THE NATURE OF THE DISFELLOWSHIPPING OFFENSES IN 1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTERS 5 AND 6 AND ELSEWHERE

—REVIEW—

 

THE MEANING OF THE NINE NOUNS AND THE SUBSTANTIVIZED ADJECTIVE  EXPRESSING DISFELLOWSHIPPING OFFENSES

In the seven articles dealing with the disfellowshipping offenses mentioned in 1 Corinthians chapters 5 and 6, I have stressed that the substantives do not refer to single actions but to the characteristics of the persons they refer to. I quote 1. Corinthians 6:9-11:

⁹ What! Do YOU not know that unrighteous persons will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be misled. Neither fornicators (pornos), nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men kept for unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with men, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor greedy persons, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit God’s kingdom.
¹¹ And yet that is what some of YOU were (eimi, imperfect). But YOU have been washed clean, but YOU have been sanctified, but YOU have been declared righteous in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the spirit of our God.

There are two reasons why all the nine nouns and the subtantivized adjective refer to the characteristics of the persons mentioned and not to one, two, or five actions of the persons mentioned, 1) the nouns are nomen agentis, “agent nouns,” and 2) the use of the verb eimi (“to be”) in the imperfect.

THE MEANING OF AGENT NOUNS

Table 1.1 shows the nine nouns and the substantivized adjective in 1. Corinthians 6:9, 10, and the verbs from which seven of these are formed. I have marked the endings showing that they are agent nouns:

Table 1.1 Disfellowshipping offenses (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10)

VERB	FORMED NOUN	MEANING
porneuō	Pornos (pornē)	A man practicing unlawful sexual intercourse.
moikheuō	moikhos	A married person having sexual intercourse with one to whom he or she is not married.
kleptō	kleptēs	A thief.
pleonekteō	pleonektēs	An exploiter.
methyō, methuskō	methysos	A drunkard.
loidoreō	loidoros	A person who is reviling or cursing others.
harpazō	harpax	An extortioner or robber.
	eidōlolatrēs	Idolater.
	malakos	The passive male partner in homosexual intercourse.
	arsenokoitēs	The active male partner in homosexual intercourse.

Table 1.1 shows what kind of persons that deserve to be disfellowshipped from the Christian congregation. Of particular importance is the fact that six substantives and the one substantivized adjective, harpax, are verbal nouns, nouns that are made from verbs. This shows that each of these nouns is an agent nouns (nomen agentis). This is also confirmed by their endings -tēs and -os.

Regarding the ending –tēs in Classical Greek, Wiktionary says:

tēs:  Added to verb stems to form masculine agent nouns.”[1]

The index in A Grammar of the New Testament of Other Early Christian Literature by Blass, Debrunner, and Funk, page 299, has the entry “tēs: nomina agentis in 109(8).” Paragraph 109 (8) lists several nouns ending in –tēs and says:

these words…were formed with almost the same facility as verbal forms.

There are also other Greek endings that can form agent nouns from verbs, for example -tōr and –os. The agent nouns have the same force as the verbs from which they are formed, though expressed in a nominal way.

In other words, each substantive and the substantivized adjective do not refer to one or more actions made by the one to whom the substantive refers. The substantives and the substantivized adjective do not show what the persons do, but they show what the persons are. They show what the occupation or the characteristics or the personality of the persons are.

One example is the Greek word alieus (“fisherman”) which comes from the verb alieuō (“to fish”). It does not refer to one, two, or five actions of fishing. But it refers to the occupation of the person. Another example is the Greek word hiereus (“priest”), which comes from the verb hierateuō (“to serve as a priest”). It shows that the person is a priest, one whose whole life is centered on serving Jehovah in the temple and in the other duties of a priest.

One English example is “teacher,” showing the occupation of a person, and another example is “criminal,” showing the characteristics of the person.

