Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Corinthians 5:3

For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, [concerning] him that hath so done this deed.

3. I verily, as absent in body ] Cf. Col 2:5; 1Th 2:17. Here we have the method of excommunication pursued in the Apostolic Church. It is important to observe it narrowly. First, it is to be remarked that the Apostle is acting not only as the president, but as the founder of the Corinthian Church. Next we remark that the whole Church at Corinth was associated with him in the work. “When ye are gathered together, and my spirit.” Hence it came to pass that in primitive times it was usual for such acts of discipline to be carried out in the presence of the Church or congregation in which the offender was accustomed to worship. Thirdly, it is observable that such excommunication was pronounced ‘in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ,’ that is, with His authority and in accordance with His Divine Law of purity and love, whereby, while hating the sin, He desired to convert the offender.

have judged already ] This may either be taken (1) as in the Authorized Version, with the word concerning inserted before him that hath so done this deed, or (2) these last words may be regarded as the accusative after “deliver,” and the word “judged” taken absolutely. The former appears preferable, but the whole passage is very intricate.

concerning him that hath so done this deed ] Literally, he that hath perpetrated this deed in such a manner, i.e. as though to add to the guilt and shame of it by his way of doing it.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

For I verily – But I, whatever it may cost me; however you may esteem my interference; and whatever personal ill-will may be the result toward me, have adjudged this case to be so flagrant as to demand the exercise of discipline, and since the church to whom it belongs have neglected it, I use the authority of an apostle, and of a spiritual father, in directing it to take place. This was not a formal sentence of excommunication; but it was the declared opinion of an apostle that such a sentence should be passed, and an injunction on the church to exercise this act of discipline.

As absent in body – Since I am not personally present with you, I express my opinion in this manner. I am absent in body from you, and cannot, therefore, take those steps in regard to it which I could were I present.

But present in spirit – My heart is with you; my feelings are with you; I have a deep and tender interest in the case; and I judge as if I were personally present. Many suppose that Paul by this refers to a power which was given to the apostles, though at a distance, to discern the real circumstances of a case by the gift of the Spirit. Compare Col 2:5; 2Ki 5:26; 2Ki 6:12. (Whitby, Doddridge, etc.) But the phrase does not demand this interpretation. Paul meant, probably, that though he was absent, yet his mind and attention had been given to this subject; he felt as deeply as though he were present, and would act in the same way. He had, in some way, been fully apprized of all the circumstances of the case, and he felt it to be his duty to express his views on the subject.

Have judged already – Margin, Determined kekrika. I have made up my mind; have decided, and do decide. That is, he had determined what ought to be done in the case. It was a case in which the course which ought to be pursued was plain, and on this point his mind was settled. What that course should be he states immediately.

As though I were present – As though I had a personal knowledge of the whole affair, and were with you to advise – We may be certain that Paul had the fullest information as to this case; and that the circumstances were well known. Indeed, it was a case about the facts of which there could be no doubt. They were everywhere known 1Co 5:1, and there was no need, therefore, to attempt to establish them by formal proof.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 3. Absent in body, but present in spirit] Perhaps St. Paul refers to the gift of the discernment of spirits, which it is very likely the apostles in general possessed on extraordinary occasions. He had already seen this matter so clearly, that he had determined on that sort of punishment which should be inflicted for this crime.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Though I be absent as to my bodily presence, yet God having intrusted me with a superintendency and care over his church amongst you, out of the care and solicitude which I have for you, as well as the other churches of Christ, and in discharge of that trust which God hath reposed in me, I do determine, and have determined as much as if I were present amongst you, what ought to be done by you concerning this person so notoriously scandalous.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

3. as absentThe bestmanuscripts read, “being absent.”

present in spirit(2Ki 5:26; Col 2:5).

so donerather,”perpetrated,” as the Greek word here is strongerthan that for “done” in 1Co5:2. “So,” that is, so scandalously while called abrother.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

For I verily, as absent in body,…. As he really was, being now at Philippi, if any dependence is to be had upon the subscription of this epistle; or rather at Ephesus; however, wherever he was, it is certain he was not at Corinth:

but present in spirit; in his affection to them, care of them, and concern for their good, and the glory of God:

have judged already; he had considered of the matter, thought very deliberately about it, and was now come to a point, to a determination concerning it, what to do in it:

as though I were present; upon the spot, in person, to do what he had resolved upon:

to him that hath so done this deed; this infamous one, and in so scandalous a manner, and which was continued in: what that was which the apostle, upon mature deliberation and judgment, determined to do with this wicked man, is expressed in 1Co 5:5 which is to be connected with this, the whole fourth verse being to be read in a parenthesis, and that was to deliver him to Satan.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

For I verily ( ). Emphatic statement of Paul’s own attitude of indignation, in contrast with . He justifies his demand for the expulsion of the man.

Being absent () Although absent (concessive participle) and so of though present. Each with locative case ( , ).

Have already judged ( ). Perfect active indicative of . I have already decided or judged, as though present ( ). Paul felt compelled to reach a conclusion about the case and in a sentence of much difficulty seems to conceive an imaginary church court where the culprit has been tried and condemned. There are various ways of punctuating the clauses in this sentence in verses 3-5. It is not merely Paul’s individual judgment. The genitive absolute clause in verse 4,

ye being gathered together ( , first aorist passive participle of , in regular assembly)

and my spirit ( ) with the assembly (he means)

and meeting in the name of our Lord Jesus ( [] ) with the power of the Lord Jesus ( ), though this clause can be taken with the infinitive to deliver (). It makes good syntax and sense taken either way. The chief difference is that, if taken with “gathered together” () Paul assumes less apostolic prerogative to himself. But he did have such power and used it against Elymas (Ac 13:8ff.) as Peter did against Ananias and Sapphira (Ac 5:1ff.).

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

1) For I verily, as absent in body, but present in Spirit. (Greek ego men gar) For I at least, being away or absent in the physical body (Greek paron) but being alongside you or present in the spirit.

2) Have judged already, as though I were present. The necessary inference and testamentary evidence of the common report that had reached Pauls ears was sufficient and factual enough to satisfy his mind that he could make a valid judgment on what the church should do about the fornication problem.

3) Concerning him that hath so done this deed. Paul arrived at a judgment of what the church should do with the young man who had practiced fornication with his own step-mother until it had become a disgrace to the church, as reported to him by the household of Chloe, in a letter delivered by Fortunatus, Stephanus, and Achaicus, 1Co 1:11; 1Co 16:8.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

3. I truly, etc. As the Corinthians were wanting in their duty, having condemned their negligence, he now shows what ought to be done. In order that this stain may be removed, they must cast out this incestuous person from the society of the faithful. He prescribes, then, as a remedy for the disease, excommunication, which they had sinfully delayed so long. When he says, that he had, while absent in body, already determined this, he severely reproves in this way the remissness of the Corinthians, for there is here all implied contrast. It is as though he had said: “You who are present ought before this time to have applied a remedy to this disease, having it every day before your eyes, and yet you do nothing; (274) while for my part I cannot, even though absent, endure it.” Lest any one should allege that he acted rashly in forming a judgment when at so great a distance, he declares himself to be present in spirit, meaning by this, that the line of duty was as plain to him as if he were present, and saw the thing with his eyes. Now it is of importance to observe what he teaches as to the mode of excommunication.

(274) “ Vous dissimulez;” — “You connive.”

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

Butlers Comments

SECTION 2

Apostolic Summons (1Co. 5:3-8)

3 For though absent in body I am present in spirit, and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment 4in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled, and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed. 8Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1Co. 5:3-5 Chastening: This advice that the immoral man should be expelled from the church comes with full apostolic authority. It is advice from the Holy Spirit of God speaking through the instrumentality of an apostle. There is no human guesswork involved here. Christs bride (the church) is to keep herself sanctified, cleansed, in splendor, without spot or wrinkle, that she might be holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:21-27). Immorality and all impurity must not even be named among the saints (Eph. 5:3). The church is to take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them, for it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret (Eph. 5:11-12).

