For what have *I* [to do] with judging those outside also? *ye*, do not ye judge them that are within?
Paul has just told the Corinthians to stay away from anyone who calls himself a Christian and lives in open sin. His question draws a line: there is a circle he is responsible for, and a world outside it that he is not.
The words "inside" and "outside" were not vague to the first readers. They described two known spheres, and everyone could tell which side they stood on.
In the early days, everyone who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ understood the terms "within" and "without" (1 Corinthians 5:12-13; Colossians 4:5), and the limits were clear. Within were all who claimed to be believers in the Lord, and who, as far as anyone could tell, really were. Without were all who had not taken Christian ground. Within was the sphere where the Spirit of God ruled and lived. Without was the region where the god of this world was in control.
Paul's question rules something out. The standards of Christian discipline were never meant for people who never claimed Christ.
In the verses that follow, the apostle urges Christians to exercise holy discipline and live a life of sincerity and truth. He shows that he is speaking about the Christian circle. To extend either to the man of the world would be unreal and impossible… It is not the Christian's job to put the world right by judging its evil. God will do that in His own time. Our responsibility is to judge any evil that shows itself in the Christian company.
No one can read another person's heart. What counts is the position a person openly takes.
We are not to judge those "without," but we are to judge those "within." That is, all who take the ground of being Christians — of being members of God's assembly — come within the range of judgment. The very moment a man enters the assembly, he takes his place in that sphere. There discipline deals with everything contrary to the holiness of the One who dwells there.
Many Christians quote the Lord's words in Matthew 7 as if all judging were forbidden. Commentators note that the same sermon calls for discernment.
Few passages in the New Testament are so misunderstood and misapplied as Matthew 7:1: "Judge not, that you be not judged." In the very same chapter we read, "Beware of false prophets… you will recognize them by their fruits." Now, how are we to "beware" if we do not exercise judgment?
The line falls between two spheres, not between judging and not judging. Another writer shows why this duty exists and what it costs:
There is no call to discipline the evildoers of the world. But Christians must deal with offenders in God's assembly. Though absent, Paul had to judge that the wicked person should be put out. It was due to Christ and His sacrifice. God must be vindicated, since the assembly is His. The saints had to clear themselves in the matter, taking up the offender's sin as their own. Yet even here the aim was his ultimate good.
Leaving the world alone is not leaving it safe. Paul leaves that whole sphere to God, and the timing is His.
The world is not yet the sphere of divine judgment, but His children are. The Father judges them without favouritism, and the church is bound to do the same. By and by the world will be not only judged but condemned. So the believer should be all the more eager to judge himself. Otherwise grace would get a bad name, as if it tried to cover up evil. But even if he fails, the Lord does not. The Lord disciplines him with a divine judgment, so that he will not be condemned with the world.
Because those outside belong to God's judgment, discipline has a limit. Once someone is put out, the assembly has no further case to try — but it still has something to do.
When exclusion is the only way left to keep the assembly holy, discipline ends there, for God judges those who are "without." But godly concern and prayer still have their place, in keeping with the grace that seeks the lost in the world. And there will be a watching to see how God continues His work in the soul of one who has failed. Then the longed-for moment can be welcomed with joy.
- Boundary — Scripture draws a line: those who have taken Christian ground, and those who have not.
- Assignment — The world is not the church's case to try. God will judge it in His own time.
- Entry — A person comes under this judgment the moment he takes the place of being a Christian. No one can read his heart; the position he takes is what counts.
- Obligation — Inside the circle, judging is a command, not an option. "Judge not" never excuses tolerating evil.
- Limit — Discipline ends at exclusion. God takes over those outside, leaving the assembly with prayer and watchfulness, not verdicts.
But those without God judges. Remove the wicked person from amongst yourselves.
The chapter ends by drawing a line: God judges the world outside, and the gathering of believers must judge itself. The closing command is sharp, and it raises hard questions: who can be removed, how far the separation goes, and whether it still applies.
(The writers below quote an older translation: "Put away from among yourselves that wicked person." The ESV says, "Purge the evil person from among you.")
Paul refuses to judge outsiders. He tells the assembly to judge everyone who claims a place inside it.
We are not to judge those "outside," but we are to judge those "inside." That is, anyone who takes the ground of being a Christian — of being a member of God's assembly — comes within the range of judgement. The moment a man enters the assembly, he takes his place in a sphere where discipline deals with everything contrary to the holiness of the One who dwells there.
The wording is narrow, and that protects people. Only proven wickedness counts — not a single fault, and not a suspicion.
It is important to notice that it is wicked persons and only such that are to be put away from the company of believers. "Put away from among yourselves that wicked person." It would be very wrong to put away someone who had slipped into a fault, or someone who had only committed a single offense. When the assembly applies this discipline, its first duty is to be sure the person is really wicked. This must be proved and clear to all. Mere suspicion of evil will not do.
It is also wrong to use the label on someone who has already left.
It is a mistake in any case; in some it would be a gross wrong. The assembly cannot put out one who has already gone out; it makes no sense. Sometimes leaving is only an act of ignorance. Someone used to a sermon every Sunday morning may grow tired of worship in spirit and truth. How cruel and unjust to brand the weak one, unspiritual though he may be, as "a wicked person"!
The phrase is not "from the Lord's table" but "from among yourselves," and that difference matters.
Some object to saying "from the Lord's table," but the command goes even further. It says, "from among yourselves." Putting someone away from the table alone might, for a careless person, fit quite well with treating that person as one of themselves in every other way. But the apostle Paul shows how much farther this "putting away" goes. He adds, "with such a one, no, not to eat." They were to refuse all association, even an ordinary meal!
The aim is not punishment. It is protection.
Putting one away as a wicked person is like cutting off a limb of one's own body. It is a very painful and grievous thing, and only done when there is no hope of saving the limb. The amputation is performed to preserve the body from the poison in the diseased limb. In the same way, putting away an evil person is necessary to prevent the leaven from spreading in the assembly.
Does this command still stand today? One writer answers by separating a command from an act of power.
"Put away from among yourselves that wicked person" has its own simple authority that nothing can take away. It applies to an assembly. Wherever a wicked person is in an assembly, the case it applies to is there, and it is a simple matter of obedience. There are acts of power, as in "I have judged to deliver to Satan." Paul does not say, You do it. He does it in all the solemnity of the assembled saints, but there is no command — it is a personal act of power.
Putting away comes last, and it still has a goal beyond itself.
Many have said and agreed that putting away from among yourselves should be the last measure we turn to. We use it only when all patience and all grace have run out, and when letting the evil continue any longer would only dishonour the name of the Lord. On the other hand, putting away always aims at restoring the person it falls on. It is never done to get rid of him. So it is in God's ways with us.
This command sits between two others that are often confused with it, and each governs a different situation.
The first speaks of evil professors of the Lord, who are not our objects of extermination, but living in the field of the world till judgment falls at the end of the age. The second commands the wicked man to be at once put out of the church. The third provides for the day when the professing church sanctions vessels to dishonour, from which the faithful soul is bound to purge himself.
- Inside — the assembly judges those who claim a place within it; God judges the world outside.
- Established — only proven wickedness qualifies; a fault, a suspicion, or a quiet departure does not.
- Among yourselves — the separation covers ordinary social contact, not just the Lord's table.
- Obedience — it is a plain command to the gathered saints, distinct from Paul's personal act of delivering to Satan.
- Restoration — the last resort exists to recover the person, never to be rid of him.