1 Corinthians 5:2

5:2 The Corinthian Christians were proud (see 4:8, 10, 18; 5:6), when they should have been mourning in sorrow and shame over such sin among them. • remove this man from your fellowship: This instruction might presuppose that the man had refused their appeals, or that such blatant sin required immediate discipline (cp. Matt 18:15-18).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1Co 5:2. Καὶ ὑμεῖς, and ye) He presses their sin home to them.—πεφυσιωμένοι, puffed up) [as if you were free from blame in the matter.—V.g.]—The force of the word is evident from its antithesis, to mourn.—ἐστε, ye are) hitherto.—ἐπενθήσατε, you have mourned) Paul himself wrote these words mourning, nay weeping; 2Co 2:4; we should mourn over the transgressions of others; 2Co 12:21, and repent of our own; and we should do both as regards the first and original sin.—ἵνα, that) you have felt no grief, which might stir you up, that, etc.—ἀρθῆ, he might be taken away) Paul has already in his mind what he is about to write at 1Co 5:13.—αἴρειν is a milder word here, than ἐξαίρειν afterwards.[38]

[38] Τὸ ἔργον, the daring deed) It was a wicked action, without marriage.—V. g.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_5:2. A question suddenly introduced with and, laying bare the incongruity of this state of things with the attitude previously noticed (see Hartung, Partikell. I. p. 146 f.).

ὑμεῖς emphatic: Ye, the people among whom so disgraceful a thing can occur; for κοινὸν πάντων τὸ ἔγκλημα γέγονε, Chrysostom.

πεφυσ. ἐστέ] What is meant is the spiritual self-conceit already censured (1Co_4:6 ff., 1Co_4:18) regarding the lofty degree of Christian wisdom and perfection in general, which they supposed themselves to have reached; not pride in the incestuous person himself, who is conceived to have been a highly-esteemed teacher (Chrysostom, Theophylact, Grotius).

ἐπενθήσ.] are fallen into distress (penitential mourning), for by reason of the fellowship between Christians (comp 1Co_12:26) ἜΔΕΙ ΠΕΝΘῆΣΑΙ, ΔΙΌΤΙ ΕἸς ΤῸ ΚΟΙΝῸΝ Τῆς ἘΚΚΛΗΣΊΑς Ἡ ΔΙΑΒΟΛῊ ΠΡΟΕΧΏΡΗΣΕΝ, Theophylact, comp Chrysostom.

ἽΝΑ ἈΡΘῇ Κ.Τ.Λ[759]] The design which, according to the apostles view, the ἐπενθ. ought to have had, and the attainment of which would have been its result, had it taken place: in order that he might be removed, etc. It intensifies and completes the contrast with their conceited self-assurance, and leads appropriately to the introduction of his own judicial sentence, which comes in, 1Co_5:3, with ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ κ.τ.λ[760]; all the less, therefore, is ἽΝΑ ἈΡΘῇ Κ.Τ.Λ[761] to be regarded as forming such a judicial utterance (Pott, Hofmann) standing forth with imperative independence: Away with him, etc. (see on 2Co_8:7). That does not come in until 1Co_5:13.

ἔργον] facinus, the nature of which is shown by the context. See Ellendt, Lex. Soph. I. p. 671.

[759] .τ.λ. καὶ τὰ λοιπά.

[760] .τ.λ. καὶ τὰ λοιπά.

[761] .τ.λ. καὶ τὰ λοιπά.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co 5:2 . What are the Cor [805] doing under this deep disgrace? Not even grieving . Καὶ ὑμεῖς πεφυσιωμένοι ἐστέ ; κ . τ . λ .: “And are you (still) puffed up? and did you not rather mourn?” For the grammatical force of πεφυσ . ἐστέ , see parls. in 1Co 1:10 , 1Co 4:8 ; and for the vb [806] , note to 1Co 4:6 . P. confronts the pride of the Cor [807] Church with this crushing fact; no intellectual brilliance, no religious enthusiasm, can cover this hideous blot: “argumentatur a contrario, ubi enim luctus est, cessit gloria” (Cv [808] ). The ver. is best read interrogatively , in view of the οὐχὶ in 2nd clause ( cf. 1Co 1:20 ), and in Paul’s expostulatory style ( cf. 1Co 4:7 f.). ἐπενθήσατε (see parls.) connotes funeral mourning over “a brother dead to God, by sin, alas! undone;” the tense signifies “ going into mourning” “breaking out in grief” (Ev [809] ) when you heard of it. Of such grief the fit sequel is expressed by ἵνα ἄρθῃ ἐκ μέσου ὑμῶν , “that he should be removed from your midst, who so perpetrated this deed”. This is the later Gr [810] “sub-final” ἵνα , of the desired result: see Wr [811] , p. 420; Bm [812] , p. 237; cf. 1Co 14:12 f. πράξας , as distinguished from ποιήσας (T.R.), implies quality in the action (see parls.).