Although the apostle was absent from their presence, and could not be there to speak with them face to face, he had already made judgment from the moment he received the report (Gr. kekrika, perfect tense verb), and his judgment continued to be, deliver such a one to Satan. Note the qualifying statements Paul makes about his judgment:

a.

It is in the name of (by the authority of) the Lord Jesus.

b.

It is by apostolic epistlethe apostle being absent in body.

c.

It is to be done by the assembled church.

d.

It is for the purpose of putting to death worldly-mindedness in the guilty man in order to save his spirit for God.

Pauls bodily absence from these brethren did not mean his spirit (will) could not be present among them. His spirit would be actualized among them through his letter to them. His letter expressed his willhis spirithis personality. As a matter of fact, it is through the written word of the Holy Spirit (the Bible) that God actualizes the Spirit of Christ in the heart and soul of every believer (see Joh. 14:21; Joh. 14:23; Joh. 15:7; Joh. 15:10-11; 1Jn. 2:5-6; 1Jn. 2:24; 1Jn. 3:24). And, of course, Pauls written word carried with it the power of our Lord Jesus.

The apostolic order is to deliver this man to Satan. The Greek word is paradounai, which means, give over, abandon, deliver up. What is it to abandon someone to Satan? It is the same as, Let him become to you as a Gentile and a publican (Mat. 18:17); it is the same as having nothing to do with him (2Th. 3:6; 2Th. 3:14-15). To deliver, or abandon, a church member to Satan is to declare him a non-covenant person. Those of the Old Testament dispensation who were cut off from the congregation were to be considered no longer members of Israel and severed from all rights and privileges of the covenant! They could not offer sacrifices at the temple, they could not associate with Gods people, and they were considered unclean. They were no longer able to be reconciled to God. The same is true in the case of a Christian excommunicated from the church. Such a one is unreconciled to God, a rebel, and not a member of Gods redeemed community until he repents and seeks forgiveness. Delivering an immoral impenitent to Satan is really only an acknowledgment by the church of that which the sinner has already done to himself! It gets the churchs position straightened out on sin as much as it gets the sinners attitude straightened out on it!

Excommunication does not mean that the church has given up on the sinner and wishes him to be lost forever. In fact, it means just the opposite. It means the church really cares that the sinner is jeopardizing his eternal salvation by continuing in his sin, and the church is jealous for his salvation and fellowship, but the church must also fear God and keep his commandments concerning sin in the camp.
This is precisely why Paul qualified his order to deliver the man to Satan with the words, . . . for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. The church was not to destroy the man, but to reclaim the man for Christ. As he was, living in contemptuous rebellion against Christs rule over him, he was giving allegiance to Satan. The church must understand this is where the man is, admit the man belongs to Satan and not to Christ, and take unpleasant but affirmative action that might move the man to return to Christs lordship in his life.

Satan, of course, would not personally offer any assistance to the guilty man to destroy his carnal-mindedness. Satan would use every opportunity and circumstance to deceive the man into involving himself ever deeper into carnality, God alone, through his word and Spirit in our hearts, destroys fleshly-mindedness, Paul did not mean the physical body of the man was to be destroyedhe meant the destruction of an attitude! The apostle wanted to slay a certain mindset, a philosophy of life, which the man had accepted and allowed to turn him away from godliness. Paul himself had to fight and conquer (by Gods grace) this same mind-set (cf. Rom. 7:13-25; 1Co. 9:24-27). There is this same struggle in every Christian (see Gal. 5:17).

Apparently Paul believed this man would learn something by being excommunicated and given over to some realm where Satan is allowed by God to function which might motivate the man to draw near to Christ. Paul delivered to Satan two of his co-workers, Hymenaeus and Alexander, that they might learn not to blaspheme. How did he expect them to learn this? How did God teach Job to depend more on Gods grace than on his own self-righteousness? God delivered Job to Satan (see Job. 2:6-7). How was Paul, the apostle, taught that he should not boast in having received revelations from God that no other human had received? How did Paul learn that Gods grace was sufficient and that he should not rely on himself? God delivered Paul to Satan and sent Paul through the school of affliction (see 2Co. 12:1-10; 2Co. 1:3-11, respectively). Jesus delivered Peter to Satan to be sifted as wheat (Luk. 22:31-32). Evidently Paul believed that when this man was cast out of the brotherhood of believers, he would suffer affliction (which the devil would gladly inflict because the devils total ambition is to hurt both God and man) which God would allow the devil to inflict, and this might produce repentance in the man. Since Satan is the great accuser, the mans torment might be such a burden of guilt he would be moved to shame (see 2Th. 3:14-15) and turn to Christ for grace and forgiveness which would demand that he put to death the deeds done in the body. When God gave up the heathen society Paul wrote about in chapter one of Romans, to whom and to what did he give them up? He gave them up to the prince of darkness! When God allowed a strong delusion to come upon those who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness, to whom did he deliver them? He delivered them to the activity of Satan (2Th. 2:1-15). We must always remember, however, that Biblical religion is not a form of dualism like the religions of ancient Babylon and Persia. Gods word never presents a picture of two kingdoms (light and darkness; good and evil) with equal power! In the Bible we learn that Jehovah is without beginning and end and is all powerful forever. Satan has only such power as is relegated to him and is constantly subject to the control of Almighty God (see our comments on Revelation, ch. 20, in Twenty-Six Lessons on Revelation, Part Two, pgs. 95121, pub. College Press).

If this guilty man, delivered to Satan, puts to death his attitude that this world and physical things are mans ultimate purpose and goal, his spirit will be saved. Paul, of course, does not mean to infer that man is only spirit and that the physical body is evil, per se. That was the deception taught by the Gnostics to justify their depravities. Paul was well aware that at the resurrection man will be raised with a new body. But it will be a body different from the one he inhabits in this cosmic order. Mans new body will be celestial, immortal and incorruptible (cf. 1Co. 15:35-58). Therefore, what Paul means by the saving of mans spirit is the saving of the whole man. Man is not whole until he is spiritual. It is the holy spiritual essence of man that is eternal and if controlled by the love of Christ (cf. 2Co. 4:16-18; 2Co. 5:1-21), will be clothed with immortality at Christs day (his second coming). Scandalous and impenitent immorality in any congregation must be dealt with. There is no option except discipline. It is the Lords command. However, in view of the awesome responsibility of having to deliver . . . a man (or woman) to Satan for the destruction of the flesh it must be done with compassionate love, with strict adherence to the divine guidelines of the New Testament, and with reclamation of a penitent brother as its only goal. When such a case demands attention by the congregation and its leadership, it must be done with firmness, without partiality and as quickly as love allows. Because sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the sons of men is fully set to do evil (Ecc. 8:11; see also Isa. 26:9-10). The action of delivering a member of a congregation to Satan (or excommunication) must never be done on the basis of hearsay. The evidence of immorality must be clear and actualnot merely rumored.

1Co. 5:6-8 Cleansing: It seems incredible that the Corinthian Christians would be boasting about such an abhorrent sin in their midst. Perhaps they were boasting about their graciousness and tolerance in not having judged the man (see comments on 1Co. 5:2). Whatever the case, the apostle is as appalled at their attitude as he is at the sin. By their tolerance of this perversion they are leaving the whole congregation to be infected with sin. Leaven (yeast) is commonly used in the Bible to symbolize the penetrating power of a small matter so as to permeate and influence the greater, for either good or evil. The context always determines how the symbol is being used, It is clear that Paul is using leaven here as a figure of evil influence. Every one knows that just a little leaven will reproduce itself in a large lump of bread-dough. It is also true that one sin may infect a whole congregation, reproducing evil throughout the whole body. And how much more deadly would be the influence of such sin if the congregation was proud of its toleration of the evil.