The first example in the table is the masculine form pornos and its feminine form is pornē. A pornē is not a woman who is guilty of unlawful sexual intercourse one, two, or five times. But a pornē is a prostitute, a woman whose occupation is unlawful sexual intercourse. And similarly, a pornos is not a man who is guilty of unlawful sexual intercourse one, two, or five times. But a pornos is one who is permeated with unlawful sexual intercourse, a person whose life is centered around unlawful sexual intercourse.

And similarly, with all the five other nouns and the substantivized adjective. They refer to persons who are characterized by the actions of the verbs from which they are formed, persons who are permeated with these actions, persons who practice these actions.

When the members of the Governing Body apply these seven nouns and the substantivized adjective to single actions that are made one or a few times, they are abusing the Word of God.

THE MEANING OF THE GREEK WORD EIMI (“TO BE”)

After Paul has mentioned the nine nouns and the adjective showing the characteristics of those who would deserve to be disfellowshipped, he wrote:

¹¹ And yet that is what some of YOU were (ēn imperfect of eimi). But YOU have been washed clean, but YOU have been sanctified, but YOU have been declared righteous in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the spirit of our God.

The important word here is the imperfect form ēn of the verb eimi (“to be”). Most verbs express actions, but some verbs express states. A state is a situation that holds a certain time, and any part of a state is similar to any other part or to the state as a whole.

By using the imperfect form of eimi, which is ēn, and applying this to the Corinthians, Paul confirms the conclusions of the last section that Christians should be disfellowshipped for what they are and not for one or more actions that they have done.

We have seen that nouns and substantivized adjectives can show the occupation or characteristics of persons. Also, participles, which are functioning as substantives, can do the same. An example that parallels 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 is Titus 3:3:

For even we were (ēn) once senseless, disobedient, being misled, being slaves to various desires and pleasures, carrying on in badness and envy, abhorrent, hating one another.

Table 1.2 Characteristics of sinful humans (Titus 3:3)

VERB	FORMED NOUN	MEANING
	anoētos  (adjective)	Unwilling to use one’s mental faculties to understand.
peithō	apeithēs (adjective)	Being continuously disobedient.
planaō	planōmenos (participle)	Having been deceived.
douleuō	douleuontēs (participle)	Being a slave.
epitymeō	epithymia (noun)	Having impure desires.
	hēdonē (noun) poikilos (adjective)	Various desires for physical pleasure.
kakopoieō	kakos (noun)	Wickedness, depravity.
fthoneō	fthonos (noun)	A state of ill will toward someone.
stygeō	diagontēs (participle)	Conducting oneself.
stygeō	stygetos (adjective)	Hateful.
miseō	misountēs (adjective)	Dislike with aversion and hostility.

In Titus 3:3, there is only on verb, the imperfect form ēn of eimi (“to be”).  This verb is governing the four adjectives, the three participles, the three nouns, and the one noun plus adjective. This is an excellent example showing that the verb ēn (“were”) points to what the persons were, their charazcteristics, and it does not point to one or more actions of the persons that are referred to. Because the one verb “were” governs so many things, I translate different parts of the scripture separately, adding the verb “were” each time:

We were at one time unwilling to understand, being continuously disobedient.

We were deceived, being slaves, and having impure desires for physical pleasure.

We were driven by wickedness and ill will toward others.

 We were conducting ourselves in a hateful way treating one another with hostility.

It is clear from this passage that the imperfect form ēn of the verb eimi (“to be”) makes visible a state, something that was holding, and it does not refer to different concrete actions made by anyone.

Applying this to 1 Corinthians 6:11 where Paul says that some of the Corinthians were in a certain way, it supports the view that the nine nouns and the one substantivized adjective refer to the states of being a pornos (“a practicer of unlawful sexual intercourse”), a kleptēs (“a thief”), a methysos (“a drunkard”) etc. And it shows that these agent nouns cannot be applied to one or more actions made by members of the congregation.

Thus, the very foundation of the system of disfellowshipping constructed by the members of the Governing body is crumbling.