[805] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

[806] verb

[807] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

[808] Calvin’s In Nov. Testamentum Commentarii .

[809] T. S. Evans in Speaker’s Commentary .

[810] Greek, or Grotius’ Annotationes in N.T.

[811] Winer-Moulton’s Grammar of N.T. Greek (8th ed., 1877).

[812] A. Buttmann’s Grammar of the N.T. Greek (Eng. Trans., 1873).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_5:2

And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.

They were puffed up, i.e. elated with the conceit of their good estate, notwithstanding they were tolerating in their communion a crime which even the heathen abhorred. Some have endeavored to account for the occurrence of such an offense, and for the remissness of the church in relation to it, by supposing that both the offender and the church acted on the principle taught by many of the Jews, that all bonds of relationship were dissolved by conversion. The proselyte to Judaism became a new creature. He received a new name. His father was no longer his father, or his mother his mother. The Rabbins therefore taught that a proselyte might lawfully marry any of his nearest kindred. It is possible that such a notion may have partially prevailed among the Jewish portion of the church; but not very probable,

1. Because of its absurdity;

2. Because its prevalence among the Jews was only after their reprobation as a people;

3. Because the wiser class of the Jews themselves condemned it.

It is more probable, if the crime was defended at all, it was on the principle that the Scriptures and nature condemn intermarriages on the ground only of consanguinity and not also of affinity. A principle opposed to Leviticus 18, and to what the apostle here teaches.

And have not rather mourned (ἐπενθήσατε), i.e. grieved for yourselves. Your condition, instead of filling you with pride, should humble you and make you sad. That (ἵνα), not so that, but in order that, as expressing the design which the apostle contemplated in their humiliation and sorrow. Comp. Joh_11:15. I would that ye were grieved and sorry for yourselves, in order that he who had done this deed might be taken away. The ἵνα may depend on a word implied. Ye have not mourned, desiring that, etc. Chrysostom says the idea is, that they should have acted as they would have done had a pestilence appeared among them which called for mourning and supplication in order that it might be removed. It is a right inherent in every society, and necessary for its existence, to judge of the qualification of its own members; to receive those whom it judges worthy, and to exclude the unworthy. This right is here clearly recognized as belonging to the church. It is also clear from this passage that this right belongs to each particular church or congregation. The power was vested in the church of Corinth, and not in some officer presiding over that church. The bishop or pastor was not reproved for neglect of discipline; but the church itself, in its organized capacity.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

There are none more proud, than they that least know themselves.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

puffed up--with your own wisdom and knowledge, and the eloquence of your favorite teachers: at a time when ye ought to be "mourning" at the scandal caused to religion by the incest. Paul mourned because they did not mourn (Co2 2:4). We ought to mourn over the transgressions of others, and repent of our own (Co2 12:21) [BENGEL].

that--ye have not felt such mourning as would lead to the result that, &c.

taken away from among you--by excommunication. The incestuous person was hereby brought to bitter repentance, in the interval between the sending of the first and second Epistles (Co2 2:5-10). Excommunication in the Christian Church corresponded to that in the Jewish synagogue, in there being a lighter and heavier form: the latter an utter separation from church fellowship and the Lord's house, the former exclusion from the Lord's Supper only but not from the Church.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. Ye are puffed up] Ye are full of strife and contention relative to your parties and favourite teachers, and neglect the discipline of the Church. Had you considered the greatness of this crime, ye would have rather mourned, and have put away this flagrant transgressor from among you.

Taken away from among you.] Ἱνα εξαρθη εκ μεσου υμων. This is supposed by some to refer to the punishment of death, by others to excommunication. The Christian Church was at this time too young to have those forms of excommunication which were practised in succeeding centuries. Probably no more is meant than a simple disowning of the person, accompanied with the refusal to admit him to the sacred ordinances, or to have any intercourse or connection with him.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. And ye are puffed up “Are ye not ashamed,” says he, “to glory in what affords so much occasion for humiliation?” He had observed previously, that even the highest excellence gives no just ground of glorying, inasmuch as mankind have nothing of their own, and it is only through the grace of God that they possess any excellence. (1 Corinthians 4:7.) Now, however, he attacks them from another quarter. “You are,” says he, “covered with disgrace: what ground have you, then, for pride or haughtiness? For there is an amazing blindness in glorying in the midst of disgrace, in spite, as it were of angels and men.”

