the scripture which I'll bring
before you this evening is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and
the 7th verse 1 chapter 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 7 For even Christ our Passover
is sacrificed for us. For even Christ our Passover
is sacrificed for us. The Apostle's purpose in writing
to the church at Corinth was to reply to a letter which had
been written to him and to answer various questions contained in
that letter. We see this at the beginning
of chapter 7. Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto
me, he says. This letter, that letter that
was written to him, was probably brought to Paul by Stephanas,
Fortunatus and Achaicus, because he says in chapter 16, I am glad
of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus. for
that which was lacking on your part they have supplied for they
have refreshed my spirit and yours so the apostle wrote this
epistle in response to a letter he had received from the Corinthians
and he would answer those questions which were contained in that
letter but he also writes to them because he had heard reports
of serious errors in doctrine and in practice and in conduct
reports had come to him via members of the household of Chloe as
we read in chapter 1 verse 11 for it has been declared unto
me of you my brethren by them which are of the house of Chloe
that there are contentions among you now who Chloe was or who
her household or family were we do not know But we may be
reasonably assured that she and her household were godly people
who had a concern for the welfare of the church and for the testimony
of the gospel and for the glory of God. And so the Apostle Paul
writes this epistle to correct the erroneous doctrines, opinions
and practices which had come into the church at Corinth. There were contentions and divisions
among them. Brother was taking brother to
court. They were suing one another.
There was the abuse of the Lord's Supper. There was confusion with
regards to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and there was the undermining
of apostolic authority. There were questions regarding
marriage and divorce. They needed instruction. regarding
food offered to idols, and instruction regarding the head covering in
worship. There were those who were saying
that there was to be no future resurrection of the dead. And
there was fornication in the church, and the tolerating of
that fornication. All these issues are dealt with
in this epistle. But notice this. Although there
were all these problems in the church at Corinth, yet the apostle
still regards them as a true church of Jesus Christ. See how he addresses his epistle.
Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will
of God and sustenance our brother unto the church of God. which
is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called
to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name
of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. Indeed there
are things which he commends this church for, In verse 4 of
that first chapter, I thank my God always on your behalf for
the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ, that in
everything you are enriched by him, in all utterance and in
all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,
so that ye come behind him, no gift, waiting for the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you unto the
end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus
Christ. He has this confidence in God
towards them. God is faithful. by whom you
were called unto the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our
Lord. They are a true church, notwithstanding
all these issues and all the problems that were there. Well,
as we come to the words of our text this evening, for even Christ
our Passover is sacrificed for us, we should consider three
things. Firstly, the context, the keeping of the feast, Secondly,
the Passover. In what sense Christ is our Passover? And then thirdly, the application,
the pursuit of holiness. So let us consider firstly the
context, the keeping of the feast. The context here in the fifth
chapter of this epistle is that Paul is dealing with the matter
of fornication in the church at Corinth. 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. This was a case of serious misconduct. of great wickedness being tolerated
in one of the members of this church, and Paul declares under
the direct inspiration of the Spirit of God that such a one
should be put under church discipline. He must be excommunicated, put
out of the church, withdrawn from as a member of the church,
and the privileges of church membership withdrawn from him.
He is to be regarded unto them as an heathen man, a republican. He is to be put out of the church.
See what the apostle says here in chapter 5, verse 2, and ye
are puffed up and have not rather mourned that he that hath done
this deed might be taken away from among you. For I very, as
absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already,
as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered
together, and my spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to deliver such and one unto Satan, for the destruction of
the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord
Jesus. And in verse nine of this chapter,
I wrote unto you in an epistle, not to accompany with fornicators,
yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous,
or extortioners, or with idolaters, for then ye must needs go out
of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep
company if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or
covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an
extortioner. It is such and one know not to
eat." This excommunication, this excluding from the communion
of the saints, is the putting out of the church and into the
world. It is the putting out of the
kingdom of Christ and into the dominion of Satan, for Satan
is the God of this world. As John says, "...and the whole
world lieth in wickedness." This is what is meant by delivering
such an one unto Satan. The world is Satan's dominion.
