1 corinthians 5:9 - I wrote to you in my letter to have no company with sexual sinners;

Generated Verse: 1 corinthians 5:9

What does "1 corinthians 5:9" mean?


In 1 Corinthians 5:9, Paul is addressing a misunderstanding that arose from a previous letter he sent to the Corinthian church. The verse means that he had instructed them not to associate with people who were sexually immoral. However, the Corinthians seem to have misinterpreted this instruction.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

"I wrote to you in my letter...": Paul is referring to a previous letter he sent to the Corinthians, which is not part of the canonical New Testament. It's important to recognize that the letters we have in the Bible are not necessarily all the correspondence that Paul had with these churches.
"...to have no company with sexual sinners...": This is the core of the verse. Paul had told them to avoid associating with people who were engaging in sexual immorality. The Greek word translated as "sexual sinners" refers to people engaging in illicit sexual activity, which, in the context of the first century, would often involve sexual practices that were contrary to God's will.

The problem was the Corinthians' interpretation of this instruction. Paul clarifies in the following verses (1 Corinthians 5:10-11) that he wasn't talking about avoiding all contact with sexually immoral people in the world in general, because that would be impossible. He's specifically talking about avoiding close association, fellowship, and shared meals with those within the church who claim to be Christians but continue to live in blatant sexual sin without repentance.

The purpose of this separation was:

To protect the church from the corrupting influence of sin: Paul believed that tolerating open sin within the church would harm the spiritual health of the entire community.
To encourage repentance: By withdrawing fellowship, the church hoped to encourage the sinning individual to recognize the seriousness of their sin and turn back to God.
To maintain the church's witness: The church's reputation and ability to testify to the gospel could be damaged if it was seen as condoning sin.

In summary: Paul instructed the Corinthians not to associate with sexually immoral people within the church community. He wasn't advocating for complete isolation from the world but for maintaining a clear boundary between the church and unrepentant sin, for the sake of the church's purity and the sinner's repentance. This is a call to maintain accountability and uphold a standard of holiness within the Christian community, while also recognizing the need for grace and restoration when genuine repentance occurs.