When he says, and have not rather mourned, he argues by way of contrast; for where there is grief there is no more glorying. It may be asked: “Why ought they to have mourned over another man’s sin?” I answer, for two reasons: first, in consequence of the communion that exists among the members of the Church, it was becoming that all should feel hurt at so deadly a fall on the part of one of their number; and secondly, when such an enormity is perpetrated in a particular Church, the perpetrator of it is all offender in such a way, that the whole society is in a manner polluted. For as God humbles the father of a family in the disgrace of his wife, or of his children, and a whole kindred in the disgrace of one of their number, so every Church ought to consider, that it contracts a stain of disgrace whenever any base crime is perpetrated in it. Nay, farther, we see how the anger of God was kindled against the whole nation of Israel on account of the sacrilege of one individual — Achan. (Joshua 7:1.) It was not as though God had been so cruel as to take vengeance on the innocent for another man’s crime; but, as in every instance in which anything of this nature has occurred among a people, there is already some token of his anger, so by correcting a community for the fault of one individual, he distinctly intimates that the whole body is infected and polluted with the contagion of the offense. Hence we readily infer, that it is the duty of every Church to mourn over the faults of individual members, as domestic calamities belonging to the entire body. And assuredly a pious and dutiful correction takes its rise in our being inflamed with holy zeal through displeasure at the offense; for otherwise severity will be felt to be bitter.

That he might be taken away from among you. He now brings out more distinctly what he finds fault with in the Corinthians — remissness, inasmuch as they connived at such an abomination. Hence, too, it appears that Churches are furnished with this power — that, whatever fault there is within them, they can correct or remove it by strictness of discipline, and that those are inexcusable that are not on the alert to have filth cleared away. For Paul here condemns the Corinthians. Why? Because they had been remiss in the punishment of one individual. Now he would have accused them unjustly, if they had not had this power. Hence the power of excommunication is established from this passage. On the other hand, as Churches have this mode of punishment put into their hands, those commit sin, as Paul shows here, that do not make use of it, when it is required; for otherwise he would act unfairly to the Corinthians in charging them with this fault.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(2) And ye are puffed up.—Better, And are ye puffed up? &c. We have instances of similar sentences beginning with “and,” Luk_10:29. The Apostle cannot mean that they actually gloried in this act of sin, but that their temper of mind was of that kind which he has already described in the earlier chapters, puffing themselves up, one against another, in party rivalry, instead of being united in one common grief by this common cause, which would lead them as one man to remove from among them the person who had done this deed.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. And ye are (lit. have been) puffed up, and have not rather mourned] Puffed up. Vulgate, inflati. Tyndale, ye swell. Wiclif, are bolnun, i.e. swollen with pride. It sheds a terrible light upon the self-satisfaction of the Corinthian Church, that it was not disturbed by such a scandal as this.

might be taken away from among you] The power of excommunication, that is of separating from the Christian society those whose lives were a disgrace to the Christian profession, has always been a power claimed by the Church of Christ. Our own Church declares that it is “much to be wished” that such discipline could be restored among ourselves. But the power has unquestionably been misused, and the consequence of its abuse has been to a great extent to take away its use.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And ye are puffed up,.... Either with the gifts, learning, and eloquence of their preachers, and particularly of this man, who, by some, is thought to be one of their teachers; and though he was guilty of so foul a crime, yet they still applauded him, and cried him up for a wonderful preacher: or one party was puffed up against another; that which was opposite to the party this man belonged to, boasting over the other as free from the scandal that was exposed unto; or the other were puffed up with their lenity and forbearance, boasting of it as an act of humanity and good nature, and an instance of charity, showing that they were not severe upon one another, for mistakes in life: or else were puffed up and gloried in the thing itself, as an instance of Christian liberty, and their freedom from the law, through a sad mistake of it; and in which they might be strengthened by a notion of the Jews, that it was lawful for proselyted Gentiles to do such things, for so says Maimonides (b).

"The sentence of the law is, that it is free for a Gentile , "to marry his mother", or his sister that are made proselytes; but the wise men forbid this thing, that they may not say we are come from a holiness that is heavy, to one that is light.''

