Neville Goddard on 1 Corinthians 5:10-11 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read 1 Corinthians 5 in context

Scripture Focus

10Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.

11But 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; with such an one no not to eat.

1 Corinthians 5:10-11

Biblical Context

Paul distinguishes between worldly sinners and a brother who sins, advising not to keep company with such a one; the instruction implies a boundary to protect holiness, while recognizing the world as a setting rather than a state to be replicated in the inner life.

Neville's Inner Vision

In Neville Goddard’s sense, the verse reveals two theatres: the outer world of actions and people, and the inner state your consciousness assumes about those actions and people. To keep company with a brother who sins is to consent to a shared belief that those vices are real within you; the directive not to eat with such one invites you to preserve your own state of consciousness from identification with another’s fault. The ‘world’ is a mirror reflecting your inner stance, and the act of withdrawal is a discipline of the I AM—an affirmation that your life does not hinge on another’s misalignment. By imagining you stand in the I AM, you purify the inner atmosphere so that the kernel of your being remains untouched by others’ acts. This is not judgment of persons, but a purification of your own state so that the true self can express without interference from perceived vice. See every brother as yourself, and choose to dwell in a state that does not partake in the imagined power of sin.

Practice This Now

Close your eyes and assume the inner table of your life where you commune only with virtue; declare silently, 'I am the I AM; I refuse to partake in states that do not belong to my true being,' and hold that feeling for a few breaths.