As a support for the conclusions above, I quote some examples showing that the Greek verb ēn (“were”) indicates states and not actions:

1 Corinthians 10:1

¹ Now I do not want YOU to be ignorant, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea.

1 Corinthians 12:2

² YOU know that when YOU were people of the nations, YOU were being led away to those voiceless idols just as YOU happened to be led.

1 Corinthians 13:11

¹¹ When I was a babe, I used to speak as a babe, to think as a babe, to reason as a babe; but now that I have become a man, I have done away with the [traits] of a babe.

Galatians 2:6

⁶ But on the part of those who seemed to be something—whatever sort of men they formerly were makes no difference to me—God does not go by a man’s outward appearance—to me, in fact, those outstanding men imparted nothing new.

Ephesians 2:3

³ Yes, among them we all at one time conducted ourselves in harmony with the desires of our flesh, doing the things willed by the flesh and the thoughts, and we were naturally children of wrath even as the rest.

Ephesians 2:12

¹² that YOU were at that particular time without Christ, alienated from the state of Israel and strangers to the covenants of the promise, and YOU had no hope and were without God in the world.

Ephesians 5:8

⁸ for YOU were once darkness, but YOU are now light in connection with [the] Lord. Go on walking as children of light.

Hebrews 8:4

⁴ If, now, he were upon earth, he would not be a priest, there being [men] who offer the gifts according to the Law.

The eight examples above parallel the words that we are discussing, namely, 1 Corinthians 6:11:

¹¹ And yet that is what some of YOU were (eimi, imperfect). But YOU have been washed clean, but YOU have been sanctified, but YOU have been declared righteous in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the spirit of our God.

So, there can be no doubt that the nine agent nouns and the substantivized adjective in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10 refer to states, and not actions, to the occupation, characteristics, and personality of those who deserve to be disfellowshipped from the congregation.

THE MEANING OF OTHER AGENT NOUNS IDENTIFYING BAD PERSONS

Agent nouns are usually applied in the same way, and there are many agent nouns in the Christian Greek Scriptures. I will discuss a few that refer to bad persons.

THE FOUR GROUPS OF DISFELLOWSHIPPING OFFENSES IN 1 CORINTHIANS 6:9, 10

The nine nouns and the one substantivized adjective in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10 represent four different groups of persons that continue to violate the commandments of God:

AVOIDING UNLAWFUL SEXUAL INTERCOURSE

The verb porneuō and the noun porneia refer to unlawful sexual intercourse. This is the only definition found in the Christians Greek Scriptures. The 12 other meanings that the members of the Governing Body have invented and attached to pornuō and porneia are free imagination and have no basis in the Bible.

The verb porneuō and the noun porneia have three references, that is, there are three different kinds of unlawful sexual intercourse:

• Sexual intercourse between a married person and one to whom he or she is not married.
• Sexual intercourse between two unmarried persons.
• Sexual intercourse between homosexuals.

All three references are found in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10:

porneia (expressed as pornos) = unlawful sexual intercourse of any kind.

moikheia (expressed as moikhos) = Sexual intercourse between a married person and one to whom he or she is not married.

malakos = The passive male partner in homosexual intercourse.

arsenokoitēs = The active male partner in homosexual intercourse.

AVOIDING AFFLICTING OTHER PEOPLE

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul speaks about the importance of the good relationship between everyone in the congregation.  In 1:10 he says that “You should all speak in agreement” and in 7:15 he says that “God has called YOU to peace.”

As we see in Titus 3:3, those who became Christians had practiced many bad things before they started to serve God. Because all the members of the congregation were imperfect, some of them would act in a way that could threaten the peace and unity in the congregation. Most of these actions could be handled by the elders in the congregation, and they could help to keep the peace and unity, as we read in James 5:13-20.

