Is this scripture referring to communion or a meal?

Question

"But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; {with such an one no not to eat}" 1 Corintians 5:11.

I know that this question might be offensive to some but its the Bible.If you don't agree with the word of God then take that up with Him that wrote it.

POOR WIDOW: Then again it might do directly the opposite.Many are comfortable today because we make them comfortable, we wouldn't want to offend them, let us offend God first, heaven forbid that we should offend a freind seems to be the attitude today..All of us have a desire to please without doing much.But when the standard of exceptance is risen, so will ones desire to do better also improve.

"That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another" 1Cr.12:25. Can two walk together except the be agreed? When the church comes together for communion it should be done as one body taking the Lords supper.This should never be done with someone who willfully sins.What fellowship does light have with darkness.Do we partake of our Lords body with devils and false prophets? Are we not to purge out the old leaven lest it defile the whole body.
"These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots" Jude 12
"And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you"2 Peter 2:15

Answer 1

The context of this passage has a few aspects.

-Dealing with an evil brother
-Judging this evil brother
-Keeping the feast of UNleavened bread
-Removing the evil one from the chruch

There is a good cross reference to this matter of " with such a one do not eat" in 2 John 1:10-11

If anyone comes to you and does not being THIS teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not say to him Rejoice!

For he who says to him Rejoice, shares in his evil works.

This person mentioned in this verse is not one who has simply committed a certain sin but he is one who is living IN that sin and remains in it, refusing to repent. TO remove such a one is not just to remove a sin from the church but to judge and remove a sinful person so that the church will not be " leavened " by his presence.


So does this refer to a meal or the Lord's Table and Supper? I believe it has to do with both. To break bread with one doing such an evil perverts the Lord's Table and Supper. It brings leaven into a feast that is made of unleavened bread. This one brings with him evil teachings ( leaven) and fornication, idolatery, reviling, drunkardness, rapaciousness, covetousness...what fellowship does light have with this darkness?

To even have a meal with this one is in essence standing in oneness with this person.
It is the Church's right to judge in spirit and in righteousness these sort of things. This is not a person sinning in the world as a sinner.. this is a matter that is taking place IN the church with an evil brother. It will be addressed as such.

Vss 12-13 of this passage
For what I hav eto do with judging those who are outside the church? Do you not judge those who are within the church?

But those who are outside God will judge. Remove the evil man from among yourselves.

May the Lord preserve us all

a sister
sandy

Answer 2

1 Cor 5:11But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. NIV

The last sentence is a translation of the Greek word sunesthio G4906 which means eat with, take food together. Sunesthio is used 5 times in the New Testament: Luke 15:2, Acts 10:41, 11:33, Gal 2:12 and here 1 Cor 5:11. In all five verses, it talks about eating with someone.

Answer: Eat with, take food together.

Answer 3

perhaps these scriptures will put it more into context.
and this is referring to the communion meal, where in that day each family would bring what they had and share with each other.
similar the the potluck meals that many churches have today.
please pay special attention to verse 12.

6Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? 7Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

9I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

12What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."[b]

Answer 4

I believe if you look at it in context with verses 9 -13, Paul is clearly talking about not associating with fellow Christians who have turned to immorality. I believe that the reference to eat is social, not a reference to Communion.

1 Cor 5:9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with immoral men; 10 not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But rather I wrote to you not to associate with any one who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber -- not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. "Drive out the wicked person from among you."

Additional thoughts: I've done a little more research. The passage 1 Cor 5:1-13 is really talking about excommunication. The Body of Christ excommunicates in order to promote repentance in the sinner (church member, not unbeliever). Other passages to consider are Rom 16:17 and Mt 18:15-20.

Answer 5

To have no contact or fellowship with him of any kind; not to do anything that would seem to acknowledge him as a brother; with such an one not even to eat at the same table. A similar course is enjoined by John; 2John 1:10-11. This refers to the contact of common life, and not particularly to the communion.

