1 Corinthians 5:11

But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat (KJV)

Then: Stoning is out; but the church had to do something. For its own good, it needed some kind of discipline. So, Paul killed two birds with one stone. Separate the sinner from the church body, and then it could get its reputation back. For the Corinthians not keeping company could have meant complete exclusion, no association of any kind. Thiselton (p. 408) translates the phrase as "mix indiscriminately"; that looks like absolutely no contact. "Eating" meant to observe the Last Supper. Every Sunday they got together in what may have been "potluck" meals to remember Christ by following his direction, "Do this in remembrance of me." Anyone who continually dishonors his/her committment to the Lord could no longer take part. Neither could they be included in other church activities.

Now: We just don't throw people out of the church. As difficult as it is to cut off family, business or civic relationships, it would seem impossible to maintain a ban against individual church members keeping company or mixing indiscriminately with those who have been disciplined by the church. Interpreting Paul's command gets even more tricky when we read Galatians 6:1-2 which reveals Paul's hope that believers can restore such a one as this. I think attention has to be paid to the idea of the direction being given to the church body and not to individual members. Complete isolation would abandon an individual and preclude all possibility of return into fellowship.

Extra source: The First Epistle to the Corinthians: a commentary on the Greek text by Anthony C. Thiselton (Authentic Media, c2000) online at http://books.google.com/books?id=IHG_DNLpmroC&dq=1st+Corinthian+commentaries&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=W9fQSpC1GILplAfHiumoCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11&ved=0CB8Q6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=&f=false

1 Corinthians 5:10

Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world (KJV)

Then: Paul clarifies for the Corinthians that it would be absurd to think they could completely dissassociate themselves from every transgressor because they still live on earth. There is nowhere anyone can go to find a place where people who sin do not live. Hayes (p. 87-88) likes fellow commentator Brian Rosner's observation that every transgression in the list relates to one in Dueteronomy which requires death by stoning. The list is not random; in Old Testament days the whole community was obligated to participate in a process of judgement. Paul wants the church to remember their responsibility did not come out of thin air, but was grounded in former biblical standards of action.

Now: Hayes (p. 92) concludes a discussion of chapter five with a current question about modern society's taking the path of the Corinthians. Often freedom in Christ becomes latitude to ignore collected biblical principles and behave licentiously. There is a direct correlation between elite sophists and enlightened "moral" norms.

Extra Source: First Corinthians by Richard B. Hayes (John Knox Press, 1997) on line athttp://books.google.com/books?id=M_PC0PAs3VYC&dq=1+Corinthians+and+Richard+B.+Hays&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=2oPcStDCIIvf8Aaq0Ki3BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11&ved=0CCMQ6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=1%20Corinthians%20and%20Richard%20B.%20Hays&f=false

1 Corinthians 5:9

I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators (KJV)

Then: Members of the Church at Corinth received an earlier letter. This was the second time (at least) that Paul chastised them about keeping company with sexual immoralists. Obviously, he meant the assembled church. He didn't mean individuals should avoid talking with and helping transgressors hear the Lord's teachings, repent, and become followers or be restored to fellowship. The idea of "keeping company" needs split away from the meaning of "being in the presence of" and narrowed to "aligning oneself with anti-Christian values." Paul wants those who go into all the world to teach the gospel to stay personally pure and holy. He knows they cannot be effective if they accept pagan standards. The ultimate twist is the need for Paul to keep warning those already in the church. Trouble separating the line between secular and Christian behaviors and attitudes was an unfamiliar, complex muddle for these ordinarily competent sophisticates. Paul was not going to let them off the hook. He'd keep writing again and again.

Now: We have a two-pronged responsibility. The first is maintaining personal purity by reading, praying and keeping the knowledge of right standards ever before us. The second is to play the role of Paul in presenting Christ's standards to the world - through writing, through speaking, through living. None of us want to be like the Corinthians who tacitly (or actively) accept secular standards of sexualty, thus denying Christ who came not to change the law, but to fulfill it.

1 Corinthians 5:8

Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (KJV)

Then: What's that? Keep the feast? Corinthians weren't Jews. And I don't see a "Do-it-on-Easter" or "Do-it-on-Sundays" stipulation. Neither did the Corinthians. They got it that Paul meant communion, feasting with Christ. Like it or not, they also knew Paul meant daily. Living without the leaven of carnality (or evil) is a difficult, on-going task. The Corinthians were a long way from engaging in daily battles to meet that goal. Rather they preferred the idea of freedom in Christ, thinking that it meant license to be with him on the throne no matter their lack of growth in meeting his standards.