Paul commands the church to cleanse itself. The Greek text has the word ekkatharate (aorist imperative). This is an order, not a suggestion. The Greek word is a compound word with a prepositional prefix meaning, clean out, purge out, eliminate. It is the word from which we have the English word catharsis which means to purify.

Should anyone think the apostle is too severe in his demands or his language he has only to read the Old Testament law concerning punishment for sins of seemingly lesser perversion. In the law of Moses Israelites were to be put to death for rebelling against parents, for bowing down to an image, for practicing witchcraft, and many other sins. Surely Christians are never to get the idea that God is more tolerant of sin in the New dispensation (see Heb. 2:1-4; Mat. 5:27-30). Jesus cursed a fig tree and withered it simply because it gave signs of fruit but produced none. Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead by the Holy Spirit for lying about what they gave to the church; Elymas was struck blind by the Holy Spirit trying to turn Sergius Paulus away from faith in Jesus (Act. 13:8 ff.). God is serious about sin!

All the symbolism of Jewish history and Gods redemptive program for man is applied here to the Christian experience. The Christian covenant is Gods ultimate feast. Jesus spoke often (parabolically) of his new kingdom (the church) as a feast. Paul is not referring to the Lords Supper, per se, in these verses. He is using the same figure of speech Jesus used in his parables. Paul is likening the whole Christian life to a festival or holy-day. Of course, the best symbol to illustrate that is the Jewish Passover feast. The Christians Passover is Christ (Gr. pascha). Christ is the absolute passoverthe perfect passover. He is the fulfillment of that which all the Jewish feasts typified and prophesied. The Old Testament passover specifically celebrated Gods redemption of Israel and sanctification or separation from bondage into a people called out for Gods glory and purpose. All the festivals or holy-days ordained by God in the law of Moses were celebrations of righteousness, love, truth and goodness. They were holy dedications acknowledging mans reconciliation to the will of God through sacrificial, vicarious atonement.

At the Jewish passover, specifically, all Jewish homes had to be searched with minute care for leaven and any that was found was to be put out of the house (see Exo. 12:14-20). If anyone disobeyed this commandment they were to be cut off from the congregation of Israel! Leaven, in the matter of the Jewish passover, symbolized the old life of bondage in Egypt, which, in turn, symbolizes sin. In the Jewish passover the old leaven had to be thrown out before the slaying of the sacrificial lamb and the observance of the festival. In the Corinthian antitype their lamb had already been sacrificed and they were trying to celebrate the festival (the Christians life) with the old leaven still remaining in their house.

The whole Christian experience is said to be a festival or a feast. The Old Testament prophets often predicted the messianic age in the figure of a feast (Isa. 25:6-9; Isa. 55:1-2; Zec. 14:16-19, etc.). Jesus used the figure of a feast to predict his messianic kingdom (Luk. 14:1 ff.; Mat. 22:1-14; Mat. 25:1-13; Joh. 6:35-63; Luk. 15:22-32). The apostles frequently spoke of the Christian life as feasting (cf. Heb. 6:1 ff; Heb. 12:22-23; 1Co. 3:2; Heb. 5:12-14; 1Pe. 2:2-3; Eph. 5:18; see also Joh. 4:34; Mat. 5:6; Isa. 65:13). So, when Paul says here, Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival . . . (Gr. heortazomen, feast) he is not limiting the need for cleansing to partaking of the Lords Supper. The church must purge itself of the sin within it in order to be considered as being a participant of the whole Christian experience!

And the sin within the church is not only the man living with his fathers wife! The translation of the Greek word kakias by the English word malice is not sufficiently precise to give the clear meaning of the sentence. The word kakias means badness in quality. It may have the connotation of maliciousness if the context demands it, but that does not seem to be the case here. The word kakias refers more to disposition or attitude (bad attitude) than it does to deeds. The next word in the sentence, evil (Gr. ponerias), has to do with deeds. It would seem, therefore, that Paul was urging the Corinthian church to purge itself of its bad attitude or disposition (arrogance and worldly sophistication) as well as the incestuous relationship of the man with his fathers wife.

So long as the church was of the attitude to see itself as sophisticated by allowing the sinful couple to continue in its fellowship, they could not possibly be living the Christian life (keeping the festival with the unleavened bread) of sincerity and truth. The word eilikrineias is translated sincerity and is from two Greek words which mean sun and judge. The idea is that a life lived in sincerity is a life that is not lived in darkness or shadows, but one that is lived in the undimmed, brilliance of pure truth.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(3) For I verily.The Apostle had fully made up his mind that this offender must be removed, and insists on the Corinthians doing it. So that the previous words imply they might as well have done it without waiting for his interference.

As absent in body.Better, omit as, which is not in the best MSS.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

3. Present in spirit Though I am here in Ephesus, yet do you conceive me as sitting in apostolic power and spirit in your midst at Corinth, ordering the execution of the sentence I now write.

Have judged already In instant contrast with your tardiness and tolerance.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

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 (Eze 8:3; Eze 8:7; Eze 8:14; Eze 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 (Joh 17:6; Joh 17:11; Joh 17:16). They saw themselves as being in the hands of God (Eph 2:4-6), while the world lay in the arms of the Evil One (1Jn 5:19; Joh 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 (Joh 17:11-12 compare 2Co 5:20; Php 3:20), for they dwelt spiritually in ‘the heavenlies’ (Eph 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’ (Eph 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 (Php 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 (1Co 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 – 1Co 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 1Ti 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 (Mar 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’ (Col 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 (Rom 8:3; Gal 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 (1Co 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 (Gal 2:20; Gal 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 1Ti 1:20. He is to be excluded from close fellowship in the church, from the Kingly Rule of God’s beloved Son (Col 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 (Col 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 (Gal 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 (1Co 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 1Co 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 1Co 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 (1Co 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 (1Co 5:11), and that he may well have later repented and been restored (2Co 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 Eze 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 2Co 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’ (Php 1:10; Php 2:16 compare 1Co 1:8; Php 1:6). It is the Day of Salvation (2Co 6:2) and Redemption (Eph 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’ (2Pe 3:12), and comes ‘like a thief in the night’ ( 1Th 5:2 ; 2Th 2:2; 2Pe 3:10 and compare 1Th 5:4). Jesus spoke of it as ‘the Day of Judgment’ Mat 10:15; Mat 11:22-24; Mat 12:36; Mar 6:11; 2Pe 2:9; 2Pe 3:7; 1Jn 4:17 compare Rom 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 (1Co 5:6-8)

This is similar to John’s description of Christian’s purifying themselves from sin in 1Jn 1:7-10, although there it is individual. Here they are to do it as a whole church.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The apostle’s sentence:

v. 3. For I verily, as absent in. body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath, so done this deed,

v. 4. in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

v. 5. 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.

The case was so clear that Paul, on his part, had reached a decision. The Corinthian Christians were present in the midst of the scandal every day and seemed to experience no inconvenience, whereas the apostle, although not present according to the body, but only in spirit, even so writhed under the insult which had been inflicted upon the Church of God by this flagrant trespass. And so there was only one sentence to be given: I have already passed judgment, as though I were present, upon him that in this manner has perpetrated this. Note how the apostle emphasizes the flagrancy, the heinousness, of the offense. It was a case in which long negotiations and discussions were superfluous; it concerned a sin which both Greek and Roman law stamped as infamy, which represented the height of unnatural vice. And here, under these conditions, a man flouted his infamy in the sight of the entire congregation. Only one decision was possible under the circumstances. The energetic and prompt conduct on the part of the absent apostle forms a contrast all the more striking over against the slackness of those among whom the shameful scandal had occurred.