But persons whose behavior was wicked to the extent that they ruined the lives of other humans, either inside or outside the congregation, could not be tolerated as members of the congregation. The actions listed below are not reasons for disfellowshipping.  But when a person is practicing one of these actions, he or she is permeated by this action, and this action is his or her personality, then the person deserves to be disfellowshipped.

loidoreō (expressed as loidoros) = reviling or cursing.

pleonekteō (expressed as pleonektēs) = exploiting someone by unlawful means.

kleptō (expressed as kleptēs) = stealing something from someone.

harpazō (expressed as harpax) = extorting or robbing someone.

The word pleonektēs needs some comments. Most Bible translations translate this noun as “greedy person” or something similar. The idea of “greed” (“an insatiable desire for more”) is neither found in the Hebrew Scriptures nor in the Christian Greek Scriptures.[1]  The idea of “covetousness” that can be satisfied is found in the Bible but not “greed” that cannot be satisfied.

This is also supported by the fact that a Christian cannot be disfellowshipped because of a desire, and therefore can neither “greed” nor “covetousness” be disfellowshipping offenses.

AVOIDING DISHONORING THE CHRISTIAN CONGREGATION

Any kind of bad behavior of a member of the congregation that afflicts or hurts other persons will dishonor the congregation. But there is one kind of behavior that does not hurt or afflict others that also will put the congregation in a bad light, and that is drunkenness.

methyō (expressed as methysos) practizing intoxication from alcohol or other substances.

A person who is drunk can do a lot of bad things, and by this, he may bring reproach to the congregation and on the name of Jehovah. Therefore, a person who is permeated by overdrinking, who is a drunkard, deserves to be disfellowshipped from the congregation.

AVOIDING OTHER GODS

The sin that, more than any other sin, led the people of Israel away from Jehovah was the worship of other gods. A prohibition against the worship of other gods is given in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3, 4). It was also mentioned at the meeting of the apostles and the elders in Jerusalem in the year 49 CE, which is reported in Acts 15:28, 29. If any Christian would decide to worship idols, that would be so serious that he had to be removed from the congregation.

The fourth group consists of only one member:

eidōlolatrēs = worshipping an idol.

There is no verb with the meaning “to worship an idol.”  But if that was to be expressed, the verb proskyneō (“worship, do obeisance”) could be used together with eidolon (“idol”) as we see in Numbers 25:2.

As I have shown above, 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10 includes nine nouns and one substantivized adjective and consists of four groups: sexual immorality, afflicting other persons, dishonoring the congregation, and the worship of idols. Because moikheia, malakos, and arsenokoitēs are references of porneia and can be subsumed under porneia, there are seven different disfellowshipping offenses mentioned in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10:

AGENT NOUNS REFERRING TO BAD PEOPLE

Today we could say that a “criminal” cannot be a member of the Christian congregation. When we use the word “criminal,” we do not refer to particular actions done by the person, but it is a descriptive word referring to the characteristics of the person, to his personality.

I have stressed that the nine nouns and that substantivized adjective in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10 are agent nouns that are descriptive and show the characteristics and personality of those to which they refer, they refer to their nature. This means that when the members of the Governing Body use these agent nouns as a basis for disfellowshipping persons who have violated God’s law one or a few times, they are violating the Word of God.

I will now discuss some agent nouns that are parallel to the agent nouns in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10.

There are several Hebrew and Greek verbs that refer to the same things or to things that are very similar. This is often seen in the Hebrew structures called “parallelism,” where the same thing or the same situation is expressed in two parallel ways. I use Genesis 49:2:

Assemble yourselves and listen, YOU sons of Jacob, yes, listen to Israel YOUR father.

In both clauses, the same verb “listen” is used. The name “Jacob” and “Israel” are two names of the same person, so they are parallel, and “the sons of Jacob” are the same as “Israel your father.”

I will now list three Greek verbs with the definition given by Louw and Nida:

lēsteuō: “to practice robbery, piracy” —  corresponding noun lēstēs.

harpazō: “to grab or seize by force, with the purpose of removing and/or controlling — corresponding substantivized adjective: harpax.

klēptō: “to take secretly and without permission the property of someone else” — corresponding noun: klēptēs.