Now: Matthew Henry advises Christians that keeping the feast means dying to sin, as Christ died for us, and rising to an internal purity. While doing that, no one has time to pronounce petty judgements on fellow believers. Actually, it replaces judgement with compassion and understanding because of personal struggles in working to tramp down the desires of the flesh and ever calling on Christ. Choosing to live without malice and without wickedness, to always be sincere and truthful, is an antidote to a fallen world.

Extra Source: Commentary on the Whole Bible Acts to Revelation Vol VI by Matthew Henry online at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc6.iCor.vi.html

"destruction of the flesh" - 1 Corinthians 5:5

To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (KJV)

Then: Paul finishes the prescription of needed discipline and explains his reasons. Delivered to Satan, perhaps the transgressor who will have to endure many afflictions without the presence of the Lord, will recognize the difference and return to the Lord's saving grace. In the day of judgement, he will stand forgiven. "Destruction of the flesh" refers to the destruction of impulses which still control the heart of this believer. As long as he stayed within the congregation, accepted as a fellow-believer, it wasn't likely that he'd ever realize the disconnect between his fleshly actions and the Lord's design for the eternal souls of his followers.

Now: Church outsiders laugh and scorn. Barring anyone from fellowship and communion seems useless. On the other hand, they carefully choose which groups, organizations, or institutions to join according to prestige and reputation. They ignore the comparative aspect involved. Fee (p. 197, 213) reviews the effect on the church. Gentiles brought easy attitudes towards sex into the Corinthian church and, contrary to Paul's high ethical standards, were now exalting "spiritual" tolerance. That mindset could destroy the salvation message by summarily extinguishing a major difference between the church and pagan temples. Paul had to exert his authority to teach both the church and the transgressor. Members should mourn the sinner whose actions were contaminating the whole church. Putting him outside of it could speed the church's recovery and underline the importance of high ethical attitudes. Unfortunately, the effect is limited in today's age when people can just go to another church down the street.

Extra source: The First Epistle to the Corinthians by Gordon D. Fee (Eerdman's 1987) online at http://books.google.com/books?id=XlBp10nUTXAC&dq=Gordon+Fee+Bible+commentator&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=SwLNSu3nA4v6Mf2XlDo&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=12#v=onepage&q=&f=false

"Absent in Body," "Present in Spirit" - 1 Corinthians 5:3

For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed (KJV)

Then: Paul has already judged the deed as abhorrent. He didn't need to be there physically. The church which was present should not have needed any admonitions. They should have done it without him. Time was wasting.

Now: Commentators focus on the full meaning of "absent in body/present in spirit." Thiselton (p. 392) discusses grammatical difficulties. He emphasizes that the phrases have the actual meaning of Paul's not being on site at Corinth. His spirit, evidenced through his guidance and teachings in the letter, allow for one kind of presence in Corinth. Paul's heart and yearning for the Corinthians' eternal security define another kind of spiritual presence. In addition, the phrases, "absent in body/present in Spirit," also relate to the theological sense of Christ's being absent in body and present in Spirit. Paul assumes (takes on) Christ's authority as he speaks the Lord's concern, knowledge, teachings and desires for the church. Thus, he has authority to the point of putting someone out of church fellowship. Fee (p. 213) clarifies the intent is to send the transgressor into an environment where he will recognize the difference between the domain of Satan and the domain of Christ. Subsequently, he has opportunity to repent and rejoin the kingdom. All these understandings and principles guide today's church.

Extra source: The First Epistle to the Corinthians: a commentary on the Greek text by Anthony C. Thiselton (Authentic Media, c2000) online at http://books.google.com/books?id=IHG_DNLpmroC&dq=1st+Corinthian+commentaries&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=W9fQSpC1GILplAfHiumoCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=11&ved=0CB8Q6AEwCg#v=onepage&q=&f=false
The First Epistle to the Corinthians by Gordon D. Fee (Eerdman's 1987) online at http://books.google.com/books?id=XlBp10nUTXAC&dq=Gordon+Fee+Bible+commentator&printsec=frontcover&source=in&hl=en&ei=SwLNSu3nA4v6Mf2XlDo&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=12#v=onepage&q=&f=false