1 Corinthians 5
2 Corinthians chapter 5 is where Paul explains to the believers of the Corinthian church the essence of his ministry and the meaning of living as a new creation in Christ. Through the ministry of death and resurrection, and of reconciliation, Paul emphasizes the identity of Christians and ultimately urges them to live in response to God’s love and grace.
1verseIt is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles, that one has his father’s wife.
2verseYou are arrogant, and didn’t mourn instead, that he who had done this deed might be removed from among you.
3verseFor I most certainly, as being absent in body but present in spirit, have already, as though I were present, judged him who has done this thing.
4verseIn the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together with my spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5verseyou are to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6verseYour boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole lump?
7versePurge out the old yeast, that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place.
8verseTherefore let’s keep the feast, not with old yeast, neither with the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9verseI wrote to you in my letter to have no company with sexual sinners;
10verseyet not at all meaning with the sexual sinners of this world, or with the covetous and extortionists, or with idolaters, for then you would have to leave the world.
11verseBut as it is, I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortionist. Don’t even eat with such a person.
12verseFor what do I have to do with also judging those who are outside? Don’t you judge those who are within?
13verseBut those who are outside, God judges. “Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.”
Verses 1-10: Hope for an Eternal Home
Paul mentions that our physical bodies—like tents of the world—will someday be dismantled, and he shares his assurance of the “eternal home” God has prepared: the body belonging to heaven. He stresses that life on this earth is temporary, but God promises eternal life to the faithful. In this hope, believers are encouraged to live with a constant desire to please the Lord.
Verses 11-17: The Love of Christ and a New Creation
Paul confesses that the love of Christ overwhelms him and his fellow workers, declaring that Jesus’ death and resurrection are for everyone. He tells believers that they should no longer live for themselves, but for the risen Lord. And through encountering Christ, he proclaims the astonishing transformation in which anyone can be born anew as a new creation.
Verses 18-21: The Ministry of Reconciliation and the Mission as an Ambassador
Paul states that God reconciled the world to Himself through Christ, and also that the ministry of reconciliation has been entrusted to believers. Paul describes himself as “an ambassador for Christ,” emphasizing that God is pleading for us to be reconciled to the world on His behalf. This suggests that the Christian mission is not limited to personal salvation, but includes carrying God’s love and the message of reconciliation to the world.
Meditation Points
- Think about how your hope for the present life and the eternal life to come affects your life today.
- Check whether the love of Christ is becoming the driving force behind your life.
- Meditate on how the truth that anyone becomes a new creation in Christ influences the way you look at people who are different from you.
Try Applying It to Yourself
- In my everyday life, am I pursuing a life that pleases God?
- Not only reconciliation with God, but in my relationships with others, am I practicing reconciliation and forgiveness?
- Today, as an ambassador of Christ, think about what message of love you should share with the world—and put it into practice.
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