You're either in the world or you're in the church. It is to
be put out of the church then into the domain of the devil,
the world. Now note that it is done in love and with a merciful
purpose. It is for the destruction of
the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord
Jesus. not that his body should be destroyed for this man was
to be brought to repentance but that the body of sin might be
destroyed and that he might come to himself and by God's grace
put off the old man with his deeds and we know that this man
was indeed brought to repentance but we see it in the second epistle
to the Corinthians in chapter 2 verse 6 sufficient to such
a man is this punishment which was inflicted of many. So the
contrary, wise, you ought rather to forgive him and comfort him,
lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch
sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that
he would confirm your love toward him." This man was restored. He was brought to repentance.
He was restored to the communion of the saints there in Corinth. Here we see then the purpose
of church discipline. Paul writes in his second epistle
to the Thessalonians, and if any man obey not our word by
this epistle note that man and have no company with him that
he may be ashamed Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish
him as a brother. We see here the great difference
that there is between apostolic authority and papal tyranny. The pretended or apostate bishop
of Rome would not only put those whom he regards as heretics out
of the church, he would put them out of the world. fornicators,
covetous, extortioners, idolaters, and so on, are permitted to remain
in the church. The Pope even admitted recently
that there were too many sodomites in their so-called priesthood.
At the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, known IRA
terrorists, murderers, were allowed to remain in communion with the
Church of Rome. whereas those who have professed
the Lord Jesus Christ to be the head of the church and denounce
the doctrine of transubstantiation and the idolatry of the mass
who have confessed that there is one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus who know and believe that a man is
not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus
Christ and who deny that sins are burned off in purgatory Such
have been excommunicated, put to the rack, tortured, and burnt
alive at the stake. William Tyndale was strangled
and burnt at the stake for the heinous offense of translating
the Bible into English. Let us never forget that. Such
is the tyranny of the papal antichrist. How different the authority of
the apostles and of the Word of God. Paul would exclude from
the communion of saints those who were manifestly wicked, and
who were licentious, who continued in sin, and who walked contrary
to the gospel and to the doctrine of Christ. And this was to be
done in the hope that the Lord, in his mercy and in his grace,
would grant them repentance, and that they might be restored
again and brought back into the communion of saints. These things were taught of course
under the law in type and figure. For example in Numbers chapter
5. And the Lord spake unto Moses
saying command the children of Israel that they put out of the
camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever
is defiled by the dead, both male and female, shall ye put
out, without the camp shall ye put them, that they may defile
not their camps in the midst whereof I dwell. The church is the dwelling place
of God. Yes, it is the camp of the saints,
and the beloved city, as it says in the Revelation, but it is
also the temple of the living God, as Paul says here in 1 Corinthians. It is, as he also says in Ephesians,
the inhabitation of God through the Spirit. And as much then as the church
is the dwelling place of God, it must be holy. as we read in
the Psalms, holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, forever. Whatsoever then is corrupt or
defiled or causes corruption or defiled must be put out of
the church, which is the camp of the saints, the camp of the
sanctified ones. And so Paul says here, your glory
is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven
leaveneth the whole lump? purge out therefore the old leaven,
that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. The Apostle
is here alluding to the Jewish feast of unleavened bread, which
was to be kept for seven days following the Passover. We read
of its institution in Exodus 12 verse 15, seven days shall
ye eat unleavened bread. Even the first day you shall
put away leaven out of your houses. But for whosoever eateth leavened
bread, from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall
be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall
be a holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be
a holy convocation to you. No manner of work shall be done
in them save that which every man must eat. That only may be
done of you. And you shall observe the feast
of unleavened bread. For in this selfsame day have
I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore
shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance
forever, in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the
month, that even ye shall eat unleavened bread. Until the one
twentieth day of the month, at even seven days, shall there
be no leaven found in your houses. For whosoever eateth that which
is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation
of Israel, whether he be a stranger or born in the land. Ye shall
eat nothing leavened. In all your habitations shall
ye eat unleavened bread. Diligent search was to be made,
and if any leaven was found, it was to be put out of their
houses. And this, the Apostle says, is what the Church must
do regarding the old leaven, the leaven of malice and wickedness. It's called the old leaven because
it is that which proceeds from the old man, our old, fallen,
corrupt, Adamic nature. Now we're not to think that this
is something that only applies to the church at Corinth. No. This epistle is addressed unto
the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified
in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every
place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs
and ours. It is the obligation of the Church
under the Gospel then, here, and in every place, to ensure
that we are free from doctrinal impurity, and that we are free
from errors in our worship, in our walk, and in our witness. Know ye not that a little leaven
leaveneth the whole lump? A little false teaching, a little
doctrinal error will affect the whole testimony of the Church.