But this writer concludes that a proselyte might marry his father's brother's wife, and his father's wife; and so says his commentator (c), and observes, that it was the opinion of R. Akiba, which Rabbi was contemporary with the Apostle Paul: so that this notion prevailed in his days, and does in some measure account for the commission of such a sin by a church member, and the church's negligence about it:

and have not rather mourned; not only personally, and separately, but as a body; they ought to have met together as a church, and humbled themselves before God for this scandalous iniquity done in the midst of them, and pray unto him,

that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you; not by excommunication, for that they could and ought to have done themselves; but by the immediate hand of God, inflicting some visible punishment, and taking him away by an untimely death, which the Jews call "cutting off", by the hand of God; and such a punishment, they say, this crime deserved; according to them, there were six and thirty cuttings off in the law, or so many things which deserved death by the hand of God; and the two first that are mentioned are these, he that lies with his mother or with his father's wife (d).

(b) Hilchot lssure Bia, c. 14. sect. 12, 13. (c) Auctor Ceseph Misna in ib. (d) Misn. Ceritot, c. 1. sect. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.

Ver. 2. And ye are puffed up] And yet ye are puffed up (so Piscator reads it), viz. with your spiritual gifts, and your brave teachers; whereas you have more cause to be cast down for your other men’s sins now made yours, because unlamented by you. There were great divisions among them at this time; and when this incest occured, the other faction thought they had an advantage against the whole party, and this puffed them up, -Nay, do ye not see what one of them hath done, &c.

And have not rather mourned] That any of you should incur the censure of excommunication; at which time they did anciently fast and lament.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And ye are puffed up - See the note at 1Co 4:18. You are filled with pride, and with a vain conceit of your own wisdom and purity, notwithstanding the existence of this enormous wickedness in your church. This does not mean that they were puffed up, or proud on account of the existence of this wickedness, but they were filled with pride notwithstanding, or in spite of it. They ought to have been a humbled people. They should have mourned; and should have given their first attention to the removal of the evil. But instead of this, they had given indulgence to proud feeling, and had become elated with a vain confidence in their spiritual purity. People are always elated and proud when they have the least occasion for it.

And have not rather mourned ... - Have not rather been so afflicted and troubled as to take the proper means for removing the offence. The word “mourn” here is taken in that large sense. Ye have not been “so much” afflicted - so troubled with the existence of this wickedness, as to take the proper measures to remove the offender - Acts of discipline in the church should always commence with mourning that there is occasion for it. It should not be anger, or pride, or revenge, or party feeling, which prompt to it. It should be deep grief that there is occasion for it; and tender compassion for the offender.

Might be taken away - By excommunication. He should not, while he continues in this state, be allowed to remain in your communion.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

You are puffed up, seem to be unconcerned, to take pride in it, instead of having the man separated from you. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

And ye are puffed up; you are so conceited of your own parts and gifts, and are so full of your contentions about the preference of ministers, and things of little concernment to your souls and the interest of the church, that you have not been able to find leisure to deal with this scandalous person, as a church of Christ ought to have done. This seemeth rather the reason of their not mourning, than any rejoicing in iniquity, as if they had thought the gospel had opened that door against this licentiousness which the law had shut, or triumphed in this incestuous person, being one of their teachers (which can hardly be thought).

And have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you: they ought rather to have mourned, keeping times of fasting and prayer, on the behalf of this scandalous member amongst them, that his sin might (upon his due sense of it, and repentance for it) have been forgiven him, and the blot upon their church, by their having such a one in their fellowship, might be washed out, by his being cast out of their fellowship and communion. It was no time for them to glory in their gifts, and be puffed up with the parts of their teachers or members, when they had such a blot upon them by a putrid member that was amongst them. They had a great deal more cause for humiliation, than for pride and glorying.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. Puffed up—Note on 1Co_4:6. Neither shame nor grief over this foul sin reduced their inflation. Sensuality was a fashionable indulgence in Corinth. The precise shape and rigidity of Christian ethics were not in their minds fixed; the Church took the matter easily; neither its exultation over its worldly prosperity, nor its pride in possession of spiritual gifts, was toned down.

Rather mourned—Instead of indifference and persistent pride the whole Church should have melted in grief for the downfall of this one man. The Christian body should have sympathetic nerves for the sin or sorrow of each and every member.

That—To the end that. Their grief should have prompted them to the instant removal of the sin, even at the expense of the excommunication of the sinner.