The apostle now delivers his sentence: to deliver the man of this kind to Satan for destruction of his flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. But he also shows in what way the sentence is to be spoken: In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you have assembled for a formal meeting, and my spirit, together with the power of the Lord Jesus. The Corinthian Christians were, then, to call a meeting of the brethren, and in this meeting, under the directing influence of Paul’s spirit, his mind in the matter now being known, they were to pronounce sentence. And this was to be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, in whom alone every church act has validity; the sin being an offense against His holy name, judgment must be passed as coming from Him. And it must be uttered with the power of our Lord Jesus, with that peculiar church power with which every Christian congregation is vested, that of retaining the sins of the impenitent sinners, as long as they do not repent. Through His power also the content of the appalling sentence could be carried out. The offender was to be delivered to Satan, by formal resolution deprived of his relationship to the Lord of light and thrust out into the kingdom of darkness, where the god of this world has jurisdiction, 2Co 4:4; Eph 2:2; Eph 6:12; Col 1:13. For the destruction of the flesh the incestuous person was to be delivered. By indulging in such a heinous sin, the offender had yielded his body to the power of Satan. And Satan, through the effects of sin, perhaps of this very transgression, would destroy the body, would afflict it with diseases peculiar to such an unnatural vice and voluptuous behavior. And thus the exalted Lord would use the devil himself as His instrument, in order to work in the mind of the transgressor a fear and horror of his sin and its consequences, that eventually the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. By means of the punishment which Satan carries out as a righteous judgment, the Lord hopes to effect a cure for the man and thus to snatch his soul like a brand from the burning. Satan has nothing but the everlasting destruction of both soul and body of the sinner in mind, but the Lord, merciful even when the decrees of His holiness must be carried out, plans to use the punishment as a means to call the sinner to repentance. In this way many a sinner, upon whom the sentence of excommunication had to be pronounced, may, according to the gracious intention of the Lord, have come to the realization of his transgression through the effects and consequences of his sin, and, like the thief on the cross, turned to his Savior even in the last hour. On the great day of the Lord, when the salvation or perdition of every human being will be pronounced, many a person may thus be placed on the right hand of the Lord, because the gracious intention of the Lord was realized in this manner. Note: A Christian congregation must always be mindful of the fact that the purpose of excommunication is not the destruction, but the salvation of the soul.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

1Co 5:3. But present in spirit Some think this refers to an extraordinary gift which St. Paul had of discerning clearly and circumstantially what was done at a distance. Comp. Col 2:5. 2Ki 5:26 and Dr. Benson’s Hist. vol. 2: p. 16.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

1Co 5:3 . ] introduces the independent resolution already arrived at by himself, and therewith the justification of the ; for he, Paul, for his part, has resolved already to inflict a yet heavier punishment upon him . Comp also Winer, p. 422 [E. T. 568]; the contents of 1Co 5:3-5 correspond to the in its connection with . The solitarium must be taken as meaning: I at least . See Hermann, a [763] Viger. p. 841 f.; Wunder, a [764] Soph. Phil. 159; Hartung, Partikell . II. p. 413.

] Comp 1Co 5:4 : , hence not to be understood, as Chrysostom and others hold, [766] of the Holy Spirit, against which also militates, comp 1Co 7:34 ; Rom 8:10 ; Col 2:5 .

. ] have made up my mind already, as though I were present (personally superintending your community). [768]

.] belongs to . ., 1Co 5:5 , so that, after the intermediate statements which follow, the object of the sentence is taken up again by in 1Co 5:5 ( hunc talem inquam ), comp 2Co 12:2 . See Matthiae, p. 1045; Schaefer, Melet. p. 84. Bengel says happily: “Graviter suspensa manet et vibrat oratio usque ad 1Co 5:5 .” Not so happy is Hofmann’s view, that . belongs to as an accusative of the object, whereupon . . [770] is then set down to a mixing up of two constructions, this being coupled with an inappropriate comparison of Mar 14:64 .

] after such fashion, in such a way . The way and manner thereby referred to as aggravating the offence were known to the readers, but are unknown to us. Respecting in a bad sense, see on Joh 18:22 , and Bremi, a [771] Dem. Phil. I. p. 120. Pott and Olshausen explain it wrongly: “ licet Christianus sit ,” which is not implied in the text, and would state nothing special, for it was a matter of course that the person in question was not a non-Christian.

.] has perpetrated , more emphatic than , 1Co 5:2 . See on Rom 1:27 .

[763] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.

[764] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.

[766] So, too, Holsten, z. Ev. d. Paul. u. Petr. p. 385.

[768] Were the before the genuine reading, and Hofmann persists in retaining it as such, notwithstanding that cod. , too, has added its weight to the side of the overwhelming contrary testimony, this might be very simply distinguished from that which stands before in this way, that the first would mean as, and the second as if.

[770] . . . .

[771] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,

Ver. 3. Have judged already, &c. ] q.d. I by mine apostolic authority do excommunicate him. And yet how fiercely doth learned Erastus contend with Calvin and Beza about excommunication, denying the Church any such power. The Jews had their three sorts of excommunication. The heathen also had theirs; among the old Gauls, if any one did not obey the decrees of their Druids or priests, he was forbidden their sacrifices; and therehence shunned by all as a wicked man, he had no benefit of their laws, nor any respect given him, &c.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

3 5 .] justifies the expression just used, by declaring the judgment which the Apostle, although absent, had already passed on the offender .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

3 .] , I for my part ‘ego certe:’ so Aristoph. Plut. 355, , : see Hartung, Partikellchre, ii. 413.

, as if really present , not, as being present in spirit .

. ] The object is put foremost for emphasis’ sake, and after several intervening clauses, taken up again with , 1Co 5:5 .

, Meyer thinks, alludes to some peculiarly offensive method in which he had brought about the marriage, which was known to the Corinthians, but unknown to us. Olsh. understands it, ‘ under such circumstances ,’ ‘being such as he is, a member of Christ’s body.’ But this, being before patent, would hardly be thus emphatically denoted. Perhaps after all, refers to generally, to , 1Co 5:1 .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

1Co 5:3-5 . The removal of the culprit is, in any case, a settled matter: , “For I at least” , “have already decided” without waiting till you should act or till I could come. For see note, 1Co 4:8 ; , pf. of judgment that has determinate effect. f1 solitarium “I indeed (whatever you may do)”. , “while absent in the body yet present in the spirit”: by absence the Ap. might seem disqualified for judging ( cf. 2Co 12:20 to 2Co 13:2 ); he declares that he is spiritually present , so present to his inmost consciousness are the facts of the case; cf. Col 2:5 . “St. Paul’s spirit, illumined and vivified, as it unquestionably was, by the Divine Spirit, must have been endowed on certain occasions with a more than ordinary insight into the state of a Church at a distance” (Ev [813] ; cf. Joh 1:48 ; 2Ki 5:26 ): “I have already passed sentence, as one present, on him that has so wrought this thing”. means “as being present,” not “as though present” which rendering virtually surrenders the previous . , to work out, consummate (see parls.); the qualifying probably refers to the man’s being a Christian ( cf. 1Co 5:12 f.) “under these conditions” ( cf. 1Co 3:16 f., 1Co 6:15 ).

[813] T. S. Evans in Speaker’s Commentary .

