How bad was the immorality reported in 1 Corinthians 5:1?
The immorality was gross and shocking: Scripture reports common knowledge of fornication in the Corinthian church of a kind not even named among the Gentiles. It was the church’s most major problem, involving a man, and it exceeded even the pagan standard that Jews regarded as low.
Les explains that this was the most major problem in the Corinthian church, which also had divisions, lawsuits in pagan courts, and other issues. In 1 Corinthians 5, verse 1, he says it is reported commonly that there is fornication or immorality among them, such as not so much as named among the Gentiles—the pagans the Jews thought were as low as dogs. The pronoun his shows the case involved a man, an individual. This gross immorality was so bad that even the pagan Gentiles did not practice what Corinth tolerated.
It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
More Questions
What was the sin in 1 Corinthians 5 that Paul was addressing?
The sin described in this passage was a stepson and his stepmother actually living together as husband and wife, which is what the commentators pretty much agree on.
What sin was reported in the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 5?
Paul reports that sexual immorality existed in the Corinthian congregation of a kind so vile it was not even named among the Gentiles — a man having his father's wife.