the reason, saying : I have said that this is to be understood of brothers and not unbelievers, for what have I to do, i.e., what business is it of mine to judge, i.e., pass a sentence of condemnation on outsiders, i.e., on unbelievers who are completely outside the Church? For the hierarchy has spiritual power over those alone who have submitted to the faith, as it says in 2 Cor (10:6): “Being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” Indirectly, however, the hierarchy has power over those who are without, inasmuch as it forbids believers to deal with them on account of their guilt.

260. – Secondly, he uses a simile, saying: Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? As if to say: You judge with the same authority as I; hence just as you do not judge anyone but your own, so I also: “A wise judge shall judge his people” (Sir 10:1).

261. – Thirdly, he settles a doubt. For some one might conclude that unbelievers are better for not being condemned for the above mentioned sins. But he rejects this when he says that it is not his business to judge those that are without, for God judges those outside, namely, unbelievers, because as Gregory says in Morals, unbelievers will be condemned without discussion and investigation. This is in line with Jn (3:18): “He that does not believe has already been judged,” i.e., has within himself an obvious cause for condemnation.

262. – Then when he says, Drive out the wicked one, he draws the main conclusion saying: Since my command that you not keep company with fornicators must be understood as referring to believers and not to those who are outside, then drive out the wicked one, i.e., this man, from among you, i.e., expel him from your company: “You shall purge the evil from the midst of you” (Dt 13:5).

263. – These words of the Apostle do not mean that we are forbidden to associate with unbelievers who have never received the faith for their punishment. Yet the weak are cautioned to avoid them, lest they be drawn away. But those strong in the faith can lawfully associate with them and try to convert them, as it says below (10:27): “If an unbeliever invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you.” But unbelievers who once were believers, or received the sacrament of faith, as heretics or apostates from the faith, are excluded from all contact with believers. This is a punishment for them, as it is for other sinners still subject to the power of the Church.