1 Corinthians 5; pt 2

Introduction

Last week, I preached this text. I am thankful for the preaching and proclamation of God’s Word. Everything that I said last week was what I think is a biblical understanding of church discipline. I hope that the sermon and explanation of church discipline was edifying intellectually and spiritually. However, on Sunday afternoon, all day on Monday, and even into Tuesday I was bothered. I had this feeling that I preached on church discipline and I did on preach on 1 Corinthians 5.

I also want to clarify that there are many forms of good, solid, biblical ways to preach. Let me give you a quick example. In Luke 15, Jesus gives us the parable of the prodigal son. A preacher can faithful preach from the text the love and forgiveness of the Father that took his son back. He can also preach on his love for the older son despite his anger and malice towards his Father. He could preach on the older brother. Or the preacher could preach all three parables (the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son). In my preaching at Colgate, I have almost always opted to preach the three parables. I have preached each section of Scripture as one sermon. Some of you may remember that the longest text of Scripture I have preached on was Daniel 10-12. I preached three entire chapters because that was the natural flow and section of the book of Daniel.

This past week, I have felt like my preaching was biblical, true, and edifying. However, it was not how I usually preach. So, I decided that I would preach this text again, with a desire to be closer to the text and focus on a portion that I really did not address in my last sermon. Some of you may also remember that I have done this previously. When I preached through the gospel of Mark, I preached chapter 13 twice. For the same reason. I thought I could have said more and focused on different aspects of the text. So this morning, join me again in the 5th chapter of 1 Corinthians.

Organization

This morning we are going back to the text. This time, we are going to really focus on Paul’s use of the Passover Lamb. We really aren’t going to focus on church discipline as much as we did last week. I want us to really look at how Paul is using the events of the Passover in the OT to the NT church in Corinth.

This morning we are going to focus our time on (vs. 6-8 & 11)

Their Passover Lamb (Exodus 13) AND

Our Passover Lamb (Jesus Christ)

Sermon in a sentence:

Christ’s sacrifice demands our sanctification.

Context

Paul is addressing this man’s sinful relationship with what is likely his stepmom. They may have even gotten married after this father’s death. There could a close age due to the culture. There could be a financial reason to marry his stepmother. There could be social reasons because of her higher position/power/money/etc. There are a ton of possibilities. Nothing explicit is mentioned in the text.

Paul tells the Corinthians that the church must be holy. The world will be judged by God at the return of Christ, but the church is to judge and keep each other accountable until the Lord comes back.

Their Passover Lamb

(vs. 6-8) Paul references the leaven and the Passover in Exodus 12-13 as an example for the church discipline.

Exodus 12:1–17 ESV

1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. 7 “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. 10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. 11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. 14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. 17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever.

God commanded Israel to offer the lamb and cover their doors with its blood so that the angel of the Lord would not kill the firstborn child. Following the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was to be held for 7 days as a reminder of how quickly the Lord would remove Israel from Egypt.

The Passover was instituted as the first month in the Jewish calendar. In a way, God was giving Israel a new identity and a new beginning.

The lamb for Passover was to be kept for four days prior to the night it would be slaughtered.

The removal of the leaven (fermented dough) was also a sign of removal of uncleanliness from Israel as they are about to be brought out of their bondage in Egypt.

The entire Passover/Feast of Unleavened bread is a sort of cleansing and preparing Israel to be God’s holy people as he is going to deliver them into the promised land.

The Passover meal was used in OT events of spiritual renewal and cleansing.

Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament 1 Corinthians 5:6–8

in the OT there is an observable link between cleansing or restoring the temple and celebrating the Passover. Following the “removal of all defilement from the sanctuary” in order to “reestablish the service of the temple of the LORD” (

God gave his OT saints a physical and tangible sign to remind them of what God had done for them and who they were. God had brought them out of the land of slavery and bondage. God had brought them into the promised land to serve him and worship him as a light to the nations.

God’s people were to live out their status as holy, sanctified, consecrated people. They were to live in light of the great and mighty works of their God.

Our Passover Lamb

Paul is going to us this example as the basis for his call upon the Corinthians (and us at Colgate).

Paul calls the Corinthians to hold the Feast of Unleavened Bread in a spiritual sense because our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.

Our Passover Lamb, by his blood, has redeemed us and protected us from God’s wrath.

Our Passover Lamb has brought us out of a land of slavery and bondage, not to Egypt but sin and death.

Our Passover Lamb has brought us out of the land of death and into the promised land and given us rest.

Our Passover Lamb has instituted a meal of fellowship between God, his people, and each other.

Our Passover Lamb calls us to live sanctified lives as servants of God and a light to the nations.

Colgate Baptist Church, the death of our dear Savior calls us to live sanctified lives. Let us put to death the sin that so easily entangles us. Let us reach ahead, encourage one another, to run the race the Lord Jesus has put before us. Confess any sin and seek reconciliation today! Do not put it off

Also,

v. 11 - I believe is a reference to the Lord’s Supper. (Paul is talking about the Passover, the Lord Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper as the NT Passover meal, Paul is talking about church discipline in this text, Paul will expound on church discipline and the Lord’s Supper in ch. 11) Saints, do you treat the Lord’s Supper with the respect it deserves? Do we see it as a time of fellowship and unity as a congregation? When you come to the table, do you not only recognize the weightiness before God, but do you feel the weightiness of your membership to your fellow brothers and sisters?

John Calvin and the Reformers agreed that a true church must at least preach the Bible and partake in the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Conclusion

I love Bonhoeffer’s book “Life Together”. I think the first chapter is the best of the book and should be read if nothing else. He writes,

The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer… It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us, that the time that still separates us from utter loneliness may be brief indeed. Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together (p. 9). (Function). Kindle Edition.

Oh God! Thank you for allowing Colgate to partake in this table together! Thank you for letting us have opportunity, so freely, to enjoy fellowship together!

Application

Repent and Believe in Jesus Christ. Come into the family of God. Experience the hospitality of your loving God.

Show hospitality this week to your church family because Christ has grafted you into his family by his death and resurrection. As we are to come to table together, I implore each one of you to show hospitality to at least one other church member this week. Maybe, it is to coffee, getting your nails done, or watching a movie. Or even better, can you open your home up to another member and invite them to share a meal with you. Come to table together and live in unity and holiness with God’s family.