Paul Demands Judgment On It By The Whole Church (5:3-5).
‘For I truly, being absent in body but present in spirit, have already, as though I were present, judged him who has so wrought this thing.'
While they have been so lax Paul has been far from lax. What has happened has grieved him. Even at a distance from them he has felt bound to act. Although not present with them in the body he has been present in spirit, partly through thought and prayer, for they are his children, but probably he also saw himself as spiritually transported to the scene to carry out his judgment, as Ezekiel was spiritually transported to Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8:3; Ezekiel 8:7; Ezekiel 8:14; Ezekiel 8:16 - no one saw him but he was there in some spiritual experience), and as present in spirit he has passed judgment on the man who has so behaved. And he now explains what that judgment was.
‘In the name of our Lord Jesus, you being gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.'
This was Paul's judgment. That gathering together ‘in the name of our Lord Jesus', that is with the authority given them by Christ and in the light of His teaching, and recognising that Paul is among them in spirit, they should exercise the power of ‘our Lord Jesus' and deliver him to Satan. Thus it is the almighty Judge who is to act, for it is in His name that they are to gather. And it is with His power (dunamis) that they are to hand him over to Satan.
The idea here is expulsion of the man from the inner church meetings which are specifically for true believers, through the authority of Christ. As they sit in judgment Christ sits with them, along with Paul. The New Testament church saw itself as given to Jesus out of the world so that they were in the world but not of the world (John 17:6; John 17:11; John 17:16). They saw themselves as being in the hands of God (Ephesians 2:4-6), while the world lay in the arms of the Evil One (1 John 5:19; John 17:15). The gathering of His people was seen as an enclave of heaven, an embassy from Heaven in the world under the protection of God (John 17:11-12 compare 2 Corinthians 5:20; Philippians 3:20), for they dwelt spiritually in ‘the heavenlies' (Ephesians 2:6). To be deliberately and judicially cast out of such a gathering was thus to be handed over to Satan, ‘the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience' (Ephesians 2:2).
This description brings out how much the early Christians saw themselves as having entered under the Kingly Rule of God. Gathered together as one they were God's representatives in the world while being citizens of Heaven (Philippians 3:20).
It is often commented on that the woman is not mentioned. This is probably because she was a pagan, a non-Christian. Pagan's were left in God's hands to be dealt with. (A ‘pagan' means a ‘civilian'. While Christians had become soldiers of Christ under their Great Lord and Commander, non-Christians had remained ‘civilians'). The man can be dealt with because he, at least theoretically, acknowledges the authority of Christ and admits to being under the Heavenly Rule of God (1 Corinthians 4:20). If the woman is a pagan, however, the church has no sanctions against her. (We can compare how later an unbelieving husband is to be let go for this same reason - 1 Corinthians 7:15).
But it was not just an expulsion. It was the exercise of the power of Christ to commit the man to Satan (see also 1 Timothy 1:20). It was expected that through prayer it would have a spiritual impact. Just as Christ as the strong man had bound Satan and delivered those under his control (Mark 3:27), now that same power will be exercised in handing him back to that control. He is to be seen, and to see himself, as going back into the ‘power of darkness' (Colossians 1:13). But the aim was merciful. It was intended to make him think and consider his ways. It was for the ‘destruction of the flesh', that sinful flesh which was responsible for the man's sin and was supposed to be crucified with Christ (Romans 8:3; Galatians 5:24). It was to bring home to him his sin so that he might once again come to the cross to be crucified afresh, crucifying the flesh with its affections and desires. Should he do that he can be restored. It was to bring the man to repentance as, if he really was a Christian, he would appreciate the horror that he was then experiencing. It was so that his fleshliness might be crucified with Christ and he could thus be restored and his spirit thus saved in ‘the day of the Lord Jesus'. If this interpretation is correct it demonstrates Paul's confidence in Jesus' continuing saving activity (1 Corinthians 1:8).
If this is correct the thought is not that Satan contributes to the destruction of the flesh. That is the last thing he wants to do. It is that the sinner, having been committed to Satan, comes to his senses and himself ‘destroys his flesh' by coming again to experience his crucifixion with Christ (Galatians 2:20; Galatians 5:24) once again escaping from Satan's clutches which cannot hold him because of Christ's effective power.
‘In the name of our Lord Jesus.' This may refer either to 1) acting in the name of the Lord Jesus as a heavenly court, 2) delivering the man over in the name of the Lord Jesus, or 3) gathering in the name of the Lord Jesus to act. Whichever way we take it the principle is clear, they are acting in His name. Alternately it may be that it refers to Paul making his judgment in the name of the Lord Jesus. But overall the final responsibility is seen as His and His alone.
Some however have seen it as referring to the man having actually sinned ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus', increasing the heinousness of his sin by giving it a false spiritual motive under some false ‘spiritual' emotive experience..
