1 Cor. 5 "Spiritual Pride"

1 Corinthians 5 – Brandon Hatmaker “Spiritual Pride”
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

“Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.” - 1 Corinthians 5:6-8

In context, Paul is specifically talking about those who are spiritually proud and as a result are casting stones, primarily at him (and probably others). In chapter four, he drew attention to their bragging and desire to have high position and reminds them of their calling to be servants and to remain faithful. He wrote about maintaining humility and perspective in realizing that we have sins that even we don’t see. He gives multiple examples of the Apostles lifestyle and attitude of humility and simplicity that they should model. He is telling them very directly that they need correction and that he is bringing it, whether it’s “with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit”, he’s about to bring the wood.

Enter chapter five.

While Paul is indeed giving us guidelines for church discipline, given how much time he spent on calling out their arrogance in the prior chapter, we can’t help but see that he’s also saying, “hey when you look at the evidence, you should be expelling yourselves”. He goes on to give them a list of sins, a list that most of us can relate with. Why? I think some of the reason was to call out personal sin that was truly wide spread in the Corinthian church, but also in hopes to recover from the aforementioned “annihilation of humility”. This is a great lesson for all of us. They had lost perspective and replaced it with the self-deceiving sin of Spiritual Pride. The sin that runs rampant in Christian circles today. Paul tells us that pride in leadership can work it’s way through the entire church (vs.6). While some leaders may have the discipline or ability not to allow it to drag them into blatant, habitual, and self-justifying sin, most of their followers, students, or even “disciples” do not. Certainly church discipline was being established, and without correction of their ways, they would be sure to experience it… but first, Paul is writing a warning in love and is planning to send Timothy. Less he do what he warned in chapter four and show up with a “whip”.

Father, we are nothing without Christ. Because of Grace we are children of God, not of our own doing. Teach us to keep that perspective as the foundation of all our motives and actions. As we lead, help us to see how our attitudes and actions impact those around us. Keep us from Spiritual Pride. As we find confidence in who we are in Christ, remind us of what we are not without Him. Amen.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5