The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 174

II. THERE IS A LEAVEN OP SINFUL INFLUENCE IN HUMAN NATURE AND m HUMAN SOCIETY WHICH ENDANGERS THE PURITY OF THE CHURCH. 1. The presence of such a leaven was very painfully manifest in the society at Corinth. But where is the Christim community which is absolutely pure? There are societies which make great professions in this matter; but their "glorying is not good." Where is the individual Christian in whose nature there is no trace of the old, worldly, sinful, corrupt humanity? The purest and the best are foremost to acknowledge that this is so. 2. Leaven furnishes an illustration of the diffusive, contagious, corrupting power of sin. A little leaven leavens the lump. A sin tolerated, a sinner countenanced, in a Christian society, may imperil the general purity. "One sickly sheep infects the flock;" "Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth ! " These and other proverbial intimations of the power of this principle are sufficient to put us upon our guard. Each heart is aware of the secret temptations to evil to ,which it is most exposed; and perhaps every one's experience can show how evil habit grows when unchecked and indulged. III. THE DIVINE SUMMONS REQUIRES THAT THE LEAVEN OF SIN BE REMOVED THAT THE MASS MAY BE PRESERVED IN PURITY. 1. The case of the Corinthians reminds us that the excision of an offending member may be necessary in order to vindicate Christian purity and to protest against the encroachments of sin. The old leaven nrnst, in this sense, be "purgeu out." 2. There is, however, a wider application cf this principle. Corruption creeps into every nature, into every society. And the i,_'Ostle here enjoins that we submit to no truce, to no compromise with sin, but that, for the sake of our own spiritual and eternal interests, we keep a watch upon ourselves, lest the sour leaven steal in unobserv-ed, and corrupt our nature ere we be aware of its 1pera.tion, or at all events its power. Holiness becometh the house of the Lord for ~.er.-T. Ver. 7.-" Christ our Passover." The connection of this illustration with the passage ,i which it occurs is obvious. The Jews commenced the Feast of Unleavened Bread ;ith the slaying, roasting, and eating of the Paschal lamb. Now, the apostle has been urging the Corinthians to moral purity, and has enjoined them to put away the leaven of wickedness, and keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth; and, as a motive to do this, he reminds them that the Christian dispensation is as a spiritual Passover, which commenced with the sacrifice of "the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world." The Paschal lamb is regarded as a symbol of Christ. I. IT COMMEMORATED A GREAT DELIVERANCE. The Israelites were reminded by the Passover feast of the bondage from which their ancestors had been delivered when they were brought out of Egypt " with a high hand and a stretched-out arm." The n:ition had been emancipated from the tyranny of the Pharaohs, and had been spared the doom of the first-born of the people of the land. Christ's redemption set his people free from the tyranny, the bondage, the unrewarded toil, the darksome night, the dreary hopelessness, of sin; and brought them out into the freedom, the light, the gracious privileges, the glorious hopes, of the gospel. II. IT WAS SLAIN AS .A DIVINELY ORDERED SACRIFICE AND OFFERING. Put to death by the head of the family, the lamb was taken to the priest, who sprinkled its blood upon the altar and burned its fe.t, according to the ordino.nce. Although the lamb was offered yearly, it was in the first instance that it was regarded most strictly as a. sacrifice. Christ was offered once only ; " There remaineth no more offcri ng for si,n." Yet the Eucharist is a perpetual memorial of the great Sacrifice of Calvary. It is by the willing, accepted, vicarious sacrifice of our Redeemer that mankind have been reconciled and consecrated unto God. Ill. lT WAS PARTAKEN BY THE FAITHFUL WORSHIPPERS IN THE PASCHAL MEAL. It was in this way that every Hebrew family was reminded of its share in the covenant mercy and faithfulness of the Eternal. As they ate the la.rub in the appointed way, and with the appointed observances and accompaniments, the children of Israel were led to appropriate, in faith and obedience, the spiritual provision which the God of their fathers had made for them. In like manner the members of the spiritual common- wealth of Israel "eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of m:in," taking Christ as the nourishment of their souls, and appropri~ting tbo, st.rength, the wi2dom, the grace I. CORINTHIAllS. ll  178 THE FIIlST EPISTLE TO 'l'HE CORINTHIANS. [en. v. 1-13.