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What Does Delivering to Satan Mean?


What does delivering a person to Satan in 1 Corinthians 5:5 mean? Paul said this regarding the person who lives with his father’s wife or stepmother, a sin considered particularly grave in the Christian context. This sin is not found among those who have not known Christ. Paul says such a thing is “not tolerated even among pagans” (1 Cor 5:1). When he heard about this, Paul wrote to the Corinthian church “to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh.”

This is not the only place where Paul used this expression. Later, while writing to Timothy, he said he had “handed over to Satan” Hymenaeus and Alexander so they may learn not to blaspheme (1 Tim 1:20).

Some think that Paul intends the death of the sinner so that he may not continue in his sinful flesh to sin more and lose his eternity. Does Paul suggest that this man should die now “so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord?” But it is unreasonable to think that the community of believers have the right to decide on matters of life and death.

“Delivering to Satan” could also mean withdrawing the spiritual protection that the community offers to each individual through intercessions and spiritual support. This spiritual protection is the shield that believers have against the influence of Satan. Believers are delivered from the sphere of Satan to the realm of God’s salvation. The world outside of those in Christ is Satan’s domain: “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19; see also Eph 2:1—2).

This second view is close to what Paul has in mind because this elaborates on what he had already stated in the previous verse: “Let him who has done this be removed from among you” (1 Corinthians 5:2). Excommunicating this sinful member will serve two purposes: as Paul elaborates in the following verses (6—8). Removing the sinner is essential for the purity of the community and will allow the errant member to learn God’s ways when chastised by Satan.

This reminds us of the parable of the prodigal son. The father could not keep him at home but had to release him to his choices. But the son repents and returns when faced with the harshness of life outside the safety of his father’s home.

If we assume that the repentant sinner mentioned in the second letter is the same person in the first letter who lived with his stepmother, a different picture emerges. Paul advises the church to embrace him with love: “So you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow” (2 Cor 2:7). Whatever “delivering over to Satan” means, it is clear that the community has a crucial role to play in the sinner’s redemption. It is a collective responsibility to ensure that the sinner is not overwhelmed by sorrow and is guided back to righteousness.

While we may not have a definitive answer to this enigma, the intention behind this command is remedial. The hope is that “his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (1 Cor 5:5). Keeping the sinner in the community would only serve to pollute it, so releasing him to the world outside is done with the optimistic hope that he will one day return. The belief is that life in the community under the reign of Christ is far better than being a slave to sin.

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