1 Corinthians Chapter 5
Showing all 13 verses for 1 Corinthians Chapter 5.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. "
"There are widespread reports of sexual immorality among you - the kind not even tolerated among pagans - a man is sleeping with his father's wife."
Some things are wrong not because a rulebook says so, but because they cause real damage to real people - and pretending not to notice doesn't make a community loving, it makes it complicit. Real care sometimes means naming a problem plainly.
"And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. "
"And you're proud of yourselves, instead of being grieved enough to remove the person who did this from your community."
True tolerance isn't looking away from harm and calling it broad-mindedness. If something is genuinely damaging someone, grief and honest action are more loving responses than a comfortable shrug.
"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, "
"Even though I'm physically absent, I'm present with you in spirit, and I've already reached a judgement on the person who did this, as if I were there."
Real care for people isn't limited by geography. You can hold someone accountable, care about them, and be genuinely present in their life even from far away - what matters is the honesty of the relationship, not proximity.
"In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, "
"When you're gathered together in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I'm there with you in spirit, along with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,"
When correction needs to happen, do it openly and together, not through whispers and cliques. Real accountability is done in the light, with a clear purpose, not as social punishment dressed up as concern.
"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. "
"hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of his sinful nature, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord."
Sometimes real love means letting someone face the consequences of their choices rather than shielding them from every hard outcome. It's painful, but the goal is never destruction - it's always restoration.
"Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? "
"Your boasting isn't a good thing. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?"
Don't assume a small compromise stays small. The things you tolerate quietly in a community, a friendship, or your own habits tend to spread further than you expect - deal with them early.
"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: "
"So get rid of the old yeast, so that you can be a fresh batch of dough - as you truly are, unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has already been sacrificed for us."
You're not defined by your worst old habits - a fresh start is genuinely available to you. But a fresh start means actually clearing out what corrupts you, not just believing something changed while nothing actually does.
"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. "
"So let's celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the bread of sincerity and truth."
Character isn't a one-off event, it's how you live day to day. Choose honesty and genuine goodwill as your daily bread, not resentment or bitterness dressed up and hidden.
"I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: "
"I wrote to you before, telling you not to associate with sexually immoral people."
Correction and guidance often need clarifying and revisiting - don't expect one conversation to settle everything. Real relationships involve going back and explaining more clearly when you're misunderstood.
"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. "
"I didn't mean people outside the church entirely - the sexually immoral of this world in general, or the greedy, or swindlers, or idol-worshippers - because then you'd have to leave the world altogether."
You don't need to cut yourself off from people who live differently to you, or see the world differently. Genuine engagement with a messy world, not withdrawal from it, is part of living well.
"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 idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. "
"What I actually meant was: don't associate with anyone who calls themselves a fellow believer but is sexually immoral, greedy, an idol-worshipper, abusive, a drunk, or a swindler - don't even eat with someone like that."
Hold the people closest to you, who share your values, to real accountability, rather than quietly enabling harmful behaviour because confronting it feels awkward. Genuine community means caring enough to be honest, even when it's uncomfortable.
"For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? "
"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Isn't it those inside the church you should be judging?"
Focus your honesty and accountability on the people and communities you're actually part of and responsible to, not on passing judgement on strangers or the wider world. Sort out your own house first.
"But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. "
"God will judge those outside. So remove that wicked person from among yourselves."
You're not responsible for judging everyone in the world - that's not your job to carry. But you are responsible for the integrity of your own close community, and sometimes love requires clear, decisive action, not endless discussion.