FIRST CORINTHIANS

Chapter 4:14 – 5:13

Introduction

The word "rod" occurs in verse twenty-one of chapter four. It is a word rich in biblical meaning. In ancient times every shepherd carried two essential pieces of equipment: a staff and a rod. The rod was a short stick carved and whittled from a young sapling. The rod in the hands of a skilled shepherd had three primary uses:

1. The rod was used to protect the sheep. The shepherd used it to drive off predators, like coyotes, wolves, cougars, or stray dogs. He would beat the brush with it to disturb snakes and other creatures.
2. The rod was used to examine the sheep. In the Old Testament there is an expression, "passing under the rod" (Ezekiel 20:37). A sheep that had passed under the rod had been counted and carefully examined. As each individual sheep came out of the corral and through the gate, the shepherd used the rod to part the sheep’s long wool coat to look under it for disease or wounds.
3. The rod was used to discipline the sheep. It would be hurled with great accuracy at a wandering animal – one that was approaching poisonous weeds or getting too close to some other danger. The wayward animal, once struck, would scurry quickly back to the safety and protection of the flock.

The rod and its uses were so commonly understood that the writer of the Proverbs could apply it not just to your flock, but to your family:

Proverbs 13:24 He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

Proverbs 22:15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him.

Proverbs 22:13 Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.

In our text, Paul takes this application one step further. He applies the rod to the family of believers – to the church. In these verses he is talking about the Father’s use of the rod in a spiritual sense to protect, examine, and discipline believers in God’s family.

With this understanding, we can make two very simple points: #1 You Should Yield To Your Father’s Rod, and #2 You Should Wield Your Father’s Rod.

#1 You Should Yield

To Your Father’s Rod

Protecting and examining are the two uses of the rod that are the theme of these verses in chapter four. In verses fourteen through seventeen Paul refers to himself as a spiritual father to the Corinthians who was set on protecting them.

1 Corinthians 4:14 I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you.

1 Corinthians 4:15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.

Paul was their spiritual father in the sense that he had brought them the Gospel. They were born into God’s family when they heard the Gospel and were born-again by the Holy Spirit coming into their hearts.

Paul is not getting weird. He doesn’t want people to start calling him "father." He is simply reminding them how God used him to minister to them. He was like a father to them, as opposed to others who were simply like teachers to them. It’s like comparing your parents to your teachers.

1 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me.

The word "imitate" is our English word mimic. Paul wanted them to mimic his behavior. He wanted them to care for one another as deeply as he cared for them. Part of his care involved protecting them from danger. We previously learned that the Corinthians were succumbing to the world. The ways and wisdom of the world were creeping in to the church. These things from the world were predators that they needed protection from. Paul wanted to protect them – as a shepherd or a father using the rod in his skillful hands. Since he couldn’t go there himself, he did the next best thing by sending Timothy to protect them.

1 Corinthians 4:17 For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.

They needed the rod of Paul’s protection; they also needed to "pass under" his rod for examination:

1 Corinthians 4:18 Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you.

1 Corinthians 4:19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.

1 Corinthians 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.

1 Corinthians 4:21 What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

There was a group of "puffed up" believers who were criticizing Paul for not personally coming to Corinth. They were saying he was afraid to face them; that he wrote strong letters, but was weak in person.

Well, that wasn’t really a problem for Paul! He’d face them – just as soon as God released him to go to Corinth. When he did face them, God would anoint his ministry with power.

In the mean time the believers should examine themselves. They should pass under the rod for examination so that they would not have to feel the rod of discipline!

The rod of examination they were to pass under was the words of this letter. They should receive the letter and repent. Then, when Paul came, they could simply enjoy one another’s fellowship. Otherwise his coming would be to apply the rod of discipline. They should yield to the rod for protection and examination so that Paul would not have to wield the rod for discipline.

You should yield to your heavenly Father’s rod. He has given you His Word; it is His rod of protection. You should constantly "pass under" His rod and let Him examine you!

As we move into chapter five, the word "rod" isn’t mentioned, but the subject is clearly the third use of the rod – for the purpose of discipline.

#2 You Should Wield

Your Father’s Rod

There was a man in Corinth living in open sin. As bad as that was, it wasn’t the main issue. The main issue was the tolerance of his sin by the believers! Paul tells them that they each have the responsibility of wielding the Father’s rod to discipline the sinning man.

1 Corinthians 5:1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife!

A church member was living with and committing incest with his father’s wife. It was a particularly heinous sin – condemned by both the Old Testament sacred law and by Roman secular law. It was worse than the many terrible sexual sins that were so common among unbelievers in Corinth.

But it was the reaction of the church that stunned Paul:

1 Corinthians 5:2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.

The believers at Corinth were puffed up with pride at their tolerance. Paul said they should instead have been mourning – as if someone had died.

They should have reacted in such a way "that he who has done this deed might be taken away from you." He tells them specifically what they should do:

1 Corinthians 5:3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed.

1 Corinthians 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

1 Corinthians 5:5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

The facts of this case were beyond dispute. This was no rumor; this man really was committing incest. That being the case, every believer is obligated to have the exact same reaction – and to take action!

