“To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the Spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” 1 Cor. 5:5).
The meaning of this is to be gathered from the context.
There was a certain offender against righteousness in the midst of the Corinthian ecclesia—(1 Cor 5:1,2,3). The ecclesia were not dealing properly with the case: They were disposed to shield the offender. Paul rebukes them and gives his judgment in the case in verses 1 Cor 5:4,5.
“To deliver such an one to Satan” was to hand him over to the adversary—the unbelieving world outside—to exclude him in fact from fellowship.
This is proved by the wording of verse 1 Cor 5:13. “Put away from among yourselves that wicked person.”
But perhaps your difficulty refers to the “destruction of the flesh,” and the “saving of the Spirit.”
Some have thought it meant the destruction of the offenders “flesh,” and the saving of the offender’s “spirit.” This cannot be in view of the argument used for expulsion: namely, “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.”
Paul’s anxiety was that the ecclesia might be kept pure. The removal of the offender was the destruction of the flesh from their midst, that the Spirit in their midst, that is those who walked after the Spirit, might be saved in the day of the Lord.
As to 1 Tim 1:20—(“Hymenæus and Alexander, whom I, Paul, have delivered unto Satan”), the meaning is that Paul, by his authority as an apostle, had cut them off, which was an emphatic form of withdrawal.
Of course, it would make no sense at all to hand a disobedient believer over to a demonic creature for their benefit. :unsure:
The meaning of this is to be gathered from the context.
There was a certain offender against righteousness in the midst of the Corinthian ecclesia—(1 Cor 5:1,2,3). The ecclesia were not dealing properly with the case: They were disposed to shield the offender. Paul rebukes them and gives his judgment in the case in verses 1 Cor 5:4,5.
“To deliver such an one to Satan” was to hand him over to the adversary—the unbelieving world outside—to exclude him in fact from fellowship.
This is proved by the wording of verse 1 Cor 5:13. “Put away from among yourselves that wicked person.”
But perhaps your difficulty refers to the “destruction of the flesh,” and the “saving of the Spirit.”
Some have thought it meant the destruction of the offenders “flesh,” and the saving of the offender’s “spirit.” This cannot be in view of the argument used for expulsion: namely, “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.”
Paul’s anxiety was that the ecclesia might be kept pure. The removal of the offender was the destruction of the flesh from their midst, that the Spirit in their midst, that is those who walked after the Spirit, might be saved in the day of the Lord.
As to 1 Tim 1:20—(“Hymenæus and Alexander, whom I, Paul, have delivered unto Satan”), the meaning is that Paul, by his authority as an apostle, had cut them off, which was an emphatic form of withdrawal.
Of course, it would make no sense at all to hand a disobedient believer over to a demonic creature for their benefit. :unsure: