THE TRUTH ABOUT I COR. 5:7-8
It never ceases to amaze me how those who simply refuse to observe the days God MADE holy will go off into reasonings and vain janglings to attempt to gloss over plain commands to keep those feasts. This Scripture has also been subjected to distortion and perversion.
One minister said in a respected religious magazine of August 1979 printing, that when Paul referred to the Corinthians being 'unleavened' he meant their spiritual state. His article stated, "Christ's death and their acceptance of it and Him made them unleavened." That statement is so contrary to Scripture it is obscene!
Leaven is often used symbolically to represent sin. The reasoning this man portrayed does not agree with I Jn. 1:8. You need to read it and see if a Christian is "unleavened", without sin.
"If we say that we (Christians) have no sin (no leaven), we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
Sad to say, that minister deceives himself, and the truth is NOT in him. Verses 1 & 2 of I Cor. 5 absolutely prove they were NOT spiritually unleavened AT ALL! They were allowing leaven, a hideous, flagrant violation of one of the Ten Commandments to exist right in their midst!
SCRIPTURE STATED
"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump AS YOU ARE UNLEAVENED. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: "Therefore let us KEEP THE FEAST, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
This letter arrived during the days of Unleavened Bread which they were observing on the heels of Passover, the Lord's Supper, where some had even become drunk! See I Cor. 11:21.
They were allowing incest in their congregation, and he told them to "purge out" this leaven…AS YOU ARE UNLEAVENED." This could in NO WAY refer to their spiritual condition which was leavened, puffed up. It conclusively proves the fact they were physically unleavened, as Exodus 12:18-20 commanded.
Leaven puffs up. And verse 2 says… "and you are puffed up." This is another crystal clear proof they were in NO WAY spiritually unleavened!
After commanding them to get rid of the spiritual leaven, "AS YOU ARE (physically) UNLEAVENED," he charges them to then… "let us KEEP THE FEAST." Of course. Continue on to KEEP the Feast they were already physically observing, and to keep it a spiritual feast.
Although the Corinthian Christians were observing the annual festival of unleavened bread in the letter, they had not gotten the point of it. The point is to get rid of the spiritual leaven that was in them; get rid of malice and wickedness, and keep that feast spiritually in sincerity and truth.
TIME SETTING
The time setting that this letter reached them was during the days of unleavened bread, and AFTER the Lord's Supper, NOT prior to it. How can you KNOW? Simple. What does Paul SAY in I Cor. 11:20-22? Read it yourself. Paul had heard a horrifying report for which he rebukes them sharply. At what was intended to be a solemn partaking of wine and unleavened bread, they had already made it a time of eating and drinking to the point some became drunk! Then he rehearses the way it SHOULD be done so next time they'll do it right. Again, part of their leaven was their proness to overdo and become drunk.
SUMMARY
This Scripture absolutely proves the keeping of the holy days of unleavened bread is binding on Christians. The Corinthian Church had serious spiritual problems. They were told to get rid of it and then, as they were keeping the feast in the letter, they should spiritually keep God's feast as He intended.
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