The action Paul proposes is to gather the church together, either for a regular or a special meeting, and "deliver" the man to "Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."

Here is what I think Paul means:

1. On a practical level, this man is to be excluded from the privileges of the church and its fellowship. He shouldn’t be allowed to take communion, or to serve in the church in any capacity. He should instead be urged to repent of his sin and be restored to fellowship. It doesn’t mean he is to be completely shunned. It means he is to be treated as you would treat an unbeliever.
2. On a spiritual level, when the church applies the Father’s rod of discipline the sinner becomes fair game for Satan. He will no longer enjoy the same level of spiritual protection. The devil is always asking to destroy God’s children; he asked for Job; he asked for Peter. Imagine what it would have been like for either of those men if they had been completely delivered to Satan, without the boundaries God set!

There is a godly goal in applying the rod of discipline: "that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." Most commentators take this to refer to his physical death as the severe discipline God would impose in order to take him home to heaven prematurely rather than allowing him to continue in his sin. God does kill some people – or at least He did in the Bible.

Paul quickly turns his attention back to the responsibility of the believers at Corinth:

1 Corinthians 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

1 Corinthians 5:7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

1 Corinthians 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The image is that of the Jewish Passover Supper. The Jews in Egypt were delivered from death by the application of the blood of a lamb on their doorposts. Following the application of the blood they ate the Passover Supper. One of the requirements was that no "leaven," or yeast, be found anywhere in their dwellings. Even the bread in their feast had to be unleavened.

In the Bible, leaven is used to illustrate sin. Leaven is small, but powerful; it works secretly; it spreads throughout the whole lump of dough – corrupting it from within. The sinning man in Corinth was like leaven – his sin was spreading throughout the whole congregation, corrupting it from within.

You have a responsibility to "keep the feast." This doesn’t mean you are to celebrate Passover. "Feast" refers to the whole Christian life you are called to live. It is a continual feast – and requires continual vigilance to purge out various leavening agents. Sexual immorality was a leavening agent, but there were others as well - like "malice" and "wickedness." In other words, there was a lot of sin in Corinth that they had been tolerating, and all of it needed the rod of discipline.

Paul identifies additional sins in verses nine through thirteen:

1 Corinthians 5:9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.

1 Corinthians 5:10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.

Paul had evidently written a previous letter to them which we do not have as Scripture in our Bibles. In it he had already told them to exclude sexually immoral people from the rights and privileges of Christian fellowship. Apparently the Corinthians had misunderstood him. They thought he was telling them to withdraw from unbelievers who were sinning! He meant for them to discipline believers who were sinning.

1 Corinthians 5:11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.

Here were some additional sins in Corinth that called for the rod of discipline:

1. "Sexual [immorality]" This would include all premarital, extramarital, and unnatural sexual behavior.
2. "Covetousness." The connotation of this word is grasping for more and more because you are unsatisfied with what you have.
3. "Idolatry." Anything that takes the place God should occupy in your life is your idol.
4. "Reviling." This word means doing violence to others with your tongue.
5. "Drunkenness." It’s OK to drink; but do you really know when your drinking becomes drunkenness?
6. "Extortion." In its basic form, this is pressuring and manipulating others for your own personal gain.

Let’s put this into perspective. All of us sin in some of these areas from time to time. Do we need to be publicly disciplined at the next church meeting?

No, we don’t. You need to also read Jesus’ teaching on discipline in the Gospel of Matthew. In chapter seven of Matthew you see a procedure by which you examine yourself by God’s Word and judge your own sin. In Matthew eighteen you see a process by which you go to restore someone who is sinning – keeping it as quiet and as confidential as possible. If they continue in sin and refuse to repent, then it becomes a public matter.

In Corinth the sin was already open and public. The man had not examined himself and judged his own sin. There was no need to go one-on-one, or two-by-two. It was time to act – to "not even… eat with such a person."

This means you should not allow them to partake of the Christian feast – the rights and privileges of the church. And it probably also refers to your personal social contacts with them. You can’t just get together with them as if nothing is wrong. You must treat them as people who need to repent.

1 Corinthians 5:12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?

1 Corinthians 5:13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person."

We spend a great deal of time condemning unbelievers for sins they have no power to overcome, while at the same time we condone believers in sins they do have the power to overcome. We must instead see our individual and corporate responsibility to wield the rod of discipline when necessary.

Conclusion

The teaching on church discipline is often overly complicated by scholars and Bible teachers. God’s Word is much simpler than our attempts to explain it! In the area of church discipline, just think in terms of the rod and its three uses: Protection, examination, and discipline.

Yield to the protection and examination of God’s Word. If you do, you will be self-disciplined. You will not need to be disciplined by others

When necessary, mourn for the sin of your brothers and sisters and be willing to wield the rod of God’s Word in disciplining those who sin and refuse to repent.