v9: Not to keep company: This is another (New Testament) command.
· Keep company: Mingle. Associate with.
· Sexually immoral people: As can be seen by 1 Cor 5:10-11 Paul is speaking about immoral people within the believing community.
v10: Paul makes a distinction between those who profess to believe in Messiah and yet live immorally, and those who don’t believe and live immorally. We shouldn’t have expectations that the non-believing community will live morally, as they have not experienced the grace of Messiah. They still live in darkness and behave according to their own desires.
v11: Brother: (He claims to be a) Believer.
· Fornicator: Immoral sexually
· Covetous: They are ruled by their fleshly desires – what they want, wanting what others have and trying to get it no matter what etc
· Reviler: Speaks poorly of someone else.
· Extortioner: A cheat.
· Not even to eat with such a person: Eating with someone is an idiom for fellowship. Don’t have fellowship with this one.
v12: Outside: Those who are not a part of the believing community (G-d is the Judge of these people – not us. 1 Cor 5:13. He is the only One who can judge for condemnation).
· Judge those who are inside: This does not only mean that we need to evaluate the sinful behaviour of those who claim to be believers, but it also might mean that we need to excommunicate them for their behaviour etc (1 Cor 5:5) – if they do not acknowledge that it is sinful, and if they do not repent when confronted with their wicked behaviour.
v13: Put away: We are to remove anything in our midst that conflicts with the instructions of the Word of G-d (Deut 17:7, Deut 19:19, Deut 22:21 etc).
Note: We obviously need to associate with the non-believer. Although we don’t condone his behaviour, we want to lead him to repentance. We all sin. A true believer will repent of his sins. This one we can also associate with. It is the unrepentant believer who we need to put away from ourselves.