Brother Don, I have offended people with this before and it is heart wrenching to have to deal with such matters. It is even more heart wrenching to see a Pastor with no backbone allow someone in leader-ship that is shacked up with someone, or unable to control themselves.

Blessings, good question.

Answer 6

It is speaking, about, not to associate at all, with an immoral person, and not even to take a meal with them.It ties in with 2 Timothy Chapter 3 verse 1-5 New Jerusalem Bible

Answer 7

I couldn't agree more. As a Christian I know I must offend some by not agreeing with them. It is our lot in life as it was Christ's and the Apostles. Everyone claims to be a Christian nowadays. Even religions that did not claim to be in the 70's now claimed to be, even though they don't teach what the bible does about who Jesus is or what He taught. They have their "extra books" that "go along with the bible", but their books do not go along with the bible once you dig. These religions present a sugar coating of what they believe because they are targetting Christians, trying to sound like us so as to suck us in. You are right. This world these days pressures us to accept everyone's sins and beliefs or we are not "politically correct". It's hard to be a Christian. Jesus warned us that it would be. It's easy to rub elbows and give false religions a big group huggie and get loved and accepted in return but it's not what Jesus taught us to do.

Answer 8

It's referring to a meal. Communion is already excluded because Paul says that the church should put people who act like he described out of the church.

1 Corinthians 5:13 God judges those outside. "Purge the evil person from among you."

Answer 9

Paul clarifies the principle of separation.

1 Corinthians 5:10-13

"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. 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. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

"Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world..."
Paul did not want the Corinthian Christians to expect godly behavior from ungodly people. To disassociate from sinners in a sinful world would mean we would need to go out of the world.

Surprisingly, this is exactly the approach many people take to holiness and Christian living – to get as far away from the world as possible. This was the whole spirit behind the monastic movement in the early and medieval church.

Instead, without approving the sin of sinners in this world, we should expect that they would be sinners!

It should not surprise or offend us that those who do not know Jesus yet are covetous; literally, the word "covetous" means those “who must have more.”

It should not surprise or offend us that those who do not know Jesus yet are extortioners (i.e., "harpax" in the original Greed); the word describes those who steal by violence.

It should not surprise or offend us that those who do not know Jesus yet acts as a reviler, describing a person who is a character assassin.

But the Corinthian Christians were to expect Christian behavior from their fellow Christians, and they were not doing this! Instead, Paul commands that they not even to eat with such a person.

In the culture of that day (and in many cultures today), eating with someone is an expression of friendship and partnership. In some cultures, if a man eats at your table, you are bound to regard him as a friend and a partner. Paul is warning the Corinthian Christians they cannot continue in Christian fellowship with a notorious sinner who calls himself a Christian.

"What have I to do with judging those also who are outside? . . . those who are outside God judges..." Unfortunately, too many Christians are busy judging those outside of the church (which is God’s job only) and are neglecting purity within the church.

"Do you not judge those who are inside? . . . Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person”..."
The Corinthian Christians were failing to judge where they should have made judgment. They should not have “winked” at the notorious sinner in their midst, and they should not have considered themselves “loving” for doing so.

We must remember both reasons why it was important to deal with this sinning man among the Corinthian Christians: not only for the sake of purity in the church, but also for the man’s own salvation (1 Corinthians 5:5).

For all the above reasons, I believe Paul was referring to Godly Christians. They are NOT to commune, mingle, socialize, and/or dine with people who PROFESS to be Christians but do NOT act or live by Christian principles before the world in their daily lives.

Answer 10

It means we are not to associate with them. Really...why do we desire to hang out with others who don't love Jesus? Just because they're family? The only reason we should hang out with unbelievers is if we're regularly preaching the gospel to them. They will then either be converted or run from us, but they will not desire to continue to be around us. If sinners are not agitated by a believer, then that believer ought to examine himself according to the Word of God.

1 Cor. 15:33 says, "Do not be deceived; 'Evil company corrupts good habits'."

If we don't change those around us, then we will be changed by those around us.