The Blessed Hope Podcast -- with Dr. Kim Riddlebarger

"A Man Has His Father's Wife" Season Three/Episode Nine (1 Corinthians 5:1-13)

Apr 25, 2024

In a shocking tale from Corinth, a man is living with his father's wife, and the church's leaders are doing nothing about it. Paul’s response reveals his outrage at their arrogance and calls for decisive action. The concept of excommunication features prominently, as he discusses handing the man over to Satan for potential redemption. Kim links this to the Passover analogy, warning that a little sin can infect the entire community. The discussion emphasizes that discipline should aim for restoration, not just punishment, making it clear that accountability among believers is essential.

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INSIGHT

Tolerance Undercuts Church Witness

Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for tolerating sexual immorality that even pagans condemn.
He commands removal of the offender to protect the church's integrity and witness.

INSIGHT

Discipline Aims At Restoration

Excommunication serves both corrective and protective purposes for the church.
Paul expects removal to pressure repentance so the sinner might be saved on judgment day.

ANECDOTE

Scandal Spreads Quickly In Church

The Corinthian scandal was widely known in the church, illustrating how gossip and publicity functioned then as now.
Kim notes that Christians then were like Christians now in how everyone knows when something happens.

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Episode Synopsis:

When passing through Ephesus, where Paul was living at the time, members of Chloe’s family informed Paul of a situation in the Corinthian church of such a serious nature that Paul is taken aback. A man in the Corinthian church (presumably known to the church but unnamed by Paul) is cohabiting with his father’s wife. Such conduct was scandalous to the point that even the sexually libertine Greco-Roman pagans were offended by it. While the man’s conduct was shameful, what troubles Paul more is that the leaders of the Corinthian church had done nothing about it.

In chapter 5 of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, Paul exhorts them to excommunicate the man so as to turn him over to Satan so that he might be saved on the day of judgment. What Paul means by this is a matter of some controversy and we will address it in detail in this episode. Paul tells the Corinthians that he has already pronounced judgment about the matter, and even though he cannot come to them in person, he is with them in spirit. They must act and remove the man from the church.

Paul’s exhortation to act must be seen in light of the removal of leaven in an act of “cleansing the temple,” along with the practice of the removal of all leaven from Jewish homes on the eve of the annual Passover celebration. Leaven symbolizes uncleanness, and the danger it poses is that even a small amount quickly spreads throughout the loaf rendering the whole unclean. Since the Corinthian church is the spiritual temple of Christ they cannot allow such scandalous immorality in their midst.

Paul also learns that the Corinthians had badly misunderstood his prior letter to them. They took his exhortation not to be “mixed up” with sexually immoral people as though Paul meant that they should avoid contact with all non-Christians. Paul takes this opportunity to correct them. The Corinthians have it backwards. They are not to judge non-Christians. God will do that. But they are to judge those in their midst who claim to be followers of Christ but who still live like pagans.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/