What specific sin was being tolerated in the Corinthian church according to 1 Corinthians 5?
The Corinthian church tolerated sexual immorality in which a man had his father’s wife, his stepmother—a union even Gentiles would not practice. Rather than mourning and removing the offender, they were puffed up and gloating. The man was to be judged and delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, because a little leaven leavens the whole lump.
Les explains that the sin tolerated in Corinth was gross immorality that even the Gentiles would not think of doing: a man was living with his father’s wife, that is, his stepmother. The Corinthians were permitting it and were puffed up instead of mourning, so that the one who had done this deed might be taken away from among them. Les notes that they did nothing about this gross immorality; if anything, they smiled about it and made snide remarks. The writer says that, absent in body but present in spirit, he had already judged the one who did this deed, and when they were gathered in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, with his spirit and the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, such a one was to be delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, not the soul—physical death if he would not straighten up. The Corinthians were just as guilty because they were glorying and gloating over it, and a little leaven permeates the whole loaf. They had to deal with it. In the second letter, they did deal with it and evidently brought the man back into fellowship; his sin was forgiven and cleansed, and the letter had done its work.
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 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.
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.