The basic idea of all three verbs is to take something that belongs to someone else. The two verbs lēsteuō and harpazō stresses that the property is taken by force, while klēptō stresses that the property is taken secretly.

I will now use the death of Jesus as an example, and I quote Matthew 27:38 (above) and Mark 15:27 (below)

³⁸ Then two robbers (lēstēs) were impaled with him, one on his right and one on his left.

²⁷ Moreover, they impaled two robbers (lēstēs) with him, one on his right and one on his left.

According to Mounce, the meaning of lēstēs is “a plunderer, robber, highwayman.” I will now show how lēstēs (robber) is paralleled with klēptēs (thieve), and I quote John 10:1 (above), 10:8 (top middle), Hosea 7:1 LXX, NETS (bottom middle), and Obadja 5 LXX, NETS (below):     
¹ “Most truly I say to YOU, He that does not enter into the sheepfold through the door but climbs up some other place, that one is a thief (kleptēs) and a plunderer (lēstēs).

⁸ All those that have come in place of me are thieves (kleptēs) and plunderers (lēstēs); but the sheep have not listened to them.

¹ when I heal Israel. And the injustice of Ephraim will be revealed, and the wickedness of Samaria, because they have performed lies. And a thief (kleptēs) will come in to him, a bandit (lēstēs) plundering in his way,

⁵ If thieves (kleptēs) came to you, or robbers (lēstēs) by night, where would you be cast aside; would they not steal what is sufficient for themselves? And if grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings?

I have shown that lēstēs refers to a person who steals something by the use of force, while kleptēs refers to a person who steals something secretly. However, these different nuances are not always stressed, and both words refer to persons who take something that belongs to other persons. The point in our context is that both kleptēs and lēstēs are synonyms and refer to the characteristics of the persons, their nature, who they are, and not to one or more actions they have done.

This is also seen in Luke 23:33:

³³ And when they got to the place called Skull, there they impaled him and the evildoers (kakourgos), one on his right and one on his left.

Matthew 27:38 and Mark 15:27 use the word lēstēs (“robber”) for those who were impaled with Jesus, while Luke uses kakourgos. This word is made from kakos (“evil”) and ergon (“work”), and it is a typical descriptive word showing the characteristics and nature of the persons referred to. Thus, lēstēs and kakourgos are synonyms.

The conclusion of this section is that agent nouns, often ending with -tēs and -os are descriptive and point to the characteristics, the occupation, the nature, or the personality of those to whom they refer. This is the case in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10, and in the other examples I have given.

The use of agent nouns in the Septuagint and and the Christian Greek Scriptures show that the nine agent nouns and the one substantivized adjective in 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10 are descriptive and refer to the characteristics, the nature, and the personality of the persons referred to. Applying these to one or more actions that can lead to disfellowshipping, as the members of the Governing Body do, is a clear violation of the Holy Scriptures.

A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND THE 11 DISFELLOWSHIPPING OFFENSES

The book for elders “Shepherd the Flock of God” lists 46 disfellowshipping offenses, and other sources list two more disfellowshipping offenses. A list of these is found in my book My Beloved Religion — And The Governing Body pages 201-205. The members of the Governing Body have added new definitions to some of the disfellowshipping offenses — 12 different actions have through time been described to be porneia, and 11 different actions have through time been described to be gambling. This means that there are more than 100 actions that can lead to disfellowshipping, according to the members of the Governing Body.

But as I have shown in the mentioned book and on my website, there are only 11 disfellowshipping offenses that are mentioned in the Bible. A natural question is why the disfellowshipping offenses are so few, and why are only the 11 chosen among the more than one hundred bad actions that the members of the Governing Body list as disfellowshipping offenses.

