John Calvin Commentary 1 Corinthians 5:2

"And ye are puffed up, and did not rather mourn, that he that had done this deed might be taken away from among you." — 1 Corinthians 5:2 (ASV)

And you are puffed up. “Are you not ashamed,” he says, “to glory in what affords so much occasion for humiliation?” He had observed previously that even the highest excellence gives no just ground for glorying, since mankind have nothing of their own, and it is only through the grace of God that they possess any excellence (1 Corinthians 4:7). Now, however, he attacks them from another quarter. “You are,” he says, “covered with disgrace: what ground have you, then, for pride or haughtiness? For there is an amazing blindness in glorying in the midst of disgrace, in spite, as it were, of angels and men.”

When he says, and have not rather mourned, he argues by way of contrast, for where there is grief, there is no more glorying. It may be asked: “Why should they have mourned over another man’s sin?” I answer, for two reasons:

1. First, because of the communion that exists among the members of the Church, it was fitting that all should feel hurt at so deadly a fall by one of their number.
2. Secondly, when such an enormity is committed in a particular Church, the perpetrator of it is an offender in such a way that the whole society is, in a manner, polluted.

For as God humbles the father of a family in the disgrace of his wife or his children, and a whole kindred in the disgrace of one of their number, so every Church should consider that it contracts a stain of disgrace whenever any base crime is committed in it.

Moreover, we see how the anger of God was kindled against the whole nation of Israel on account of the sacrilege of one individual — Achan (Joshua 7:1).

It was not as if God had been so cruel as to take vengeance on the innocent for another man’s crime; but, as in every instance in which anything of this nature has occurred among a people, there is already some sign of His anger, so by correcting a community for the fault of one individual, He distinctly indicates that the whole body is infected and polluted with the contagion of the offense.

Hence we readily infer that it is the duty of every Church to mourn over the faults of individual members as domestic calamities belonging to the entire body. And certainly, a pious and dutiful correction originates from our being inflamed with holy zeal due to displeasure at the offense, for otherwise severity will be felt to be bitter.

That he might be taken away from among you. He now states more clearly what he finds fault with in the Corinthians — remissness, since they connived at such an abomination.

Hence, too, it appears that Churches are given this power — that whatever fault there is within them, they can correct or remove it by strictness of discipline. It also appears that those are inexcusable who are not vigilant to ensure filth is cleared away.

For Paul here condemns the Corinthians. Why? Because they had been remiss in the punishment of one individual. Now, he would have accused them unjustly if they had not had this power. Hence, the power of excommunication is established from this passage.

On the other hand, since Churches have this mode of punishment entrusted to them, those who do not make use of it when it is required commit sin, as Paul shows here. For otherwise, he would act unfairly toward the Corinthians in charging them with this fault.