Commentaries:
The apostle Paul was telling the Corinthian church members to put out spiritual leaven, just as they had already put out all physical leaven in preparation for this festival. They were to keep the Feast not only with unleavened bread, but also with the spiritually "unleavened" attitude of sincerity and truth.
Why Christians Should Keep God's Holy Days
Paul plainly instructs that the purpose of keeping the Days of Unleavened Bread is to remind us of our need to remove sin from our lives. Because of the serious sins that a Corinthian member had committed, and the congregation's general acceptance of this situation, Paul advises them to use the Days of Unleavened Bread to "purge out the old leaven." They should examine their attitudes and put these sins out of their lives and out of the congregation. He reminds them that the Passover is a memorial of the death of Christ, who died for us that we may receive forgiveness of sins. They "truly are unleavened," he says, in the sense that they had repented and been justified through faith in the sacrifice of Christ. However, since they had allowed leaven to return into their lives, they needed to get rid of it.
This is the heart of why we are still required to put leaven out of our homes. Leaven represents sin, and deleavening our homes symbolizes purging sin from our lives. However, cleansing our lives of sin is a lifetime process that will not be completely fulfilled until we are resurrected and transformed into spirit. As long as we are still flesh and blood, we will never be absolutely perfect—we will never free ourselves completely and totally of sin. This constant struggle to overcome human nature and put on God's nature is called sanctification. Nevertheless, we must continually strive to conform to the image of Jesus Christ, that is, to be a truly perfect human being (Philippians 3:12-14).
God wants us to observe the Days of Unleavened Bread year after year to remind us that we are not perfect and that our lives are a constant struggle against sin. When we deleaven our homes, we find that, no matter how hard we try, we cannot find every tiny crumb that may be imbedded in carpet or hidden behind an appliance. This illustrates how deceitful sin is and teaches us that we must constantly examine ourselves to purge it out of our lives. Removing sin is hard work! The Days of Unleavened Bread remind us annually of this constant warfare that all Christians must wage throughout their lives.
Why then must we remove leaven from our homes but need not be circumcised? The answer is that physical circumcision no longer has a purpose under the New Covenant. Its symbolism is fulfilled in the process of repentance, baptism, and receipt of the Holy Spirit. However, the object lesson of deleavening our homes still has great meaning and purpose for us. The symbolism of putting sin out of our lives will not be completely fulfilled until we are born into the Kingdom of God and become like Him who cannot sin (I John 3:9).
Earl L. Henn (1934-1997)
Why We Must Put Out Leaven
The apostle Paul instructed the Corinthian Christians to observe the Passover as a memorial of the death of Christ, our Passover, who was sacrificed for us.
Earl L. Henn (1934-1997)
Holy Days: Passover
The Days of Unleavened Bread are a memorial to God's law and to His powerful deliverance from Egypt and bondage. Paul explains this significance to the Corinthians and the urgency attached to cease sinning. He says we should not even keep company with a brother involved in flagrant sin! Also, by ridding our homes of sin, we realize that overcoming sin is hard work!
Staff
Holy Days: Unleavened Bread
Related Topics:
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Exodus 12:17
Exodus 13:14-15
Leviticus 2:11
Leviticus 23:5
Amos 8:11-14
Matthew 13:33
Matthew 26:2
Matthew 26:26-29
Mark 15:6-15
Luke 13:21
Luke 22:14-20
Luke 22:19-20
John 19:14
Acts 12:4
1 Corinthians 5:7-8
1 Corinthians 5:8
Galatians 4:9-10
Galatians 4:9-10
Galatians 4:11
Galatians 4:12
Library resources that contain this verse:
The Feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths of the Hebrews |
The Sabbath and First-Day During the First Five Centuries |
Articles |  |
A Subtle Yet Devastating Curse |
Does Paul Condemn Observing God's Holy Days? |
Five Teachings of Grace |
I Am Barabbas |
Remaining Unleavened |
The Five Ws of Deleavening |
The Law of the Firstborn |
The Offerings of Leviticus (Part Three): The Meal Offering |
'Tis the Season: Help for Our Young People |
'Tis the Season: Help for Our Young People |
Why We Must Put Out Leaven |
Why We Must Put Out Leaven |
Bible Studies | |
Feast of Trumpets: Why the World Won't End in Cosmocide |
Feast of Unleavened Bread: Our Part in God's Master Plan (2) |
Feast of Unleavened Bread: Our Part in God's Master Plan (2) |
Holy Days: God's Plan in the Holy Days |
Holy Days: God's Plan in the Holy Days |
Holy Days: Passover |
Holy Days: Unleavened Bread |
Passover: The Beginning of God's Master Plan (5) |
Pentecost: Only 'Firstfruits' Now Called! |
Should You Be Baptized? |
The Last Great Day: God's Master Plan Completed! |
The Last Great Day: God's Master Plan Completed! (2) |
The Parables of Matthew 13 (Part Five): The Parable of the Leaven |
The Plain Truth About the Old and New Covenants |
The Seventh Commandment |
Why Christians Should Keep God's Holy Days (4) |
Why Christians Should Keep God's Holy Days |
Booklets | |
'After Three Days' |
How Often Should We Partake of the Lord's Supper? (2) |
Pagan Holidays—or God's Holy Days—Which? |
Preparing the Bride |
The Plain Truth About Easter (2) |
The Plain Truth About Easter |
The Resurrection Was Not on Sunday |
Sermon Transcripts | |
Acting the Fool |
Christ's Death, Resurrection, and Ascension |
Do Little Things Not Count? |
Does Doctrine Really Matter? (Part 14) |
Don't Stand Still! |
Freedom and Unleavened Bread |
Freedom and Unleavened Bread |
Freedom, Liberty, and Bondage (2) |
Freedom, Liberty, and Bondage |
James and Unleavened Bread (Part 1) |
Leavening, The Types |
Magic Doesn't Work (Part 3) |
New Covenant Priesthood (Part 2) |
Parables of Matthew 13 (Part 2): Leaven |
Parables of Matthew 13 (Part 2): Leaven |
Passover (Part 1) |
Potential for Good (2) |
Potential for Good |
Principled Living (Part 2): Conquering Sin (2) |
Re-education (Part 1) |
Re-education (Part 2) |
Testing Spiritual Character |
The Christian Medal of Honor |
The Christian Medal of Honor |
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 20) |
The First Day of Unleavened Bread (Part 1) (2) |
The Pharisees (Part 2) |
The Sacrifices of Leviticus (Part 4) |
Unleavened Bread and Hope |
Why Are We Called To Overcome? |
Why Are We Here? |
You Have Not So Learned Christ |
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