The law of Moses contained about 500 different laws. Of these, the Ten Commandments were of particular importance. The reason for their importance was that they covered the three most important areas of the life of the Jews, 1) the worship of Jehovah, 2) the protection of life, and 3) the protection of the rights of each inhabitant. I will show that the 11 disfellowshipping offenses cover the same three areas. I quote the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20:1-17, and I put red numbers to mark each of the Ten Commandments. Then Table 1.3 has a list of the 11 disfellowshipping offenses:

¹ And God proceeded to speak all these words, saying:

² “I am Jehovah your God, who have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves. ³ You must not have any other gods against my face. (1)

⁴ “You must not make for yourself a carved image or a form like anything that is in the heavens above or that is on the earth underneath or that is in the waters under the earth. ⁵ You must not bow down to them nor be induced to serve them, because I Jehovah your God am a God exacting exclusive devotion, bringing punishment for the error of fathers upon sons, upon the third generation and upon the fourth generation, in the case of those who hate me; ⁶ but exercising loving-kindness toward the thousandth generation in the case of those who love me and keep my commandments. (2)

⁷ “You must not take up the name of Jehovah your God in a worthless way, for Jehovah will not leave the one unpunished who takes up his name in a worthless way. (3)

⁸ “Remembering the sabbath day to hold it sacred, ⁹ you are to render service and you must do all your work six days. ¹⁰ But the seventh day is a sabbath to Jehovah your God. You must not do any work, you nor your son nor your daughter, your slave man nor your slave girl nor your domestic animal nor your alien resident who is inside your gates. ¹¹ For in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and he proceeded to rest on the seventh day. That is why Jehovah blessed the sabbath day and proceeded to make it sacred. (4)

¹² “Honor your father and your mother in order that your days may prove long upon the ground that Jehovah your God is giving you. (5)

¹³ “You must not murder. (6)

¹⁴ “You must not commit adultery. (7)

¹⁵ “You must not steal. (8)

¹⁶ “You must not testify falsely as a witness against your fellowman. (9)

¹⁷ “You must not desire your fellowman’s house. You must not desire your fellowman’s wife, nor his slave man nor his slave girl nor his bull nor his ass nor anything that belongs to your fellowman.” (10)

Table 1.3 A list of the 11 disfellowshipping offenses

pornos	A man or woman who practices sexual immorality. (1 Cor. 6:9)
eidōlolatrēs	One who participates in idol worship. (1 Cor. 6:9)
kleptēs	A thief. (1 Cor. 6:10)
pleonektēs	An Exploiter (Wrongly written in the Shepherd book as “Greed,” 1 Cor. 6:10).
methysos	A drunkard. (1 Cor. 6:10)
loidoros	A reviler, one who is cursing. (1 Cor. 6:10)
harpax	An extortioner, a robber. (1 Cor. 6:10)
anatrepō	Spreading false teachings. (2 Tim. 2:18; 1 Tim 1:20)
hairesis	Making or promoting a sect. (Titus 3:10)
planos	Joining another religious organization. (2 John 7, 10)
sfazō	Mansalughter — murder. (1 John 3:12)

There are several similarities between the Ten Commandments and the 11 disfellowshipping offenses. The differences are caused by the different times and the different situations in which the Ten Commandments and the disfellowshipping offenses were given.

The principles of Jehovah are eternal and are always valid. These principles may be applied differently at different times and in different situations. The laws of Moses covered the religious and the secular life of the nation of the Jews who lived in their own country, while the 11 disfellowshipping offenses regulated the Christian congregations that were spread all over the world. To some extent, different actions were also stressed in ancient Israel compared with the Christian congregations.

Table 1.4 shows the similarities between the Ten Commandments and the 11 disfellowshipping offenses based on the classification in four areas, 1) the worship of God, 2) the protection of life, 3) the protection of other humans, and 4) time-dependent issues.

