1 Corinthians 5:6

Glorying. Gr. kauchema, “that which is boasted about,” not the act of boasting.

The Corinthian believers had no basis for confident boasting in their spiritual condition. They sought to give the impression that all was well in the church. This was evidence of their spiritual blindness. They had become so familiar with the evil practices around them that they did not sense the terrible nature of the immorality that existed in their midst.

Not good. Boasting of personal achievements is always wrong because it is a form of pride and exaltation of self. “It is a wicked pride that delights in the vanity of one’s own works, that boasts of one’s excellent qualities” (4T 223). If a vision of Calvary is kept in view, all human boasting will be excluded (see Jer. 9:23, 24; 1 Cor. 1:29-31; Gal. 6:14).

A little leaven. The same saying appears in Gal. 5:9. Paul expressed surprise that the Corinthians, by their boasting of their satisfactory condition, showed that they had forgotten the vital truth of this well-known saying. As a small amount of leaven, or yeast, placed in a large quantity of dough affects the entire amount, so the presence of one defiant transgressor in the church has a corrupting influence on the whole body. See on Matt. 13:33.

To retain in the church a grossly offending member, because of a desire to help him to reform, overlooks the danger of his influence on the whole group of believers. It is often more helpful to the individual to separate him from the church so as to let him realize that his actions are out of harmony with its high standards and cannot be tolerated (see 7T 263; 3T 450-455).