A little poison allowed in one member will affect the whole
body. A little vice tolerated will affect the whole church
and its witness and its testimony. Purge out therefore the old leaven. Purge out therefore the old leaven. The life then and the testimony
of the church is likened to the keeping of the feast of unleavened
bread. And the Lord Jesus Christ himself
is said to be the Passover lamb. For even Christ our Passover
is sacrificed for us. This then is the context. Know
ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore
the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.
For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore
let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the
leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread
of sincerity and truth. Let us go on then in the second
place to consider the Passover and in what sense Christ is our
Passover. For even Christ, our Passover,
is sacrificed for us. The Passover was commemorative
of a great deliverance, was it not? We read again there in Exodus
12 verse 26 and it shall come to pass when
your children shall say unto you what meaning by this service
that ye shall say it is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover who passed
over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he smoked
the Egyptians and delivered our houses but you know it wasn't just that
it was more than that Paul speaks of Moses in Hebrews chapter 11
through faith He kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood,
lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. Now note it
was through faith that Moses kept the Passover. That is through
faith in Christ, the Christ who was to come. The
Passover then was typical of the Lord Jesus Christ and of
his sufferings. The Passover was but a type,
a shadow as it were, but Christ is the fulfilment and the substance,
for even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. The Passover
was to be a lamb. Exodus 12 verse 3, and the Lord sorry i'm reading the wrong chapter
exodus 12 verse 3 speak ye unto all the congregation of israel
saying in the tenth day of this month shall they shall take to
them every man a lamb according to the house of their fathers
a lamb for a house and so the promised messiah was
likened to a lamb in the prophets He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, says Isaiah. And you remember the testimony
of John the Baptist, when he saw Jesus, behold, the lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world. He preached the
same sermon the next day. It was clearly a theme that the
Baptist delighted in. Again the next day after John
stood and two of his disciples and looking upon Jesus as he
walked he saith, behold the Lamb of God. Behold the Lamb of God. The Passover was to be a Lamb
without any defect. And so we read again in Exodus
12, your Lamb shall be without blemish. Peter speaks in his
first epistle of the precious blood of the lamb as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot. He is, as Paul says in Hebrews,
holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. He came in the
likeness of sinful flesh, yes, but he was without sin. without
original sin, being born of a virgin, untainted by Adam's transgression,
without actual sin, for he did no sin, neither was guile found
in his mouth. Christ our Passover is truly
a lamb without blemish and without spot. The Passover lamb was to
be a male. Your lamb shall be without blemish,
a male, we read in Exodus 12. And so Christ came as a man,
for there is one God and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus. Thus it was prophesied in the
Old Testament Scriptures, and this man shall be for peace.
He is that man-child that John saw in the Revelation, who was
to rule all nations with a rod of iron. The Passover lamb was
to be up to one year old. Your lamb shall be without blemish
a mile of the first year. We read in Exodus 12. The Messiah
was cut off out of the land of the living as it were in the
flower of his age. Again we read in Exodus 12 verse
5 of the Passover lamb ye shall take it out from the sheep or
from the goats. The Lord Jesus Christ is described
in the Psalms as one chosen out of the people. That is with regards
to his human nature. Again, there in Exodus 12 we
read of how the Passover lamb was to be selected on and kept
from the tenth day of the month. In the tenth day of this month
they shall take to them every man a lamb It was on the tenth
day of that month that the Lord Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem.