Table 1.4 A comparison of the Ten Commandments and the 11 disfellowshipping offenses

THE WORSHIP OF GOD	THE WORSHIP OF GOD
Do not worship other Gods (1)	Do not serve idols.
Do not make carved images (2)	Do not spread false teachings.
Do not use God’s name in vain (3)	Do not make a sect.
	Do not joining another religious organization.
THE PROTECTION OF LIFE	THE PROTECTION OF LIFE
You must not murder (6)	Do not murder.
You must not commit adultery (7)	Do not have unlawful sexual intercourse.
THE PROTECTION OF OTHER HUMANS	THE PROTECTION OF OTHER HUMANS
Do not steal (8)	Do not steal.
Do not testify falsely as a witness (9)	Do not exploit others by unlawful means; to have dishonest gain.
Do not desire your fellowman’s house (10)	Do not revile or curse others.
Honor your father and mother (5)	Do not extort or rob others.
TIME-DEPENDENT ISSUES	TIME-DEPENDENT ISSUES
Keep the sabbath (4)	Do not practice intoxication.

I will make some comments on each of the four areas in turn.

THE WORSHIP OF GOD

The most important laws in Israel related to the worship of God. And the first of the Ten Commandments said that the people should only worship Jehovah and that he is a God who is exacting exclusive devotion.

In Israel, carved images were the means by which the people turned away from Jehovah, and therefore, such images were forbidden. Jehovah’s name represented his personality, and in order to worship him in a truthful way, his name had to be used in an honorable way.

The nations around Israel had false religions. But inside the country, there was little need for a warning to the people of having false religious ideas and making sects. False worship was related to the images, and a prohibition against images was at the same time a prohibition against false religious ideas.

In the days of Paul, the situation was different. There were also carved images that represented idols, and the disfellowshipping offense “idolatry” related to worship of images and sacrifices to them. But the challenge of false religious ideas inside the congregations was much greater than before, as we see by the parties and the superfine apostles in Corinth. So, the disfellowshipping offenses included both the worship of images and spreading false religious ideas and making sects.

THE PROTECTION OF LIFE

Protecting life was important in the law of Moses, and it was expressed in different ways. The Hebrew word rātsāh in Exodus 20:13 has the meaning “kill” and “murder.” The law required that particular violations of the law should lead to death. So, rātsāh in Exodus 20:13 must have the meaning “murder” — take the life of someone in an unlawful way. The Greek word sfaxō (1. John 3:12) has the meaning “to kill, slaughter,” and the context must show whether this word is used in the sense “murder.” A Christian would of course not kill anyone.

From Jehovah’s point of view, it was also important to protect the formation of life. The reason why sexual intercourse between a man and a woman only was allowed inside marriage both in Israel and in the Christian congregations was to give the newborn child the best possible protection, which was two parents that were married.  The word nā’af in Exodus 20:14 has the meaning “to commit adultery,” i.e., for a married person to have sexual intercourse with one he was not married to.

In Israel, it was allowed for a man to have more than one wife — because your hearts were hard, according to Jesus. (Matthew 19:8) So, the verb nā’af does not forbid a man to have sexual intercourse with more than one woman. But it forbids sexual intercourse between persons who are not married. This shows that the seventh commandment could not be valid among Christians.

The disfellowshipping offense that Paul mentions which would protect the holiness of life was porneia, which includes much more than nā’af. As I show in the article discussing this word, it refers to any kind of unlawful sexual intercourse, between a married person and one to whom he or she is not married, between two unmarried persons and between homosexuals.

There are different kinds of sexual actions and sexual plays that can stir up sexual emotions in persons who are not married. While this is against God’s principles, the only way to make a child is by sexual intercourse. That is the reason why, contrary to the view of the members of the Governing Body, only unlawful sexual intercourse is the meaning of porneia in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

So, both the law of Moses and Christian laws protect the life that will be formed and the life that has been formed.

THE PROTECTION OF OTHER HUMANS

When Israel entered the promised land, different areas of the country were given to different tribes and different families. There were different laws that protected the ownership of property, and there were different laws related to the welfare of each inhabitant of the country.

The eighth commandment was a prohibition against stealing the property of anyone. A person who is permeated by theft will also be disfellowshipped from the Christian congregation.

