1 Corinthians – Chapter 5

New Testament13 Verses

1It is absolutely heard that there is fornication among you and such fornication as the like is not among the heathens: that one should have his father's wife.

2And you are puffed up and have not rather mourned: that he might be taken away from among you that hath done this thing.

3I indeed, absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged, as though I were present, him that hath so done,

4In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, you being gathered together and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus:

5To deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

6Your glorying is not good. Know you not that a little leaven corrupteth the whole lump?

7Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste, as you are unleavened. For Christ our pasch is sacrificed.

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

9I wrote to you in an epistle, not to keep company with fornicators.

10I mean not with the fornicators of this world or with the covetous or the extortioners or the servers of idols: otherwise you must needs go out of this world.

11But now I have written to you, not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother be a fornicator or covetous or a server of idols or a railer or a drunkard or an extortioner: with such a one, not so much as to eat.

12For what have I to do to judge them that are without? Do not you judge them that are within?

13For them that are without, God will judge. Put away the evil one from among yourselves.

Reflection for Today

As you read 1 Corinthians Chapter 5, the Catholic Church invites you to encounter God's living Word through the lens of Sacred Tradition. The Catechism teaches that Scripture must be read "within the living Tradition of the whole Church" (CIC 113). The same Holy Spirit who inspired these words continues to guide the Church in understanding them today.

In Catholic theology, every passage of Scripture points ultimately to Christ and finds its fullest meaning in the Church's sacramental life. The Magisterium—the teaching authority of the Pope and bishops—guides the faithful in authentic interpretation. As you meditate on these verses, consider how the Church Fathers and saints have understood them.

Through lectio divina—the ancient Catholic practice of prayerful reading—allow these words to transform your mind and heart, drawing you deeper into communion with Christ and His Church. Ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate these verses and show you how they call you to deeper faith, hope, and love.

💡Catholic Reflection • Church Teachings

Deepen your understanding with these related articles