This can be gleaned from the chronology that we have in John
chapter 12. Then Jesus, six days before the
Passover, came to Bethany. we read in verse 1 of that chapter
and then in verse 12 on the next day much people that were come
to the feast when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem
and so on that was the 10th day of the month five days as the
Jews would count before the feast of the Passover which was on
the 14th day we note that Christ our Passover was not slain on
the 14th day of the month, but on the next day, for he himself
must keep the feast of Passover, being made of a woman made under
the law. But he did institute another
feast on that day, that of the Lord's Supper, a feast of remembrance
commemorating a greater deliverance than that of the deliverance
from Egyptian bondage. The Passover lamb was to be killed
in the evening. As we read in verse six of Exodus
12, and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall
kill it in the evening. It was at the ninth hour. That
is between three and four o'clock in the afternoon that Jesus gave
up the ghost, which coincidentally happened to be the time of the
offering up of the evening sacrifice. We read in Luke's account that
it was about the sixth hour and there was a darkness over all
the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened and
the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus
had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands
I commend my spirit. And having said thus, he gave
up the ghost. Not a bone of the Passover lamb
was to be broken. Exodus 12 verse 46, neither shall
he break a bone thereof. And so we read of the crucifixion
of Christ, this time in John's Gospel, chapter 19, verse 31. The Jews therefore, because it
was the preparation that the bodies should not remain upon
the cross on the Sabbath day, for that Sabbath day was a high
day, besought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that
they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers and break
the legs of the first and of the other which was crucified
with him. But when they came to Jesus and
saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs. They break not his legs. John
tells us, for these things were done, that the scripture should
be fulfilled, a bone of him shall not be broken. The scripture
is fulfilled for Christ, for even Christ our Passover is sacrificed
for us. The blood of the Passover lamb
was to be collected in a basin, for we read in verse 22 of Exodus
12, of the blood that is in the basin. Now does this not speak
to us of the preciousness of the blood of the Lamb? Forasmuch as ye know that ye
were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without
blemish and without spot. and the blood of this lamb was
to be sprinkled and you shall take a bunch of
hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin and strike
the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the
basin we read in Exodus 12 verse 22 and so the crucifixion of
the Messiah is described in the Prophets, Behold, my servant
shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and
be very high, as many were astonished at thee. His visage was so marred
more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men, so
shall he sprinkle many nations. And who are they among the nations
who are thus sprinkled? Well, they are the elect of God,
as Peter writes in his first epistle, elect according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the
Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. It was because of the sprinkling
of the blood of the Passover lamb that the children of Israel
escaped the judgment which was executed on the Egyptians. Exodus 12 verse 12 For I will
pass through the land of Egypt this night and will smite all
the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and
against all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgment. I am
the Lord. And the blood shall be to you
for a token upon the houses where you are. And when I see the blood,
I will pass over you. And the plague shall not be upon
you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. And so it is that all the elect
of God, all who are brought to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
shall escape the judgment that is to come, and the wrath that
is to be poured out on the ungodly, having their hearts sprinkled
from an evil conscience, and their bodies washed with pure
water. The Passover lamb was to be roast
with fire, As we read in Exodus 12 verse 8, surely this speaks
of the fierceness of God's anger and of the fury of His wrath.
Nahum says, who can stand before His indignation and who can abide
in the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire. The Lord Jesus Christ suffered
the fury of God's wrath when He was made sin for us. Who knew
no sin? when his soul was made an offering
for sin. He was, as it were, roast with
fire. He endured the whole of wrath divine. For even Christ,
our Passover, is sacrificed for us. The Passover lamb was to be eaten.