Taken away—By the law of Christ, the great head of the Church. That not by death but by excommunication is meant, is clear from Paul’s directions 1Co_5:4-5.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And ye are puffed up; perhaps rather, And have ye been puffed up? The "ye," being expressed m the Greek, is emphatic the very persons whose horror ought to have been most intense." It might seem inconceivable that any community calling itself Christian would fall so low as to be puffed up at the existence of such an offence among them. There is, indeed, a subtle and close connection between arrogance and sensuality, and beth are sometimes fatally linked to the conceit of religious knowledge without the reality. But not even a heathen community could have been "puffed up" on such grounds. Yet the Corinthians may have been "puffed up" with the conceited reasons which induced them to leave the offence unrebuked, because they boasted the possession of some spurious "knowledge." Perhaps they bad seized some deadly notion of antinomian liberty, such as has existed at times among Gnostic sects, like the Ophites in ancient and the Anabaptists in modern days. Perhaps they sheltered themselves under the arrogant Jewish rule that all a man"s conditions of life were altered by becoming a proselyte that old relationships were for him entirely abolished; for the Jews held that a prosolyte was like "a newborn child," and had begun life a second time (Bechoroth, f. 47, 1), and might marry any of his relatives. Such miserable sophisms would acquire fresh force from the universal impurity with which Corinthian society was stained, and which rendered it necessary for St. Paul in these Epistles to utter his most solemn warnings against every kind of sensuality. (1Co_5:11 1Co_6:15-18 1Co_10:8 1Co 15:83, 1Co_15:34; 2Co_5:11, etc.) But besides all this, St. Paul"s remark does not necessarily mean that their "inflation" was exclusively connected with Gnostic excesses, which bore on the ease of this offender. It may mean, "Here is a gross fault in the midst of you, and yet not propter hoc, but cum hoc the characteristic of your religious factions is pride and conceit." This was indeed Korinqiazesqai, "to play the Corinthian," in the worst sense, of that proverbial taunt. Possibly the prominence or wealth of the offender may have led to a more easy condonation of his crime. Exculpatory sophism may have been suggested by self interest. That; i.e. in order that, as a result of your godly sorrow, the offender might be removed from your midst. He that hath done this deed. The language of St. Paul, as always, is as delicate as clearness would allow. The fact that the verb is in the past aorist may perhaps allow us to hope that the offence, at any rate in its most aggravated forms, had ceased to be committed. The manner of the crime ("in such a way") seems to have been an aggravation of the crime itself. In this indignant verse we have, as Stanley says, "the burst of the storm, the mutterings of which had been heard in the earlier chapters." So intense was the effect produced by St. Paul"s stern severity, that a great part of the Second Epistle had to be devoted to allaying the agitation which these words had excited. (see especially 2Co_7:8-12)

HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Vers. 2-5.

Right feeling towards erring brethren.

There have been a great variety of forms in which men have attempted to associate religion and immorality. Multiplied explanations and excuses have been given, if so be the indulgence of the immoral may be maintained; but it remains as searchingly true as ever it was, that into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour here or yonder nothing entereth that "defileth, or worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: and that every Christian man should know how to possess the vessel of his body in sanctification and honour, net being "conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of his mind." He is to "come out from the world, and to be separate, and in no wise touch the unclean thing." There were special forms of sensuality characteristic of and encouraged by paganism; but the sin into which the member of the Christian Church at Corinth had fallen was one which would be utterly repudiated and condemned by Gentile and Jew alike. It was one wholly subversive of family and social relations; and anything approaching to the toleration of it in the Christian Church would seriously imperil its character, and give at least apparent ground for the shameful accusations which its enemies brought against it. For the Levitical law upon the matter, Lev_18:8. In advising the Church as to its mode of dealing with this erring brother, there is an unusual severity in the apostle"s language; and this is accounted for rather by the attitude which he understood the Church had taken towards the offender, than by his sense of the enormity of the offence. St. Paul"s supreme jealousy was ever concerning the purity, good order, and moral worth of the Churches. He seems to have highly valued character in the individual and in the Church as being the best witness among men for Christ. He strongly affirmed the absolute necessity of the connection between morality and Christianity, and based his argument on this foundation principle our whole being, spirit, mind, and body, is the Lord"s; and this whole being is redeemed in Christ, and is to be, in actual fact, wholly won and held for Christ. It may also be noted, in introducing the subject, that our idea as to the purity, unity, and model order of the early Church is quite a fanciful one. Probably there was no separate Church of those times that came anywhere near realizing the Christian ideal. We consider, from these verses, two things.

