Board index ‹ Specific Bible verses, texts, and passages ‹ 1 Corinthians

[Charlie Johnson]

What did Paul mean in 1 Corinthians 5:5 where he said, "hand this man over to Satan." How can anyone be handed over to Satan?

[jimwalton]

What is the reason for this handing over and casting out, since they are going to be saved in the Day of the Lord anyway (they can’t lose their salvation)? The ousting is obviously to purge the church (7) and to destroy the sinful nature (5). The point of church discipline is ultimately to do what is necessary to save the person from what they are doing, so that they turn in confession and repentance, divest themselves of their sinful choices, and return to fellowship with the Lord. It's also to warn others not to go down that same path (1 Tim. 5.20). Barring that, discipline is useful for protecting the reputation and integrity of Christ and his church.

"Satan" doesn't mean "evil," as Sandra has proposed, but "adversary."

Some of the possibilities here:

1. That the person would come down with a wasting physical illness. (Barclay, Dods, and others)
2. The destruction of the transgressor's sinful nature (G. Campbell Morgan and others)
3. Physical death at Satan's hand (Bultmann, Moule, Niebuhr, and others)
4. Delivery to the Roman civil magistrates (Grafe)
5. A secret execution (Klausner)
6. Excommunication from the community—expulsion from the church (Robertson, Barth Campbell, and others)

Both here and in 1 Tim. 1.20, wrongdoing was what prompted the directive to "hand over to Satan," and in both cases the expected result is something beneficial, viz., that the person will be saved. Clearly the hope is that the "handing over" will be remedial. So even though the handing over is a punishment, it's meant to help, not just cause harm. It's most likely that it means expulsion from the community (1 Cor. 5.2). We can assume what Paul had in mind was that being removed from the church community would place the offender in Satan's realm of influence, forcing the offender to confront the gravity of his sin and turn away from it. By doing so, that fleshly drive would have been destroyed and the individual would once again respond to the promptings of the Spirit.