The judgment already determined in the Apostle’s mind is delivered in 1Co 5:5 , supplying a further obj [814] ( of the thing: cf. for the construction, Act 15:38 ) to : “I have already judged him (have given sentence), in the name of our Lord Jesus, to deliver him that is such ( ) to Satan for destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus”. The clauses of 1Co 5:4 , with their solemn, rounded terms, make fit way for this awful sentence; “graviter suspensa manet et vibrat oratio usque ad 1Co 5:5 ” (Bg [815] ). The prp [816] phrases . . ., . . . ., may be connected, either of them or both, with or with the subordinate ; and the four combinations thus grammatically possible have each found advocates. The order of words and balance of clauses, as well as intrinsic fitness of connexion, speak for the attachment of the former adjunct to . ., the latter to . : so Luther, Bg [817] , Mr [818] , Al [819] , Ev [820] , Bt [821] , El [822] “In the name of the Lord Jesus” every Church act is done, every word of blessing or banning uttered; that Name must be formally used when doom is pronounced in the assembly (see parls.). The gen [823] abs. clause is parenthetic, supplying the occasion and condition precedent ( aor [824] ptp [825] ) of the public sentence; all the responsible parties must be concurrent: “when you have assembled together, and my spirit, along with the power of our Lord Jesus”. Along with the gathered assembly, under Paul’s unseen directing influence, a third Supreme Presence is necessary to make the sentence valid; the Church associates itself “with the power” of its Head. Realising that it is clothed therewith, the Cor [826] Church will deliver the appalling sentence inspired by the absent Ap. . . . is a h.l [827] ; (1Co 2:5 , etc.) is frequent in P. “Our Lord Jesus” is Christ the Judge (see 1Co 1:8 ).

[814] grammatical object.

[815] Bengel’s Gnomon Novi Testamenti.

[816] preposition.

[817] Bengel’s Gnomon Novi Testamenti.

[818] Meyer’s Critical and Exegetical Commentary (Eng. Trans.).

[819] Alford’s Greek Testament .

[820] T. S. Evans in Speaker’s Commentary .

[821] J. A. Beet’s St. Paul’s Epp. to the Corinthians (1882).

[822] C. J. Ellicott’s St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians .

[823] genitive case.

[824] aorist tense.

[825] participle

[826] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

[827] .l. hapax legomenon , a solitary expression.

“Delivering to Satan,” in the view of many (including Aug [828] , Cv [829] , Bz [830] , and latterly Hn [831] ), is a synonym for excommunication , a thrusting out of the condemned into “the kingdom of darkness,” where “the god of this world” holds sway (2Co 4:4 , Eph 2:2 ; Eph 6:12 , Col 1:13 , etc.); similarly in 1Ti 1:20 . But there is no proof that such a formula of excommunication existed either in the Synagogue or the early Church; and the added words, . . ., point to some physically punitive and spiritually remedial visitation of the sinner. The to be destroyed, it is replied, lies in the man’s sinful passions; but these would, presumably, be strengthened rather than destroyed by sending him back to the world. “The flesh,” as antithetical to “the spirit” (see parls.), is rather the man’s bodily nature; and physical maladies, even death, are ascribed in the N.T. to Satan (2Co 12:7 , Luk 13:16 , Joh 8:44 , Heb 2:14 ), while on the other hand affliction is made an instrument of spiritual benefit (1Co 9:27 , 1Co 11:30 ff., 2Co 4:16 f., 1Co 12:7 , 1Pe 4:1 f.); moreover, the App. did occasionally, as in the cases of Ananias and Elymas (Act 5:13 ), pronounce penal sentences in the physical sphere, which took immediate effect on the condemned. It appears certain that P. imposed in this case a severe physical infliction indeed, if is to be pressed (see parls.), a mortal stroke as the only means of marking the gravity of the crime and saving the criminal. “Il ne faut pas endouter, c’est une condamnation mort que Paul prononce” (Renan); not however a sudden death, rather “a slow consumption, giving the sinner time to repent” (Gd [832] ). The ejection of the culprit the Church of itself could and must effect (1Co 5:2 ; 1Co 5:13 ); for the aggravated chastisement the presence of the Apostle’s “spirit,” allied “with the power of the Lord Jesus,” was necessary. (Heb. hassatn , Aram. s’tan: see parls.), “the Adversary,” sc. of God and man, to whom every such opportunity is welcome (Joh 8:44 ). That Satan’s malignity should be (as one may say) overreached by God’s wisdom and mercy ( cf. 1Co 3:19 ) is nothing very, wonderful (see 2Co 12:7 , Luk 22:31 f., also the temptation of our Lord, and of Job); hate is proverbially blind. On “ the day of the Lord,” when the ultimate salvation or perdition of each is fixed, see 1Co 1:8 , Rom 2:5-16 . That some Cor [833] afterwards sought proof of Paul’s supernatural power goes to show, not that this sentence proved abortive, but rather that the offender averted it by prompt repentance.

[828] Augustine.

[829] Calvin’s In Nov. Testamentum Commentarii .

[830] Beza’s Nov. Testamentum: Interpretatio et Annotationes (Cantab., 1642).

[831] C. F. G. Heinrici’s Erklrung der Korintherbriefe (1880), or 1 Korinther in Meyer’s krit.-exegetisches Kommentar (1896).

[832] F. Godet’s Commentaire sur la prem. p. aux Corinthiens (Eng. Trans.).

[833] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1Co 5:3-5

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, 5I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

1Co 5:3-5 This paragraph is a judicial metaphor. Paul is supposing that the church called a “church court” (cf. Jas 2:1-4). The early church followed the administrative and worship pattern of the synagogue. These courts were common and many were excommunicated from the synagogue.

1Co 5:3 “though absent in body but present in spirit” These are both present active participles. This clearly shows Paul’s sense of his apostolic authority (cf. 1Co 5:3; 1Co 5:5). But notice that he wants the church to confirm his decision (cf. 1Co 5:4).

SPECIAL TOPIC: SPIRIT (PNEUMA) IN THE NT

“have already judged him who has so committed this” This is a perfect active indicative. Paul asserts his authority even in his physical absence and his decision stands.

1Co 5:4 “In the name of our Lord Jesus” This is a Hebraic way of asserting the prestige and power of the risen Christ as Paul’s source of apostolic authority. Paul represents Him and emulates Him.

There are a variety of forms of “the name of ______” in the Greek manuscripts of this verse.

1. “our Jesus” in uncial manuscripts B, D*

2. “Jesus Christ” in the uncial manuscript

3. “our Jesus Christ” in uncial manuscripts D2, F, G

4. “our” in Lectionary in the minuscule manuscript 1021 (12th century)

5. “Jesus Christ our Lord” in minuscule manuscript 81 (11th century)

The United Bible Societies’ Greek NT, fourth edition (UBS4) says it is difficult to decide, but prefers #1.

This same manuscript problem occurs again in 1Co 5:5 (and also 1Co 5:11).

1. “Lord” in MSS P46, B

2. “Lord Jesus” in MS

3. “Lord Jesus Christ” in MS D

4. “our Lord Jesus Christ” in MSS A, F, G, P

UBS4 rates #1 as almost certain.

1Co 5:5 “to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh” “Deliver” is the Greek term paradidmi, which is used in the Gospels of turning someone over to the authorities for appropriate punishment (cf. Mat 4:12; Mat 5:25; Mat 10:4; Mat 10:17; Mat 18:34; Mat 20:19; Mat 26:15; Mat 27:2; Mat 27:18; Mat 27:26) and in Romans (cf. Rom 1:24; Rom 1:26; Rom 1:28) for turning someone over to evil spiritual powers. This usage fits this context best (i.e., Satan being identified).

This is similar to 1Ti 1:20. There has been much discussion among scholars and commentators over what this involves. Some see it as resulting in the ultimate physical punishment (i.e., death), as in Acts 5 and 1Co 3:17; 1Co 11:30. Others see it as a total excommunication, putting one in the realm of Satan’s activity, which is the world (cf. Joh 12:31; Joh 16:11; 1Co 4:4; 1Jn 5:19), where his alienation from fellowship with God and His people may turn him back to God and avert eschatological judgment. Paul saw the world as the domain of Satan (cf. Eph 2:2). The evil which occurs in this world (i.e., death, disease, loss, etc.) are attributed to the evil one, Satan (cf. 2Co 12:7; 1Th 2:18). It is also possible that “flesh” may refer to mankind’s sensual rebellious lifestyle (i.e., Adamic fallen nature). See Special Topic: Personal Evil at 1Co 7:5.

For “flesh” see Special Topic at 1Co 1:26.

“so that his spirit may be saved” Church discipline must always be redemptive and restorative, not vindictive (cf. 2Co 2:5-11; 2Th 3:14-15). This is the OT connotation of the word “saved,” which means physical deliverance. This person, though acting immorally, is a member of the church. He needs spiritual deliverance, not salvation.

As so often in Paul’s writings the physical body and the spirit are set in contrast (e.g., Rom 8:1-11). They represent two distinct authority structures, two worldviews, two allegiances (cf. Mat 6:19-34; 1Jn 2:15-17).

One more theological point about 1Co 5:5 : Satan is God’s instrument, serving His redemptive purposes. In the OT Satan is an enemy of humanity, but a servant of God (cf. A. B. Davidson, An OT Theology, pp. 300-306). The relationship intensifies in the NT. Satan becomes an enemy of God, but he still is an unwilling servant. Satan’s function in 1Co 5:5 is to bring ultimate salvation to an erring church member.

“in the day of the Lord Jesus” This obviously refers to an eschatological, end-time setting. God’s temporal judgment towards Christians can be seen in 1Co 11:30-32; Acts 5, and 1Ti 1:20. Does this text imply (1) physical death, but eschatological salvation, 1Co 1:8 or (2) is his salvation dependant on his repentance?

There is a recurrent eschatological emphasis in 1 Corinthians (cf. 1Co 1:7-8; 1Co 3:13; 1Co 4:5; 1Co 5:5; 1Co 6:14; 1Co 11:26; 1Co 13:12; 1Co 15:50-54; 1Co 16:22). Possibly one of the theological problems in the Corinthian church was an over-realized eschatology combined with an incipient

Gnosticism. They thought they had arrived spiritually (cf. 1Co 4:7-10) and that the body was evil (i.e., Greek thought) and, therefore, irrelevant to spiritual issues. Paul refutes these tendencies by

1. affirming a future as well as present (cf. 1Co 5:5) judgment

2. emphasizing the inappropriateness of immorality for believers (cf. 1Co 5:5-6)

Also notice that OT phrases referring to YHWH have now been transferred to Jesus (cf. 1Co 1:8; 2Co 1:14; 1Th 5:2; 2Th 2:2; 2Ti 4:8). This is one of the literary ways that NT authors assert the deity of Jesus of Nazareth.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

verily = indeed, or for my part.

as. The texts omit.

in. No preposition. Dative case.

spirit. App-101. Absent bodily, he was present with them in thought and feeling. Compare Col 2:5.

judged. Greek. krino. App-122.

concerning. Omit.

so. i.e. so daringly.

done this deed = wrought (Greek. katergazomai. See Rom 1:27) this.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

3-5.] justifies the expression just used, by declaring the judgment which the Apostle, although absent, had already passed on the offender.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

1Co 5:3. , I indeed for my part) An antithesis between the lighter punishment, which would have been inflicted by the Corinthians, and the severer one, which is threatened by Paul: thence also we have in 1Co 5:2, , he that hath done, a gentler expression; but in 1Co 5:3 , he that hath perpetrated, a much more severe expression. Afterwards the Corinthians did what they ought, 2Co 2:6. Therefore the severer punishment pronounced on the sinner (here in 1Co 5:5) admitted of being superseded. Thence arose the joy of Paul, 2Co 1:24; 2Co 2:1, etc.- , in spirit) Col 2:5, 2Ki 5:26.- , I have already judged) A weighty effect is produced by the sense of the sentence continuing to be gravely suspended and poised [as it were a lance], till we come to 1Co 5:5, where the expression, he who hath perpetrated [] is again taken up in the expression, such a one [ ].- , as though I were present) It is construed with, to deliver, 1Co 5:5.- ) A triple demonstrative.-, so) very shamefully, so, while he was called a brother.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

1Co 5:3

1Co 5:3

For I verily, being absent in body but present in spirit,- [Paul was fully informed by the Spirit of God in all the circumstances, and instructed by him in the way he should act.] have already as though I were present judged him that hath so wrought this thing,-His spirit was present with them and he had already decided as to the guilt and condemnation of him who had done the deed. [This is a remarkable assertion of apostolic power. After reading this letter, they would know that he who had wrought miracles with such power among them was spiritually and effectually present, and weak though he was in personal appearance and speech, was able to exercise sharp discipline on the whole body, unless they submitted to the voice of God through his mouth.]

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

as absent: 2Co 10:1, 2Co 10:11, 2Co 13:2, Col 2:5, 1Th 2:17

judged: or, determined

Reciprocal: 2Ki 5:26 – Went Mat 13:28 – Wilt Mat 18:17 – let 2Co 2:1 – I determined 2Co 10:6 – in 2Co 12:20 – and that

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

1Co 5:3. Paul was an inspired man and could speak with authority. This enabled him to form the correct judgment on the present case even though absent ‘and before any hearing had been conducted.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

1Co 5:3. For I verily, being absent in body, but present in spirit, have already (in the exercise of my apostolic authority) judged him that hath so wrought this thing, in the name of our Lord Jesus[1]in whose name, as the unseen yet ever-present Lord of the Church, every act of discipline should be performed, whether in the way of binding or of loosing (Mat 18:18-20; Mat 28:18-20).

[1] The word Christ, twice in this verse, is omitted by the best authorities.

ye being gathered together (for that express purpose), and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus (resting on you in the discharge of this duty), to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the fleshthe depraved inclinations of this offender

that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Corrective, therefore, not destructive, was this severe discipline designed to bedestructive only of what would have destroyed the soul of the offender, Most expositors find hereover and above bare excommunicationsome bodily chastisement from above which was to light upon this offender after his expulsion from church membership. In support of this, they refer to the case of Job, whose property, family, and person Satan was permitted to smite; to the case of Ananias and Sapphira; and to that of Elymas the sorcerer. But none of these cases seem to be in point. In the only case which seems strictly parallelthat of Hymenus and Philetus, whom our apostle says he had delivered unto Satan, that they might learn not to blaspheme (1Ti 1:20)no hint is given of what was meant in this act of apostolic judgment, and certainly none of bodily infliction. In fact, the only difficulty in both these cases is the strength of the language employed. But if it be borne in mind that the act of ejection was to be performed at a meeting of the whole church, convened expressly for this purpose; that it was to be done as by the apostle himself, and in the name of our Lord Jesus, as being Himself present; that it certainly carried with it exclusion from all Christian fellowship, and consequently banishment to the society of those among whom Satan dwelt, and from which the offender had publicly severed himself: it will not seem very difficult to understand how, in this first case of severe disciplinetoo long delayedthe strongest terms which he could find should have been employed by the apostle. What a caricature of this is the greater excommunication of the Church of Rome, as carried into effect in the darker and palmier days of sacerdotal power! It was performed amid such ghostly forms as were designed to strike terror into the stoutest heart, after which the culprit was tortured by methods of refined cruelty which it was reserved for an apostatized and heartless Christianity to invent, with a view to extort confession of crimes or heresies to which perhaps he was an utter stranger. He was then handed over to the secular power to be put to death, that the spirit (forsooth) might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus! Such deeds, happily, cannot be done now, but they have died out very slowly, and never has the right to carry them out been renounced; nay, some of the less refined yet ultimately crushing forms of them are still practised where it can be done with impunity.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

As if the apostle had said, “Although I am absent from you in body, yet in mind and consent I am present with you, and also by my discerning spirit, by which I am enabled to discern things done at a distance; and accordingly by the authority and power given me by our Lord Jesus Christ, I have already determined, that when you are solemnly gathered together in the name of Christ, and have my spirit concurring with you, and the power of Christ confirming the sentence pronounced by you, that you deliver this incestuous person unto Satan, by casting him out of the church, and leaving him to God’s executioner to inflict destructive punishment on his body, to bring him to repentance on his body, to bring him to repentance for the saving of his soul.”