I THE SIN OF A CHRISTIAN PROFESSOR. It may be shown:

1. Whence it may come.

(1) from relics of old evil;

(2) from circumstances reviving old feeling;

(3) from neglect of due self watchfulness and culture;

(4) from undue fulness of eating and drinking;

(5) from the friendship of those who may lead astray;

(6) from sudden influx of bodily passion; and

(7) from actual occasions of temptation.

Though regenerate in will and life principle, the Christian must never forget that he is not free from the relics of evil in his nature and habits, or from the influence of evil in his surroundings; and therefore he constantly needs the counsel, "Watch and be sober." It should be especially pointed out that the most perilous temptations to which Christian professors are subject are those which come suddenly, reaching them at moments when some unguardedness or some self confidence lays them open to assault.

2. How it may gain its support. Here only one point is dwelt on. The apostle is anxious about the perversion of Christian doctrine to the excusing of sin. In many ways what is known as the antinomian spirit has been made the excuse of sin. It cannot be too constantly affirmed that, so far from releasing its members from the claims and obligations of the moral Law, Christianity presses them with tenfold urgency, for it demands an obedience that shall not be merely formal, but one that concerns motive and feeling and will. See the teaching of our Lord in Mat_5:17-48.

II THE RELATION OF FELLOW PROFESSORS TO SUCH SIN. No doubt, at Corinth, each individual Christian would strongly and decidedly condemn this erring brother, but party spirit was so rife in the Church, that some took his side, and laboured to find excuses for him, or to secure the continuance of his membership. It is still found most difficult to carry out the due discipline of the Church, seeing that party feeling gathers round even the drunken, the dishonest, and the immoral. It is, indeed, important that all judicial action should be taken by the Church itself, and that individuals should not have independent authority to exclude or to punish, but only right of speaking and of acting in the Church"s name. St. Paul urges:

1. That every effort should be made to cherish and to inculcate right sentiment concerning the sin.

2. That action should be taken which would clear the Church of any suspicion of complicity in or approval of the sin. It must be made quite plain that the sin is the sin of an individual, and is an outrage on the Church"s principles and purity.

3. And the action must be taken in such a way as may hopefully bear on the recovery of the sinner from his sin. This appears to be the idea of St. Paul in the figure of "delivering to Satan." The sinner was to be given over for a while to suffer the miserable consequences of his sin, but only in the hope that he would be humbled and brought to penitence and confession; and this seems to have been the result in the case of the Corinthian offender.

In conclusion, press that

(1) the moral purity of the Christian Church should be the supreme anxiety of every member of it; and

(2) that the maintenance of such purity is quite consistent with the fullest Christian charity, which, through all its dealings, keeps steadily in view the reformation of the offender. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Are ye puffed up? Should ye not rather have mourned - Have solemnly humbled yourselves, and at that time of solemn mourning have expelled that notorious sinner from your communion?

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

And ye are puffed up

What contempt this pours upon the divisions among the Corinthians: "Apollonians," and "Paulinians," and "Cephasites," all alike indifferent to this instance of gross sin!

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Here note, 1. The fault charged upon the church: they did not censure this offender, therefore the apostle censures them. The tolerating of scandalous sins in particular members of churches, is a thing very displeasing to Christ, and offensive to his ministers.

Note, 2. As they did not censure the offenders, so neither did they mourn for the offence, as they should and ought to have done.

Learn, That the falls of particular members of churches are a just cause of mourning to the whole church: as members of the same body, we should sympathize with one another; what the natural members do, the mystical members ought to do.

Note, 3. The cause of both, why they did neither censure the offender, nor mourn for the offence: they were puffed up; partly with pride of their own gifts, and partly with vain-glory, upon account of their admired teachers. Now this pride hindered their sorrow; a proud man is seldom a compassionate man; true humility will teach us to lament and bewail others’ frailty. Ye are puffed up, and have not mourned; the original word, to mourn, seems to refer to a custom in the primitive time, when Christians put on solemnly mourning attire, and bewailed excommunicate persons as those that are dead. These Corinthians being puffed up with pride, were so far from their compassionate mourning over this incestuous person, that they rather rejoiced at it, and insulted over that party to whom this person belonged. So prone are persons to rejoice at the downfall of others, either by sin, or by affliction!

