Written by Paul J Bucknell on October, 30, 2018

Deliver Up to Satan (1 Corinthians 5:1-5)

Please elaborate on: “I will deliver such a one to Satan” and “punish the body and save the soul at Lord’s day”.

1 Corinthians 5:1-5; 1 Timothy 1:20; Acts 5:1-5

The Question on Delivering One to Satan

In 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 Paul was lambasting the church at Corinth for condoning uncouth and uncultured behavior. He used this descriptions for such a one “I will deliver such a one to Satan” and “punish the body and save the soul at Lord’s day”. Please elaborate on this for me.

The Clarification

Paul twice referred to delivering people over to Satan. Satan’s greatest goal is to swallow people up to death, so Paul means once he removes a level of protection from God —in this case by Paul’s delegated authority as an apostle—that the believer would quickly die, something similar that we see with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11.

“It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. 2* And you have become arrogant, and have not mourned instead, in order that the one who had done this deed might be removed from your midst. 3 For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (1 Cor 5:1-5). (NASB used)

“Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered over to Satan, so that they may be taught not to blaspheme” (1 Tim 1:20).

The Answer

The context here speaks of professing believers not repenting from their wicked sins. They were rebuked but did not listen to this reproof. We assume the same judgment was for Hymeaneus and Alexander—“for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” In other words, they would physically die but still be saved.

Can Christian believers sin? Yes, they can. We know this, but then ask how much can a believer sin? We are tempted to ask this question, but it’s not a good one. Christians should live godly lives, not finding how much sin can be tolerated. When there is no sensitivity to sin and the guilt, it is a good indication that the person, whether professing believer or not, is not a genuine believer.

Instead of focusing on unbelief and sin, we should focus on making disciples and living godly lives. But around us, at times, there are believers who live contradictory lives. Their profession of faith is contrary to their lives. Somehow the devil could deceive them and convince them that what they were doing was okay, not that bad, or impossible to stop.

Most of us do not have the gift of discernment and are not sure whether a person is saved or not. We, as Christian leaders, must be very careful not to consider genuine believers as not true believers, or false believers, though they are professing Christians, to be believers. Again, most of us cannot discern this as clearly as Paul and should proceed with great caution.

Paul’s judgment created fear in the church over ungodly behavior, eliminated the evil in a congregation, and saved the soul. We deal with believers through church discipline (Mat 18:12-20) and preach the gospel of life to the spiritually dead.

The Application

Believers should first be privately confronted with sin, but if needed, be confronted with their wicked behavior in front of others (i.e., Mat 18:12-20). This should be done in a spirit of seeking the recovery of the erring brother or sister.
Although Paul the Apostle in a few circumstances had “delivered over to Satan,” it does not mean it is a common act for Christian leaders. Paul was an apostle and responsible for setting a solid foundation.
Christian leaders should be very careful not to get caught in a power showoff—showing everyone how spiritually powerful he is by this act (Gal 6:1).