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1 Corinthians 5:6-8

Christ the Passover Lamb calls His people to a life cleansed from the leaven of sin.

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Scripture Text

5:6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t You know that a little yeast leavens the whole lump?

5:7 Purge out the old yeast, that You may be a new lump, even as You are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place.

5:8 Therefore let’s keep the feast, not with old yeast, neither with the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Anchor

Christ the Passover Lamb calls His people to a life cleansed from the leaven of sin.

Because Christ our Passover has been sacrificed, the church must pursue holiness by removing the corrupting influence of tolerated sin.

Rhythm
  1. 5:1-2 Paul reports the scandalous sexual immorality present among them, a kind not tolerated even among the Gentiles, and rebukes the church for arrogance rather than grief and decisive action.
  2. 5:3-5 Though absent physically, Paul pronounces judgment on the offender and commands the gathered church, in the name and power of the Lord Jesus, to hand the man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that His spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
  3. 5:6-8 Paul warns that their boasting is not good and uses leaven imagery to show that tolerated sin spreads. Because Christ our Passover has been sacrificed, the church must purge the old leaven and keep the feast in sincerity and truth.
  4. 5:9-13 Paul clarifies His earlier instruction. Believers are not to withdraw from immoral people in the world absolutely, but they must not associate with anyone claiming to be a brother who persists in scandalous sin. The church is responsible to judge those inside, while God judges those outside.
Watch Out
  • The metaphor of leaven does not teach sinless perfection but warns against tolerating persistent, unrepentant sin within the church.
  • Paul's call to remove leaven should not be interpreted as social isolation from unbelievers but as maintaining holiness within the church community.
  • The Passover imagery should not be reduced to ritual symbolism alone; Paul uses it to emphasize the ethical implications of Christ's sacrifice.
  • The command to celebrate the feast does not institute a literal festival but describes the ongoing life of believers shaped by sincerity and truth.
  • Do not interpret the leaven metaphor as condemning every believer struggling with sin.
  • Do not separate the call to holiness from the redemptive foundation in Christ.
  • Do not use this passage to justify harsh or unloving discipline.
  • Do not interpret the Passover reference as merely symbolic without redemptive significance.
  • Do not reduce the imagery to personal morality while ignoring its communal application.
Invitation Arc
  • Unchecked sin affects the spiritual health of the entire church.
  • Christian ethics flow from the redemptive work of Christ.
  • Church discipline preserves the holiness and witness of the community.
  • Believers must continually remove patterns of sin from their lives.
  • The identity of the church is rooted in Christ’s sacrificial redemption.
Canonical Thread
Gospel Clarity

Jesus Christ is the true Passover Lamb whose sacrifice delivers believers from sin and judgment. Because His death has secured redemption, those who belong to Him are called to live as a purified people, reflecting the new life created through the gospel.