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. “And you have been puffed up, and did not rather mourn, in order that the one having done this deed may be taken from your midst.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And ye are puffed up, and did not rather mourn, that he that had done this deed might be taken away from among you . [Our last section shows in what manner they had been puffed up. Had they been mourning over their real sinfulness, instead of priding themselves in their philosophical knowledge, this offender would have been taken away by excommunication.]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. And ye are puffed up. In the face of such a scandal, such a disgrace upon the church of which he is a member, ye are still puffed up, instead of being humiliated and covered with a sense of shame. To manifest sorrow was your duty, and to take such steps that the evil doer might be taken away from among you by means of church discipline. The early church mourned those who fell into licentious or other grievous sins as dead (Origen), and if they repented, received then as risen from the dead.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

2. ὑμεῖς πεφυσιωμένοι ἐστέ. Ye have been puffed up. The ὑμεῖς has an emphasis. ‘Ye, who have been so far from the enlightenment of the true Christian as to condone an offence like this, are actually filled with a sense of your own excellence.’

καὶ οὐχὶ μᾶλλον ἐπενθήσατε. And did not rather mourn. It sheds a terrible light upon the self-satisfaction of the Corinthian Church, that it was not disturbed by such a scandal as this.

ἵνα. The context here seems rather to suggest the result than the means. St Paul does not mean that the mourning would of itself bring about the expulsion of the offender, but that, if they had mourned, it would have been evidence of a spirit which would bring about that result.

ἀρθῇ ἐκ μέσου. An Hebraism. See for instance Jos 4:18 (Heb. and LXX.). Also in N. T. Mat 13:49; Act 17:33, and in St Paul’s Epistles 2Co 6:17; Col 2:14; 2Th 2:7. The power of excommunication, that is of separating from the Christian society those whose lives were a disgrace to the Christian profession, has always been a power claimed by the Church of Christ. Our own Church declares that it is ‘much to be wished’ that such discipline could be restored among ourselves. But the power has unquestionably been misused, and the consequence of its abuse has been to a great extent to take away its use.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2.] καί often introduces a question, especially one by which something inconsistent or preposterous is brought out,—see reff.: and note on 2Co 2:2.

πεφυς. ἐστέ] Not, which would be absurd,—at the occurrence of this crime, οὐκ ἐπὶ τῷ ἁμαρτήματι· τοῦτο γὰρ ἀλογίας. Chrys.: neither, as he proceeds,—ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ τῇ ἐκείνου, imagining the offender to have been some party teacher: so also Theophyl.:—but as before, with a notion of their own wisdom and spiritual perfection: the being puffed up is only cum hoc, not propter hoc.

ἐπενθήσατε] And did ye not rather mourn (viz. when the crime became first known to you), in order that (your mourning would be because of the existence of the evil, i.e. with a view to its removal) he who did this deed (the past part. ποιήσας is itself used from the past point of time indicated by ἐπενθήσατε, and must therefore be expressed by the past) might (may) be removed from among you (viz. by your casting him out from your society)?

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. καὶ ὑμεῖς. The pronoun is emphatic; ‘you, among whom this enormity has taken place and is notorious, you are puffed up.’ He does not mean that they were puffed up because of this outrage, as if it were a fine assertion of Christian freedom, but in spite of it. It ought to have humbled them to the dust, and yet they still retained their self-satisfied complacency. WH., Tisch., Treg. and RV. marg. make this verse interrogative; ‘Are ye puffed up? Did ye not rather mourn?’ But the words are more impressive as the statement of an amazing and shocking fact: οὐχί is not always interrogative (10:29; Luk 12:51, Luk 12:13:3, Luk 12:5, Luk 12:16:30; Joh 9:9, Joh 9:13:10, Joh 9:11). Their morbid selfimportance, which made them so intolerant of petty wrongs (6:7), made them very tolerant of deep disgrace.

ἐπενθήσατε. ‘Mourned,’ as if for one who was dead.

ἵνα αρθῇ. The ἵνα indicates, not the purpose of the mourning, but the result of it, contemplated as its normal effect (see on 1:15). A proper Christian instinct would have led them to have expelled the guilty person in irrepressible horror at his conduct.

ὁ τὸ ἔργον τοῦτο πράξας. Qui hoc facinus patravit (Beza). The language is purposely vague, but the context suggests a bad meaning: πράξας (not ποιήσας) indicates a moral point of view. The attitude of the Corinthian Christians towards such conduct is probably to be accounted for by traditional Corinthian laxity.* It is said that the Rabbis evaded the Mosaic prohibitions of such unions (Lev 20:11; Deu 22:30) in the case of proselytes. A proselyte made an entirely new start in life and cut off all his former relationships; therefore incest, in his case, was impossible, for he had no relations, near or distant. It is not likely that this evasion of the Mosaic Law, if already in existence, was known to the Corinthians and had influenced them.