Here note, 1. The censure and sentence pronounced: excommunication, which consisteth of two parts,

(1) Privative, in a separation from the communion of saints.

(2) Positive, which is here expressed by delivering unto Satan, who had then a power over the excommunicated person’s body to torment it with diseases; which power though now ceased, yet the Christian church has at this day a power to exclude enormous offenders from the ordinary means of grace and salvation, and to expose them to the malice and temptations of their grand adversary the devil, by depriving them of church communion, which is a more dreadful punishment than persons are sensible of.

Note, 2. The person inflicting this censure, St. Paul, I have judged already. He pronounced it judicially, and requires the Corinthians to denounce it solemnly. I have judged already; implying that he did not determine rashly and suddenly, but advisedly, as became a judge.

And mark, they must denounce solemnly what he had determined judicially, and this in the face of the whole church, when ye are gathered together; that is, in the presence of the chief pastor, and all his flock at Corinth.

A public crime must have a public doom, that others may hear and fear: yet remark, the congregation or church were witnesses of the censure, but they did not judge and determine it: the apostle did that. The power of the keys is in the hand of the church only, quoad khreysin not quoad khteysin: that the church may have the benefit of them, not the managing of them, for that is committed to the pastors only, as appears, Mat 16:17-20.

Note, 3. The solemn and awful manner in which the censure and excommunication was and ought to be pronounced, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; that is, having first, in a solemn manner, called upon the Lord Jesus Christ for his direction and benediction; or, in the name of our Lord Jesus, that is, according to the command of Christ, by the power and authority of Christ, and with an eye to the glory of Christ; this should be the ends, in denouncing church censures: and then Christ will by at the consistory, and his co-operation will make good the censure, as his commission was our warrant to pronounce it; and then the penitent may and ought to dread the sentence, as coming out of Christ’s own mouth, and to be inflicted by Christ’s own hand.

Note, 4. The miserable case and state which the person that is duly excommunicated is in: by is then delivered unto Satan, as God’s executioner, to inflict severe punishments on the person’s body, now cast out of God’s special protection, deprived of the church’s communion, and exposed to the temptations and snares of our grand adversary, Satan. St. Austin in his time declared, that it was then thought gravius quam gladio feriri, much more grievous to be excommunicated than to be beheaded.

But, Lord! where are the persons at this day, who tremble when their sins have brought them into this miserable case and state?

Note, 5. That persons ought not to be in this severe and solemn manner proceeded against, but for notorious, scandalous sins. To denounce this awful censure upon every slight and trivial occasion, is to prostitute one of the most venerable ordinances of Christ to contempt and scorn.

Note, 6. The great and special end for which the ordinance of excommunication was instituted by Christ in his church, and executed by his apostles; namely, to recover the fallen person by repentance, and to be a warning to others. The reforming, and not the ruining of men, was the intention of this ordinance: the censure is not mortal, but medicinal.

It is, 1. For the destruction of the flesh, so lasciviant in him; for the mortifying his lusts, by afflicting him with grief and sorrow.

2. For the saving of his spirit, that is, his soul, that this may be recovered out of the snare of the devil.

Lastly, The time is expressed, when the penitent person shall find the benefit of this painful ordinance; namely, in the day of the Lord Jesus; not but that a penitent in this life shall find some ease in his conscience, and satisfaction in his spirit: but the full benefit of ecclesiastical censure is reserved to the day of the Lord, the day of judgment: then will Christ manifest to the church triumphant the good effect of the power of the keys, which he hath committed to his ministers, to be exercised publicly in the church militant; he will then reveal how all stand bound in heaven, whom his church never loosed on earth; and all whom his church hath loosed on earth, shall then appear to be loosed in heaven.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

1Co 5:3-5. I verily, as absent Or though absent; in body, but present in spirit Having a full (it seems a miraculous) view of the whole fact; have judged already Passed sentence upon him by my apostolical authority, since you have neglected doing it; as though I were present As deliberately, justly, and authoritatively; that hath so done Hath acted in such a scandalous manner. In the name of our Lord Jesus By his authority and command; when ye are gathered together In an assembly for judgment, and calling upon his name, Mat 18:20; and my spirit Being present with you; with the power of our Lord Jesus To confirm what you do; to deliver such a one to Satan To expel him from your communion. This was the highest degree of punishment in the Christian Church; and we may observe, the passing this sentence was the act of the apostle, not of the Corinthians: whereupon usually followed terrors of conscience, and bodily pains or diseases inflicted by Satan, the terrible executioner of the divine justice and displeasure. For the destruction Though slowly and gradually; of the flesh Unless prevented by speedy repentance; that the spirit Being brought to true contrition and humiliation; may be saved From those infinitely more insupportable and everlasting agonies to which it might otherwise be doomed. It was observed, in the note on 1Co 4:21, that the apostles were empowered to punish notorious offenders miraculously with diseases and death. And doubtless the command here given by the apostle to deliver the incestuous person to Satan, was an exertion of that power, especially as it was to be done at the command of the inspired apostle, and by the power of the Lord Jesus. Accordingly Chrysostom, Theophylact, and cumenius conjectured, that in consequence of his being delivered to Satan, the offenders body was weakened and wasted by some painful disease. The Latin fathers and Beza, however, thought no such effect followed that sentence; because when the Corinthians were ordered (2Co 2:7) to forgive him, no mention is made of any bodily disease that was to be removed from him. Wherefore, by the destruction of the flesh, they understood the destruction of the offenders pride, lust, and other fleshly passions; which they thought would be mortified, when he found himself despised and shunned by all. This interpretation, however, does not, in my opinion, says Macknight, agree with the threatenings written 1Co 4:21; 2Co 13:1-2; 2Co 13:10; nor with the apostles design in inflicting that punishment. For when the faction found the offenders flesh wasted by some grievous disease, in consequence of the apostles sentence, it could not fail to terrify such of them as were capable of serious thought.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Vv. 3. For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have decided already, as though I were present, [to deliver over] him that hath so done this deed…

The for is thus explained: Such is what you ought to have done; for, as for me, this is what I have done. The , to which there is no corresponding , serves to isolate Paul, putting him in contrast to the Church, and so strengthens the force of the , I: I, for my part, while you…!

The first , as, is rejected by the majority of the Mjj., perhaps wrongly; it has been thought incompatible with the following before the second . But these two may have their distinct value. The first bears strictly on the second participle: present in spirit. It signifies: So far as absent in body, no doubt, but really present spiritually. It is the as which serves to express the real character in which the person acts; the second signifies, on the contrary, as if. Paul would bring out this contrast: As for you who were present, you did nothing; and as for me, distant from you though I am, yet living spiritually among you, this is how I acted! The word already has great force here, whether it signifies, while you remained inactive, you wise and eloquent preachers; or whether Paul rather means, before even arriving among you.

The verb may be rendered by I have judged, or I have decided. Not being able to say [in French] judged to deliver, we have used the second term; but in a passage of a judicial character like this the verb ought to express rather the idea of a sentence pronounced than of a simple resolution taken. This is undoubtedly what has led Hofmann and Edwards to give this verb for its direct object the following accusative: , him who has thus acted. Now, as the verb (1Co 5:5) can be nothing else than the object of , we must hold in this case a mixture of two constructions, I have judged this man, and I have judged to deliver him over to Satan. This rather forced interpretation seems to me unnecessary. It is simpler to make the object of , and (1Co 5:5) the grammatical repetition of the object, a repetition occasioned by the interposition of 1Co 5:4.

