you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
This verse hands a sinning believer in the Corinthian assembly over to Satan, which sounds like abandonment. Yet its aim is rescue, not ruin — and that raises three questions: what "the flesh" means here, who could pass such a sentence, and how a man given to Satan can still be saved.
What "delivering to Satan" meant
In that day, excommunication cost far more than a place in a group. One writer sets out what each side of the line meant.
A J PollockExcommunication was a fearful thing in those days. The "within" was the sphere where God was known, and from which the light of His truth shone out. The "without" meant the world of paganism and Judaism — Satan's sphere. One might have thought the excommunication of this sinning believer would have been for his destruction. But no, it was for the destruction of the flesh. It was so that his spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
"The flesh" is not the body
Does this mean the man's body? One writer says no.
W. W. FeredayIf anyone asks what the "destruction of the flesh" in 1 Corinthians 5:5 means, it does not refer to the body. It refers to the evil moral principle that is tied to the body in us all… The evil persons in question, having failed to learn their lessons in God's gracious school, had to be broken and humbled by Satan's cruel means. Divine discipline in all its forms is a deeply serious matter, but always with ultimate blessing in view.
Whose act was it — and can it be done now?
Commentators differ here. One reads the delivering as the apostle's own act, resting on a power no longer available.
J. N. DarbyThe first thing we may note is the apostolic power of delivering to Satan… Properly there is no such thing now. If a person is now put out of fellowship, he is not delivered to Satan, though he might come under Satan as a result… Throwing a man out into Satan's world is not delivering him or committing him to it. I know of nobody but the apostle who had the power… The church is not commanded to do it here. He says, I have judged already — to deliver such a one to Satan. This was his own act; he did not tell them to do so. He does tell them to put such a one out.
Another writer lays this act on the assembly, and draws a personal warning from it.
C. H. MackintoshIn 1 Corinthians 5 the assembly at Corinth is commanded to deliver the evildoer to Satan for the destruction of the flesh… A person put out of the assembly where the Holy Spirit ruled was handed over to the power of Satan. The aim was that his flesh might be thoroughly judged and crushed — serious but needed work! May we learn, dear friend, to judge ourselves in secret before our God, so the assembly may not have to deal with us. If the roots of evil are judged in private, the fruit will not appear above the surface of our practical life.
Satan used against himself
The enemy receives the man, but not what he wants.
Numerical Bible NotesHere we see a remarkable sample of God's power over the evil — indeed, of His use of it to fulfil His own holy purposes… The man is put into the hands of the adversary, who can now show himself plainly as the adversary he always is. He can serve himself no longer by the sin of one who has been expelled from the Christian assembly. So he has nothing left to do but show his hatred against one who has borne the name of Christ… God uses him, on the other hand, so that in the destruction of the flesh the spirit may yet be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
The end in view is recovery
The severity has a destination.
J. N. DarbyVerse 5 shows that the ultimate end of discipline should be restoration. You deal with him as a member of Christ, and discipline him as such while he is within, and you put him outside so that he might be broken down and brought in again.
And the outcome named in the verse is not a hope that might fail.
William KellyIf flesh had been indulged without shame, flesh must be galled and broken to pieces under the adversary's hand. But it was for good in the end — "so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord." In fact, as the second epistle shows, the discipline blessed him in this world too. Yet the end named here cannot fail for anyone born of God, whatever the hindrances, or the shape of God's dealing with the soul.
Summary
- Sphere — Handing the man to Satan meant putting him outside, into Satan's world. Inside was the one place where God was known.
- Target — Not the body, but the evil principle in us — broken by the enemy's own cruel means.
- Overruled — Satan gets the man but not the outcome; God uses his hatred to fulfil His own holy purpose.
- Aim — The whole severe act aims at recovery: broken down outside, then brought in again.
- Certainty — For anyone born of God this end cannot fail: the spirit saved in the day of the Lord. So judge the roots in secret, and the assembly never has to deal with the fruit.