When the elders in the city gate should serve as judges, this could be an issue of life and death, or it could be an issue of property rights. The ninth commandment was against testifying falsely before the elders. If a false witness led to the death of someone, that would be a violation of the holiness of life. But if the issue was property rights, the motive of the false witness could be to exploit others to get dishonest gain. A Christian who is permeated by such an action deserves to be disfellowshipped.

The fifth commandment says that a child should honor his father and mother. This is the right of the parents who have given life to the child and who have sacrificed so much for him during his upbringing. This was particularly important in Israel where the core of the society were families consisting of different generations that lived together and worked together.

Failing to honor one’s father and mother is not a disfellowshipping offense. But reviling and cursing others are disfellowshipping offenses that could destroy family relationships.

The tenth commandment is different from all the other commandments. Exodus 20:17 says:

“You must not desire your fellowman’s house. You must not desire your fellowman’s wife, nor his slave man nor his slave girl nor his bull nor his ass nor anything that belongs to your fellowman.”

According to Kohlenberger and Mounce the meaning of the verb hāmad is “to covet, lust, desire; delight in.” All the other nine commandments can be enforced by humans. But this is not the case with the tenth commandment because a desire cannot be seen by others. This is a commandment that only God can enforce, and it shows that God is behind the law of Moses.

Jesus stressed on several occasions that wrong actions start with a desire in the heart. (Matthew 15:18) And the tent commandment indicates the same. A Christian cannot be disfellowshipped because of feelings and desires. But the disfellowshipping offense to exhort someone or to rob someone indicates what a wrong desire can lead to.

TIME-DEPENDENT ISSUES

Keeping the sabbath was a special trait of the law, and it is expressed in the fourth commandment. It indicated the special relationship between God who created all things during a period of six days and rested on the seventh day, and the Israelites who worked six days and rested on the seventh day. It could have been placed in the category “The worship of God” because it was a special trait in the worship of God. But I treat it as a time-dependent issue because Paul in Colossians 2:13-17 shows that the sabbath was a picture of a bigger sabbath and the sabbath and the rest of the law were abolished when Jesus died.

In the Christian arrangement, I have treated the practice of intoxication by vine and other means as a time-independent issue. In the days of Paul, this was an important issue because abuse of vine was widespread. This point could also have been placed in the category “The worship of God,” because drunkenness by a person who served God could be a disgrace for the name of God. But I have treated it as a time-independent issue.

The question was why the 11 bad actions when they are practiced and represent the personality of a person were singled out as disfellowshipping offenses among all the bad actions that are mentioned in the Christian Greek Scriptures. The answer is their great importance:

Among the about 500 laws that were given by Moses, the Ten Commandments were singled out as particularly important laws. In the discussion above, I have shown that the 11 disfellowshipping offenses, to a great extent, are of the same nature as the Ten Commandments.  Violations of the 11 disfellowshipping offenses, therefore, is a violation of the most important laws in the Christian congregations dealing with the worship of God, the protection of life, and the protection of other humans.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

The members of the Governing Body take the nine nouns and the substantivized adjective as actions that can lead to disfellowshipping. Because the words are nouns and not verbs, this is wrong. Verbs tell what persons do and nouns tell what persons are.

The nine nouns and the one substantivized adjective function as agent nouns. Such nouns describe the nature of those who deserve to be disfellowshipped and not their actions. This means that first when a Christian is permeated by one of the actions of the verb from which the noun is constructed — he is practicing this action and his life is centered around this action — then he deserves to be disfellowshipped.

The consequence of this, which is seen in connection with the man in Corinth who lived together with the wife of his father, is that that regardless of how often the sin has been committed and how serious the sin is, a Christian cannot be disfellowshipped if he has stopped doing the sin when he meets with the elders.

[1]. See the article “The 11 disfellowshipping offenses 1: Not ‘greed’ but ‘exploitation’ (pleonexia).”