Remember that chapter markers are not part of the original text. So when Paul says in chapter 5 to judge insiders, he means it literally—as in, don't take your lawsuits to outside courts. This passage flows directly from yesterday's reading. The community that should have dealt with the man abusing his stepmother is the same community that should be capable of handling its own disputes.
Paul draws a sharp line: Christians are meant to judge insiders, but not outsiders. "What do I care about judging those outside?" This is a line the church has gotten precisely backwards for most of its history. So many churches tolerate sexually abusive men within the community while casting aspersions on sexually deviant people outside it. Paul's ethic runs the other direction entirely: hold your own community to a higher standard, and leave the rest to God.
Keep yesterday's situation in mind. The man sleeping with his stepmother—chances are very high this wasn't consensual. And notice again: Paul is not saying to get rid of the woman. He's saying to get rid of the man. Expel the evil one from among you. The church is supposed to make the community safe from sexual abuse, and Paul is clear-eyed about who the perpetrator is.
This passage has been abused to argue that Christians should never use the legal system. Unsurprisingly, that interpretation has been deployed to prop up abusive, powerful people—usually men—and push down those who already lack power: women, children. The horrible irony is that Paul knew the Roman legal system would have allowed a man to coercively take his stepmother. The church was supposed to be better than that, to protect the vulnerable—in this case, a woman.
Today, in far too many cases, the church is the worse institution for protecting the vulnerable. It is an absolute disgrace that people find more justice in secular courts than in the church. The goal should be for the church to once again have a better system of justice than the secular one. Maybe not in my lifetime? Though the way the legal system is going in the U.S. currently, maybe the tables will turn again.
Verse 2 gives us a brief glimpse of eschatology: believers will judge the world. It's vague, but it shows Paul imagining some role for the community of faith in the new heavens and new earth.
Verse 7—"Why not rather be wronged?"—needs to stay in context. Paul is obviously not saying Christians should never seek justice. The stepmother being raped is clearly allowed to seek justice. The "why not rather be wronged" is directed at those with power squabbling over petty disputes, not at victims of abuse. I write more about how not to abuse "enemy love" passages here: https://www.parrott.ink/saving-enemy-love-from-bad-theology/
Questions for reflection
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Paul says to judge insiders but not outsiders. How does this challenge the way many churches spend their energy—policing the culture while tolerating harm within their own walls?
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What would it look like for a faith community to have a better system of justice than the secular legal system? Is that even imaginable today?
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"Why not rather be wronged?" is a radical statement. How do we hold that alongside the clear obligation to protect the vulnerable from abuse?