Note 1 at 1 Cor. 5:1: Paul had not heard about this instance of incest through just one witness. This was common knowledge among the believers in Corinth. Even the non-Christians (Gentiles, this verse) didn't live in this kind of sin.

The sin in itself was terrible but Paul is as upset at the seeming indifference of the other believers (v. 2) as he is with the man who committed the act. This is clearly seen in Paul's statement in 2 Corinthians 7:12. There Paul said he wrote about this incident, not for the sake of him that had done the wrong . . . but so that his care for the members of the Corinthian church would be evident.

Therefore, these instructions about church discipline are as necessary for the body as a whole as they are for an individual member who may fall under this judgment. Those who think it would be terrible to punish a fellow believer as Paul instructs here, is failing to see the whole picture. Failure to uphold the Bible's standards of morality will infect the whole body of believers in a similar way that a little yeast will leaven a whole loaf of bread (v. 6).

Note 2 at 1 Cor. 5:1: The Greek word that was translated "fornication" twice in this verse as well as 19 other times in the New Testament, is "porneia" meaning "harlotry (including adultery and incest); fig. idolatry" (Strong's). Three times (recorded in four places-Mt. 15:19; Mk. 7:21; 1 Cor. 6:9; Gal. 5:19) a distinction between adultery and fornication is implied by the fact that both words are employed in a list of sins in the same verse.

However, most scholars believe fornication is a broad word encompassing all sexual immorality of which adultery is just a part. W.E. Vine defines "porneia" as simply "illicit sexual intercourse."

Note 3 at 1 Cor. 5:1: Today, this act of sexual immorality is called incest. The word incest is not used in the Bible, but the laws restricting this immorality were recorded in Leviticus 18:6-17 (also Lev. 20:10-21). Leviticus 18:8 specifically forbids sexual relations with a step-mother which Paul is dealing with here (also Dt. 22:30; 27:20).

These acts of incest were called an abomination in Leviticus 18:26-27,29-30 and were all punishable by death (Lev. 20:10-21). Incest was placed in the same category as sacrificing children to demon gods (Lev. 18:21), homosexuality (Lev. 18:22), and bestiality (Lev. 18:23).