1 Corithians 5:8 – Proof That The Passover Was Celebrated After The Resurrection Of Jesus?
The World Mission Society Church of God claims that eternal life will only be obtained by those who celebrate the Passover. Regarding the Passover the WMSCOG says on its official website:
If anyone does not believe the message of salvation [the Passover], he cannot obtain eternal life.
Was the Passover Observed by the Apostles?
In a discussion I had with a WMSCOG member regarding salvation by observing the law versus salvation by grace, I asked if there was any evidence to suggest that the Passover was observed by the apostles after Jesus’s Resurrection. The WMSCOG member said “absolutely” and pointed to 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 as proof.
Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Is the apostle Paul here advising the church in Corinth to keep the Passover in this verse, or could it mean something else?
Paul Uses a Metaphor
If we read from the beginning of 1 Corinthians 5, we see that Paul is discussing sexual immorality and incest among the people in the church (v1). In verse 7, Paul tells the Corinthians to “get rid of the old yeast, so you may be a new unleavened batch”. Yeast is symbolic of sin in the Bible (Matthew 16:11, Mark 8:15, Luke 12:1). In Old Testament times, the family was to rid their homes of yeast during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:19). Taking into consideration that Paul was a teacher of the law prior to his conversion, and that his audience was certainly comprised of former Jews, we see how fitting it is for Paul to draw out this analogy, commanding the Corinthians to rid the church (house) of all yeast (sin) so that they “may be a new unleavened batch…For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed”, as Jesus was the fulfillment of the Passover because he was “lamb without spot or blemish” (1 Peter 1:19, Leviticus 9:3) and therefore “unleavened bread” (John 6:51).
This also helps explain why Paul clearly uses “heortazo” instead of “heorte”. The entire series of verses is a metaphor, including verses 7-8. Since Paul uses the abstract “heaortazo”, verse 8 is part of the metaphor, and does not indicate some sort of literal observance of the Law.
In conclusion, 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 is not of any evidentiary value concerning the Passover, and does not support the WMSCOG member’s claims that Christians of the early church observed or were required to ceremonially observe the Passover. This is just further proof of the WMSCOG’s consistent misinterpretation of Bible.
Hello there, I am a member of the church of God and firmly believe that God Elohim is Ahnsahnghong and Zang il Yah. Not because they claimed to be but because there is more than enough evidence in the bible that prove it. 2000 years ago Jesus comended peter for correctly recognizing him, it was a prophesy that in these last days there will be speculations about the appearance and correct recognition of the spirit and the bride, but just as Jesus was prophesied in the bible, so were the spirit and the bride, from whom Jesus said we should receive the water of life from in the last days. I will repeat what necodemus the pharisee said “leave the church of God alone for if it is from man it will fail, but if it is from God, you will only find yourself fighting against the Almighty Elohim. Seek spiritual Wisdom my friend and find understanding only from God, through the scriptures that testify about him, so you may come to him to receive life. GBU.
Hello Henry and thank you for taking the time to comment on the site 🙂
Just as an FYI, among the contributors to this site, there are former members who have experienced first hand what it is like to be a involved with the WMSCOG. I will be writing to you from that perspective. With that said, it is interesting that you mention that you believe that ” Ahnsahnghong and Zang il Yah” are elohim ” Not because they claimed to be…”. Do you have any info on them claiming to be god or divine in any way? I have searched through ASHs books and cannot find anything to support that. I also cannot find anything in ASHs books to support that he thought that Zhang was the “bride” or “mother” either. If you could give me some direction on that I would appreciate it.
Also, you said “in these last days there will be speculations about the appearance and correct recognition of the spirit and the bride”. In Revelation 1:7, I note that John says “every eye will see him [Jesus]”. The notion that all people will see Jesus when he returns is supported by Matthew 24:27. Will you please point me to the verses that point to “speculations” about being able to recognize Jesus when He returns? I would be very interested in taking a look at them.
Henry, can you explain why you believe that Acts 5:38-39 applies to the WMSCOG? The WMSCOG was not even around when this was written, so there’s no way it can apply to you. Keep in mind also that this verse very specifically says “in the present case” which is referring specifically to that case. In many other places, the Bible tells us to rebuke those in error (Leviticus 19:17, 2 Timothy 4:2, Galatians 6:1, etc), and recall that the angel in the book of Revelation corrects people who have gone off astray after false teachers (Revelation 2:14-16). So here we have Scriptural evidence of correction of people holding to false beliefs, which is what this site is doing, in accordance with the Bible.
Besides, I think we both agree that people like Jim Jones and Sun Myung Moon were false prophets right? The government was not able to stop Jim Jones from ordering 900 of his followers to commit suicide and he obviously wasn’t of God. Sun Myung Moon went to prison for tax evasion and his cult called the Unification Church which is very much like the WMSCOG is still around. Does that mean that he is of God too because he’s still “successful”?
GBU too and looking forward to hearing from you soon.
lol
First of al, rev1:7, [debate moved by admin to forum at this thread]
you said that “hoerte” appears 11 times, where do they appear?
http://biblehub.com/greek/eorte__1859.htm
Hi brother!
Very thought provoking post! Let me share with you my understanding of the matter…
Heorté is a noun that means “a feast day, festival” not “keep or observe a feast day”.
Heortazo is a verb that comes from the noun heorté and means “keep or observe a feast day”. Since it’s only being used once, I don’t think it’s safe to say that it meant allegorically.
We see heorté being used alot simply because its being used as a direct object and not a verb like heortazo. One could say “observe(verb) + heorté(object)” or simply “heortazo(verb)” and it would mean the same.
Paul kept and taught believers to observe the feast of unleavened bread literally not allegorically. He never taught against the law:
Exodus 12:17 And ye 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 for ever.
19 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.
Just something to consider… Grace and peace brother!
I would like to know the admin’s response to heortazo being a verb and not a metaphorical noun.