Sexual Immorality Defiles the Church

1 It is actually reported that there is ^wsexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, ^xfor a man has his father’s wife. 2 And ^yyou are arrogant! Ought you ^znot rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

3 For though ^aabsent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled ^bin the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are ^cto deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so ^dthat his spirit may be saved ^ein the day of the Lord.¹

6 ^fYour boasting is not good. Do you not know that ^ga little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, ^hnot with the old leaven, ⁱthe leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

9 I wrote to you in my letter ^jnot to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 ^knot at all meaning ^lthe sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, ^msince then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone ⁿwho 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. 12 For what have I to do with judging ^ooutsiders? ^pIs it not those inside the church² whom you are to judge? 13 God judges³ those outside. ^q“Purge the evil person from among you.”

Forgive the Sinner

5 Now ^yif anyone has caused pain, ^zhe has caused it not to me, but ^ain some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, ^bthis punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so ^cyou should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might ^dtest you and know ^ewhether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for ^fwe are not ignorant of his designs.

9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but ^wbecause you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

10 For ^xgodly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas ^yworldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, ^zwhat zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.

10 As for a person who stirs up division, ^safter warning him once and then twice, ^thave nothing more to do with him, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As ^jthe Father has sent me, ^keven so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he ^lbreathed on them and said to them, ^m“Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 ⁿIf you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”