‘With the power of the Lord Jesus.' This may refer to ‘delivering the man over with the power of the Lord Jesus', or ‘assembling with the power of the Lord Jesus', but in both cases the power of the Lord Jesus is effective in the man's delivery into the power of Satan. Alternately the idea of ‘power' may parallel Spirit with the thought that the Spirit is there to act on Christ's behalf, so that the gathered church, the spirit of Paul, and the ‘power' of ‘our Lord, Jesus' are all present to pass the verdict for the expulsion of the gross sin and its perpetrator.
‘To deliver such a one to Satan.' Compare 1 Timothy 1:20. He is to be excluded from close fellowship in the church, from the Kingly Rule of God's beloved Son (Colossians 1:13 b), and cast out into the world over which Satan is in some kind of control, into the power and rule of darkness (Colossians 1:13 a). The hope is that there he will come to his senses and again respond to the word of the cross.
‘For the destruction of the flesh, in order that the spirit may be saved.' The remedy is drastic but it has a saving purpose. The aim is the destruction of that fleshly element within the man which has clearly been very strong and has dragged him down. The flesh has tugged strongly against the Spirit and the man has fallen (Galatians 5:17). But he can be raised up again through the power of the cross so that, having repented, his fleshliness can be destroyed and his spirit be seen to have been delivered in the day of the Lord Jesus. This probably refers to the destruction of fleshliness (1 Corinthians 3:3) by means of a renewed experience of dying with Christ. This use of ‘flesh' is not its normal significance later in 1 and 2 Corinthians, but it accords with Romans where it is common and with 1 Corinthians 3:3 where this significance of being fleshly is in mind. Then his spirit can rise above it through the Spirit's work resulting in restoration ready for that Day. The contrast of flesh and spirit supports this idea.
It is difficult to see how it could be seen as referring to literal destruction of the flesh, presumably through literally dying, for then repentance would not be possible. There is however the possibility that it refers to serious illness which would bring the man to his senses and produce repentance (compare 1 Corinthians 11:30 - those who are sickly being hopefully brought to repentance, those who sleep possibly having no hope. They have shown their hardness of heart by their callous attitude to the Lord's Supper). But here there seems to be no thought of illness specifically and the emphasis is on restoration. His flesh must be prevented from having the victory by drastic action if he is to have any real hope, and that drastic action is through the power of the word of the cross dealing powerfully with the flesh.
But some do see it as referring to death. For later he will say that some of those who do not discern the Lord's Table will also ‘sleep', presumably without the opportunity of repentance (1 Corinthians 11:30). Then we would have to see death as the punishment for this gross sin without it affecting the man's eternal state, for his spirit is to be ‘saved in the day of the Lord Jesus'. But the fact that such are to be avoided while still alive (1 Corinthians 5:11), and that he may well have later repented and been restored (2 Corinthians 2:5-11), is against this suggestion, as is the regular Scriptural promise of restoration by the Shepherd of those who fall into sin. Nowhere in Scripture do we ever have the direct suggestion that a man can be living in deliberate disobedience to God and have hope for the future if he dies in his sin (compare Ezekiel 33:8). This is not because his salvation depends on his remaining sinless, but because the assumption is there that if he truly belongs to Christ, Christ will not allow him to remain in such a sinful state. Thus in our view this must be speaking of spiritual destruction of the flesh, which is a central thought in Paul
‘In the day of the Lord Jesus.' Compare 2 Corinthians 1:14. This is the day when the Lord Jesus comes for His own and His people come before His judgment seat. It is similar to ‘the Day of Christ' (Philippians 1:10; Philippians 2:16 compare 1 Corinthians 1:8; Philippians 1:6). It is the Day of Salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2) and Redemption (Ephesians 4:30). It is a glorious day.
It contrasts with ‘the Day of the Lord', which, while similarly speaking of the end of all things, does so from the point of view of a period of God's judgments on the whole world, however short or long, and as a consequence the establishing of the new heaven and the new earth in ‘the Day of God' (2 Peter 3:12), and comes ‘like a thief in the night' (1Th 5:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:2; 2 Peter 3:10 and compare 1 Thessalonians 5:4). Jesus spoke of it as ‘the Day of Judgment' Matthew 10:15; Matthew 11:22-24; Matthew 12:36; Mark 6:11; 2 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 3:7; 1 John 4:17 compare Romans 2:5), although in this latter expression concentration is made more on a specific point in time rather than on a period of judgment when men have to give account to God.
Having Rid The Church Of This Sin The Whole Church Must Then Purify Themselves By A Spiritual Feast of the Passover, Purging Sin and Experiencing The Word of the Cross Through Him Who Is The Passover Lamb Sacrificed For Us (1 Corinthians 5:6-8)
This is similar to John's description of Christian's purifying themselves from sin in 1 John 1:7-10, although there it is individual. Here they are to do it as a whole church.