📖WEB · 1 Corinthians 5:2
What does 1 Corinthians 5:2 mean?
"You are puffed up, and didn’t rather mourn, that he who had done this deed might be removed from among you."
— 1 Corinthians 5:2 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles, that one has his father’s wife.
You are puffed up, and didn’t rather mourn, that he who had done this deed might be removed from among you.
For I most certainly, as being absent in body but present in spirit, have already, as though I were present, judged him who has done this thing.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, you being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
are to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Explanation
In this verse, Paul is addressing the church in Corinth about a serious moral failure within their community. He points out two contrasting responses: instead of grieving over sin in their midst, they had become arrogant, or "puffed up." Paul's expectation was that such a situation should have provoked sorrow and led the church to take action—specifically, removing the offending person from their fellowship.
The context here is crucial for understanding the verse. Paul had received reports of a man in the Corinthian church who was engaged in a sexual relationship with his father's wife (likely a stepmother), a sin so severe that Paul notes even the pagans around them wouldn't tolerate it (1 Corinthians 5:1). Rather than being troubled by this scandal, the Corinthian believers seemed to be prideful, perhaps boasting in their spiritual sophistication or tolerance, or possibly even proud of their supposed spiritual maturity that allowed them to overlook sin. Paul, writing as an apostle with authority over the churches he had founded, is confronting this misplaced pride and calling for a very different response.
Theologically, this verse highlights the seriousness with which the New Testament treats sin within the believing community, especially unrepentant and public sin. Paul's call for the church to "mourn" reflects an understanding that sin is not something to be casually accepted or ignored—it grieves God and should grieve His people. Furthermore, the removal of the individual from the church wasn't meant as mere punishment, but (as the following verses clarify) served a restorative purpose, aimed
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