Again in Exodus 12, they shall eat it. and they shall eat the
flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread, and
with bitter herbs they shall eat. And so by faith we feed
upon Christ and upon His finished work. As the Living Father hath
sent me, Jesus said, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth
me, even he shall live by me. How do we eat Christ? Surely
it is by faith, by our believing on him. That is to feed upon
Christ. O taste and see that the Lord
is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in him. And we note that the Passover
lamb was to be eaten with bitter herbs. And with bitter herbs
they shall eat him. What are the bitter herbs which
the child of God must eat? as he feeds upon Christ, his
Passover lamb. Well surely there will be the
bitter herb of conviction of sin and godly sorrow and repentance Oh, the pangs by Christians felt
when their eyes are open, when they see the gulfs of guilt they
must wade and grope in, when the hell appears within, causing
bitter anguish, and a loathsome stench of sin makes the spirit
languish. Faith in Christ is always accompanied
with repentance. and they shall eat it. There's
faith. And they shall eat it. Faith. And with bitter herbs
they shall eat it. There's repentance. There may
be also cross providences and chastening. As the psalmist says,
thou hast showed thy people hard things. What hard things were
shown to Job? For thou writest bitter things
against me, he said. Think of Naomi, who changed her
name to Mara, which means bitter. And she said unto them, Call
me not Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty hath dealt very
bitterly with me. The Lord's people will often
taste the bitter herbs of backsliding and repentance and sorrow of
heart for sin. Remember Peter, how he denied
the Lord Three times, three times he denied the Lord. When the
Lord looked upon Peter, after the cup grew, we read, and Peter
went out and wept bitterly. Sorrow for sin and for backslidings
of heart is a bitter herb, which must often be eaten by those
who are living by faith on the paschal land. our Lord Jesus
Christ, and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. And are they
not the bitter herbs of suffering and persecution which the Lord's
people must endure? For unto you it is given in the
behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer
for his sake. Dr. Nicholas Ridley, the night
before he was due to be burned alive at the stake for his faithful
testimony to the gospel of Christ, referred to the bitterness of
that which he was due to suffer in the morning. And he said,
though my breakfast will be somewhat sharp, my supper will be more
pleasant and sweet. Now, of course, we're not all
called to suffer martyrdom, but we should all be prepared to
eat the bitter herbs of mocking, derision, of hatred, for the
Lord's sake, if necessary. and with bitter herbs they shall
eat it. I'm sure there's much more that
could be said regarding the type and its fulfilment in Christ,
for even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Let us
pass on to considering the third place, the application, the pursuit
of holiness. The words of our text, for even
Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, tells us what the motive
is for the believer's pursuit of holiness. Again, I refer you
to the context. Purge out therefore the old leaven,
that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ
our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the
feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and
wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. And surely these things are to
be applied to each and every member of the church. Each and
every member of the church is to purge out therefore the old
leaven, the leaven of malice and wickedness. Paul writes to
the Ephesians, Ephesians chapter 4 verse 22, that you put off concerning the
former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt, according
to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your
mind. and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created
in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore, putting away lying,
speak every man truth with his neighbour, for we are members
one of another. Then in verse 31 he says, Let
all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking
be put away from you. with all malice, and be ye kind
one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as
God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." To Timothy, he writes,
"...let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from
iniquity." Now the question is, what is
the believer's motive to pursue after holiness? Is it the law? Paul does not here make use of
the law, the Ten Commandments, written in stone, as an argument
for holiness. Paul does not here press the
law as the believer's motive to holiness, but rather the Gospel.
For even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. Here is
the believer's true motivation, for true holiness. It stands
right at the center of Paul's reasoning in these verses. For
even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. It is not
the law which is the believer's rule of life, but the gospel.
It is not the law, the ministration of death, written and engraved
in stones which is the believer's rule of life, and his motive
to holiness and to holy living? No! It's the gospel! For even
Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. As Joseph Hart says in
his hymn, Law and terrors do but harden, all the while they
work alone, but a sense of blood-bought pardon soon dissolves a heart
of stone. Paul in Romans says that by the
law is the knowledge of sin, and that is absolutely true,
of course it is, it's the word of God. By the law is the knowledge of
sin. It's absolutely true in the believer's experience too,
isn't it? If you're a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, wasn't
it by the law that conviction of sin came, your breaking of
God's commandments? hatred of sin come from? Did
that come from the law? No, it comes from the gospel. Matthew Henry says in his commentary,
the sacrifice of our Redeemer is the strongest argument with
a gracious heart for purity and sincerity. How sincere a regard
did he show to our welfare in dying for us. and how terrible
a proof was his death of the detestable nature of sin and
God's displeasure against it, heinous evil that could not be
expiated but with the blood of the Son of God. And shall a Christian
love the murderer of his Lord? God forbid. May the Lord our
God seal this truth to our hearts by his Holy Spirit, for even
Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Amen.