L has ἐξαρθῇ for ἄρθῇ (א A B C D E F G P); and B D E F G L P have ποιήσας for πράξας (א A C 17, and other cursives). It is not easy to decide in this latter case, and editors are divided. Compare 2Co 12:21; Rom 1:32, Rom 2:1-3.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vv. 2. “And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. ”

Even this fact has not sufficed to disturb the proud self-satisfaction which he has already rebuked in the Corinthians in the previous chapter, or to make them come down from the celestial heights on which they are now walking to the real state of things.

The word πεφυσιωμένοι, puffed up, goes back on the words, 1Co 4:6 (φυσιοῦσθε), and especially v. 19 (τῶν πεφυσιωμένων). What have they done, those grand talkers, in view of this monstrous scandal? This is what the apostle called “having speech but not power.” Should not this moral catastrophe have opened their eyes to the fallen state in which their Church lay? Calvin admirably says: “Ubi luctus est, ibi cessat gloriatio.”

A living Church, which had in it the δύναμις of its Head, would have risen as one man, and gone into a common act of humiliation and mourning, like a family for the death of one of its members. This is what is expressed by the verb πενθεῖν, to conduct a mourning.

The aorist ἐπενθήσατε cannot merely designate a feeling of inward grief. It shows that Paul is thinking of a positive, solemn deed, of something like a day of repentance and fasting, on which the whole Church before the Lord deplored the scandal committed, and cried to Him to bring it to an end.

The words, that might be taken away, are referred by most commentators to the excommunication which the Church would not have failed to pronounce upon the guilty one as the result of such an act of humiliation. Calvin says without hesitation, “The power of excommunication is established by this passage.” But it seems to me that neither the conjunction that nor the passive might be taken away is suitable to an act which the Corinthians should have done themselves. The that rather indicates a result which would be produced, independently of them, in consequence of the mourning called for by the apostle. It is the same with the passive form might be taken away. If Paul had thought of an exclusion pronounced by the Church itself, he would have said: “That ye might take away;” or, better still, “Ye have not mourned, and then taken away the offender.” At the most he would have said, “Ye have not mourned, so that (ὥστε) he might be taken away.” Whether we refer the ἵνα to the intention which would have dictated the mourning (Meyer, Edwards), or to that of the apostle who calls for it (de Wette), we do not sufficiently account for it, any more than for the passive form might be taken away. It must be confessed, it seems to me, that in Paul’s view he who does the act of taking away is different from him who mourns, though the mourning is the condition of his intervening to strike. This is what the Corinthians should have known well, and this is precisely the reason why they should have mourned that he whose part it was to take away might act. The mysterious arm, which, if the Church had felt its shame, would have removed it by striking the guilty one, can only be the arm of God Himself. To the grief and prayer of the Church He would have responded in a way similar to that in which He had acted, on the words of Peter, toward Ananias and Sapphira, or as He was acting at that very time at Corinth, by visiting with sickness, and even with death, the profaners of the Supper (1Co 11:30-32).

Hofmann sees that in the ordinary construction these expressions cannot apply to an act done by the Church. And, as he does not suppose that the term can designate anything else than excommunication, he begins a new sentence with ἵνα, regarding this conjunction, with Pott, as the periphrasis of an imperative: “Let such a man be taken away from among you (by a sentence of excommunication)!” No doubt the ἵνα, that, is sometimes used thus. But it is hard to see how such an order would harmonize with what follows, where Paul relates what he has done to make up for what the Corinthians had not done. Besides, this construction would here be entirely unexpected and far from natural. The ἐξαρθῇ of the T. R. is taken from 1Co 5:13. The reading should be ἀρθῇ, with most of the Mjj.

The verb αἴρειν, or ἐξαίρειν, is ordinarily used in Leviticus and Deuteronomy to denote the capital punishment inflicted on malefactors in Israel; comp. also the ἀπαρθῇ, Mat 9:15, and parallel, applied to the Messiah’s violent death.

In saying from among you, Paul is certainly thinking of the way in which he had characterized his readers at the beginning of his letter: “Sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by call.” How could one guilty of adultery and incest have a place in such an assembly!

The term τὸ ἔργον τοῦτο has a certain emphasis: “An act such as this.” The reading πράξας, in three Alex., might be preferred, because the verb πράσσειν is pretty often used in an unfavourable sense, in opposition to ποιεῖν (see Joh 3:20-21; Joh 5:29, etc.). But ποιεῖν better expresses than πράσσειν the accomplishment of the deed.

After characterizing both the guilty pride and softness of the Church, the apostle contrasts with them his own mode of acting.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.