The Dividing Line

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:17-18

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:14-18

Early in his letter known as 1 Corinthians, Paul urges the church to maintain unity. He urges the church, the gathering of brothers and sisters in Christ, to act with one mind and one judgment, and he urges the individuals making up the church to agree, not reluctantly or through coercion, but to genuinely agree. He writes,

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 1 Corinthians 1:10

This is not a passing thought. He continues discussing factions and divisions in the church, calling for unity and calling for the church to correct each source of division at its foundation. However, a few chapters later, in the same letter, he urges the church to expel certain people from their assembly, writing,

you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 5:5, and

“Purge the evil person from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:13

How can a church maintain unity while casting people from their presence? Isn’t expulsion the opposite of unity? How might we make sense of this apparent contradiction? Let’s take a closer look.

Paul’s worldview was shaped and focused by the gospel of Christ Jesus. Through his miraculous encounter with Christ Jesus, he was transformed, and he began to see everything through the lens of Christ Jesus. His understanding of the Old Testament was reshaped through the lens of Christ Jesus. He viewed the world around him with compassion and he told everyone the good news of Christ Jesus because if you have the keys to the kingdom of heaven the most loving thing you can do is hand them out generously to everyone. He fostered the community of new believers and encouraged them to continue growing through Christ Jesus toward God, holiness and sanctification.

He saw everything through the lens of the cross, and his preaching focused on Christ Jesus to ensure it delivered the power of God rather than some watered-down human version of the truth, and to ensure listeners encountered Christ Jesus through the message, not merely the messenger. He describes the message of the cross as the bright line dividing humanity, separating those who see the gospel as foolishness from those who are being saved through it by the power of God. He knows that some will hear the gospel and believe, while others will hear the good news and reject it.

The gospel is the line separating humanity. He refers to one side of the line as the world – natural people, those who are perishing, those who do not hear, are unable to hear, or intentionally reject the word of the cross. Those on the other side of the line are spiritual people, brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, the church, the redeemed, the bearers of new life, those who are being saved through the gospel by the power of God.

Paul writes,

The words of the cross, the message of the gospel, the good news of Christ Jesus carries the power of God. Paul lives his life out in the world preaching the good news of Christ Jesus so that everyone might hear and believe and be transformed through Christ Jesus and the Father’s holy, healing, loving grace. He also shepherds the flock of new believers in the churches established through his preaching. Reminiscent of Jesus’ grace-filled words to the world in contrast to His harsh rebuke of religious leaders, some of Paul’s words to the church sound surprisingly harsh.

Paul begins the letter known as 1 Corinthians telling the gathering of believers in Corinth that he prays, thanking God for them. He then reminds them about God’s blessing on their lives. He trusts and knows they are redeemed; they are children of God. Through Christ Jesus, God transforms them and their understanding and their speech; and God sustains them. Paul writes,

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge – even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you – so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:4-9

Paul then addresses factions and division within the church. He urges the church to be united writing,

Paul confronts several sources of division in the church. With each, he urges the church to eradicate division at its source.

Some in the church were following certain preachers rather than Christ Jesus. It was as if they exalted the messenger above the message and its source power. We are at great risk of doing the same thing. When God works through a specific messenger here on earth, and we experience God’s glory flowing through that person, we are at risk of exalting that person rather than God. We are at risk of elevating that person’s teaching to an unhealthy level, beyond scrutiny, beyond analyzing the message in comparison to God’s holy word, and accepting the teaching as God’s word itself. Paul urges us to be on guard against this, to know God’s holy word and to compare the messages we hear about God’s word to Scripture, ensuring the two align, and to keep our focus on Christ Jesus rather than His appointed messengers.

He then turns to divisions in the church caused by the ongoing sinful behavior of some. This is an area that is particularly troubling for us because Jesus says, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7) and “Judge not, that you not be judged” (Matthew 7:1). But Jesus judged. He told the woman accused of adultery to leave her life of sin (see John 8:11), called folks to repent and viciously attacking religious leaders. Similarly, Paul judged, particularly with respect to brothers and sisters in Christ.

So what is the boundary? In what circumstance is judgment appropriate or required? The answer suggested through Paul’s writing goes back to the bright line dividing humanity. Paul writes that he does not judge people outside the church. However, those who believe the gospel of Christ Jesus, who are redeemed, who have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, who claim association with Christ Jesus, brothers and sisters in Christ who seek God, holiness and sanctification submit themselves to loving judgment from their brothers and sisters in Christ. He writes,

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people – not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler – not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:9-13

Like Jesus, Paul was out in the world preaching the good news to everyone. He likely shared meals with all sorts of people to build relationships so that he could tell them about Christ Jesus. And after people receive new life, gain the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, cross the line of faith, they should continuously move toward holiness, and their minds and souls should be continuously transformed closer and closer and closer to the image of Christ Jesus, and their lives should show evidence of fruit. And if they genuinely desire relationship with the Father through Christ Jesus, and a brother or sister in Christ calls their attention to something they are doing that is inconsistent with God’s will as revealed through His holy word, they should welcome that input and stop the activity that offends God and repent and seek His forgiveness.