But the important question is, whether the , the act of delivering over, the object of I have judged, or decided, should be regarded as the result of a future decision which Paul proposes to be taken by the Corinthians themselves, or whether he thinks of it as a decision already taken and decreed between God and him. Commentators agree in holding the first sense. Paul waits, they say, till, in consequence of the decision which he has taken by himself, the Church of Corinth shall assemble and pronounce a sentence in keeping, if one may so speak, with his premonition. This meaning is open to certain doubts. Would not Paul say in that case: I have decided that the man should be delivered over, and not: I have judged to deliver him over? It might therefore be supposed that the judicial assembly of which the apostle speaks has already taken place at the time of his writing, and that the three deputies represented the Church in his presence. Thus the three acts would be naturally explained: , , . But the participle would in this sense require rather to be placed before , and the idea of a purely spiritual presence would rather apply to the Church than to Paul. We must therefore return to the ordinary explanation. Only there is not the faintest hint of making the pronouncing of the sentence dependent on the vote of the assembly which is to be held at Corinth, as if the apostle’s decision could be annulled by the contrary opinion of a majority. For his part (), everything is decided, and with his apostolical competency he has judged to deliver over [the offender]; there will be joined to him, in the assembly which he convokes to take part in this terrible act, whoever wishes and dares.

The apparent pleonasm, , who has so done this, has been variously explained. The word so is said to signify, as a Christian, or with the aggravating circumstances which you know, etc. It seems to me that we have here one of those circumlocutions in which judicial sentences delight. The protocol of a tribunal would be precisely expressed in this way. The object is to exactly define the deed, with all the circumstances known or unknown which make it what it is: its publicity, the shamelessness of its author, etc. In fact, these last words of 1Co 5:3 contain, as it were, the preamble to the sentence delivered; and, in what immediately follows, everything bears a very pronounced judicial character.

But the essential thing with the apostle is not that the sentence be delivered, it is that it be so with the assent of the Church. For his aim, besides the saving of the guilty one, is to awaken the conscience of the whole community, its energetic protest against the scandal which it has witnessed till now in silence. And such is the intent of 1Co 5:4, which indicates three things: 1. the assembly which is to take place; 2. its competency; 3. its power of execution. We are thus reminded of a tribunal prepared for the sentences delivered by it.

Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)

For I verily, being absent in body but present in spirit, have already as though I were present judged him that hath so wrought this thing [The swiftness of Paul’s judgment stands in sharp contrast with the tardiness and toleration of the Corinthians. The broken structure of this verse and the one which follows it, shows Paul’s deep emotion. “The passage is, as it were, written with sobs.”–Wordsworth],

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

3. For indeed I, being absent in body but present in spirit, have already as being present judged the one having thus done this.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

1Co 5:3-5. Notice the contrast: some one, 1Co 5:1; you, 1Co 5:2; I. Paul supports the blame implied in 1Co 5:2, by saying what he has already resolved to do in the matter.

In the spirit: Paul’s own spirit, implied in the contrast with his own body. So 1Co 7:34, Rom 8:10. Though absent in the body, Paul was present in the spirit, not only (Col 2:5) observing them, but able to put forth his power in their midst by inflicting punishment. His bodily distance made his spiritual presence more wonderful.

Have already resolved: or, judged, i.e. pronounced sentence in his mind: see 1Co 2:2. He did this remembering that he was virtually present, i.e. able from a distance to put forth his power among them.

In this way; refers to the aggravating manner, unknown to us, of the crime.

In the name etc.: 2Th 3:6 : as the servant, and with the authority, of Jesus. Close parallels in Act 3:6; Act 3:16; Act 4:10; Act 4:12. Cp. 1Co 6:11; Eph 5:20; Php 2:10; Col 3:17. Paul had already resolved to hand over, as the representative of Christ, this man to Satan; and he will do so in the presence of the assembled church, himself present in spirit and using the power which (2Co 13:10) Christ has entrusted to him.

And my spirit: emphatic repetition of present in spirit. This assembly of the church and of Paul in spirit will also be accompanied by the power of the Lord Jesus, manifested in punishing the offender.

To give up etc.: see note, Rom 1:24 : the sentence then to be executed.

To Satan: 1Ti 1:20; Job 2:6 : surrender to the power of Satan for the infliction of some kind of evil.

For destruction etc., immediate purpose; that the spirit etc., ultimate purpose, of the surrender. It is, as in 1Co 5:3-4, the man’s own spirit.

May be saved in the etc.: admitted, by the verdict of that Day, (1Co 1:8; cp. 2Ti 1:18,) into eternal life. Both spirit and body will be saved. But the spirit only is mentioned, as the nobler and essential part, and in contrast to the flesh now to be given up to destruction.

This surrender to the power of Satan evidently includes, but means much more than, expulsion (1Co 5:2; 1Co 5:13) from the church. A man already by his sin a captive (2Ti 2:26) of the Devil, is to be given up to his power in some further sense. This can only refer, as in Job 2:6, (cp. Luk 13:16,) to the infliction of bodily injury by the agency of Satan and by the permission and design of God. Cp. Act 5:5; Act 13:11. The grossness of the present offence called for alike terrible penalty. Such would manifest the power of the Lord Jesus and the apostolic authority of Paul who was present in his spirit. It was not immediate death: for it was designed (cp. 1Ti 1:20) to lead the sufferer, by repentance, to final salvation. That it was a work of Satan, increases its terror and marks its connection with the man’s sin. All sin is self-surrender (Eph 4:19) to the power of evil: and the surrender reaches further than the sinner thinks.

Destruction of the flesh, which is given as the immediate purpose of this bodily infliction, might denote destruction of the power of bodily appetites, to which this man was evidently a slave. Cp. Gal 5:24. For these have their source in the peculiar material of the body, the flesh, which body of the flesh must therefore (Col 2:11) be put off. If so, the man’s body was to be smitten, (for, no other surrender to Satan can we conceive to be beneficial,) that it might cease to be a chain binding him to sin. Or, by naming the purpose, these words may practically specify the extent, of the surrender to Satan, viz. to be smitten with a fatal disease, which, by leading him to repentance, may save his soul. And this is the simplest and most likely meaning of the words used. The word flesh, instead of body, is no objection to it. For the body of believers will live for ever. Only their flesh, i.e. the present material of their body, (cp. 1Co 15:50,) will be destroyed. Nor is this view disproved by Paul’s subsequent forgiveness, 2Co 2:6 ff: for this may have been, and doubtless was, as miraculous as the punishment, a miraculous deliverance from otherwise certain death. This miraculous punishment for gross immorality cannot in any way justify corporal punishment inflicted by man for doctrinal error.

It is remarkable that in this matter of discipline, and throughout these two Epistles so full of church matters, Paul never refers to the elders or bishops. That such existed, is made almost certain by Act 14:23; Act 20:17; Act 20:28; Php 1:2; 1Ti 3:1 ff; 1Ti 5:1; 1Ti 5:17 ff; Tit 1:5. The omission arose perhaps from this, that in a church where all were recent converts the distinction between officers and private members was necessarily less conspicuous than in a church of longer standing. But, however explained, it is a sure mark of the very early age, and therefore of the genuineness, of these Epistles.

Fuente: Beet’s Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament

5:3 {3} For I verily, as absent in body, but present in {a} spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, [concerning] him that hath so done this deed,

(3) Excommunication ought not to be committed to one man’s power, but must be done by the authority of the whole congregation, after the matter is diligently examined.

(a) In mind, thought, and will.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

Paul had spoken earlier about not judging others (1Co 4:5). That kind of judging had to do with one’s degree of faithfulness to the Lord. Here the issue was blatant immorality. This needed dealing with, and Paul had already determined what the Corinthian Christians should do in this case even though he was not present. The case was so clear that he did not need to be present to know the man was guilty of a serious offense that required strong treatment.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)