I picture the local church that first opened Paul’s letter like a large accountability group, with transparent Godly relationships. People actually knew one another. And in that Godly spirit of relationship, they were able to approach one another in love to discuss difficult topics. With respect to one particular instance of ongoing inappropriate conduct within the church, Paul writes,

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 5:1-5

In some situations, correcting the root of division in the church means casting people out of the community. God’s holy word urges the church to be unified, but not at all cost. He seeks unity in the church through the collective and individual pursuit of Christ Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit, which means separating from those who are unwilling to stop ongoing, repetitive activity that is contrary to God’s will.

This is consistent with Jesus’ message about judgment discussed above. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says,

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Matthew 7:1-5

It is a system of mutual accountability through love and hope. Hope requires judgment. It suggests that which is hoped for will be better than the status quo, and we should help each other as we strive to grow closer to God. It requires an attitude of humility, transparency, love and trust. We open our lives to one another in love and hope, trusting that we need each other as we move closer to God. I imagine us saying to each other, “Hey, will you help me get this log out of my eye?”

In verse 5, Paul writes, “you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” It sounds incredibly harsh, but the ultimate goal is compassionate. What does he mean by “deliver this man to Satan”?

This is a reference to the scape goat. On the Day of Atonement, the priest would take two goats. One was sacrificed to God as a sin offering. The other was presented alive. The priest placed his hands on the goat, confessing all the sin, iniquity and wrongdoing of the people of Israel, and ceremonially transferring their sin to the goat. They then drove the goat out into the wilderness, the uncivilized place of chaos where Azazel, presumably the devil, resides (see Leviticus 16). Sin was driven away from the people, away from civilization, out to the devil.

The rules of society create an environment of protection and responsibility. A person who is unwilling to live by the rules, is not afforded the protection. By casting him out of the community, their hope is that he will repent, return to God, and return to the community. The verse says, “deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh,” but destruction of the flesh does not mean physical harm. It means destruction of worldly ways. It means spiritual transformation, giving up worldly desires and surrendering more of ourselves to God and taking on more of Christ’s holy image.

At the end of chapter 5 Paul writes, “Purge the evil person from among you” (1 Corinthians 5:13). Paul was a scholar of Scripture. He knew God’s holy word, and this is a reference to the Law of Moses. God created the nation of Israel as His holy nation, set apart from the other nations. Certain offenses were so destructive to the community that those who committed the acts were to be dealt with severely as a deterrent for others. False witnesses were to receive the same punishment they asked the court to apply to the other to “purge the evil from your midst” (Deuteronomy 19:19). Stubborn and rebellious sons who were gluttons and drunkards were to be stoned to death by the elders to “purge the evil from your midst” (Deuteronomy 21:21). If someone stole a person and treated that person like a slave, the punishment was death to “purge the evil from your midst” (Deuteronomy 24:7).

Paul urges the church to expel people who hold themselves out as followers of Christ yet live in ongoing rebellion and hostility to God. He writes,

But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler – not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:11-13

Given the use of the phrase “purge the evil from your midst” in Deuteronomy, and the similar phrase employed in 1 Corinthians, certain ongoing offenses are extremely dangerous to the community of faith, and perpetrators of the activity should be removed from the assembly, but not forever. The removal is intended to encourage the person to repent, to stop the rebellion, to return to God, to grow spiritually. The pain of removal is intended for the person’s good. It is designed to encourage the person to stop worldly ways, “so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 5:5).

What are we to do with this? How do we balance the call to tell everyone the good news of Christ Jesus with the responsibility and, presumably, desire to continue progressing towards Christ in love, and the further responsibility and desire to help each other do the same?

First, Paul says he does not judge people in the world; he reaches out to them in love telling them the good news of Christ Jesus. We should follow his example.

Second, Paul describes the gospel of Christ Jesus as the line separating humanity. The gospel divides people into two groups, those who believe and those who reject.

Third, as believers, we each need a gathering worthy of trust. The foundation of this is God’s holy word, prayer, humility, love, respect and acceptance growing into transparent relationships, recognizing that the path toward God requires continual transformation. Where do you find this? Ideally, your local church fosters this. I pray you discover your community of love, hope and transparency, where you are able to grow in Christ through Christ-filled relationships, knowing, accepting and embracing the truth that hope presumes change. Hope presumes that which is hoped for is better than the status quo, but getting there requires transformation, and change is often a painful process.

God’s holy word calls for unity within the church. May it be so. Amen.

Randy AllenMay 5, 2023