DELIVERED UNTO SATAN # 3800

"HOW OFTEN HAVE YOU COME ACROSS A HARD SAYING IN THE BIBLE? IF YOU ARE HONEST, IT PROBABLY IS MANY TIMES. WELL TODAY WE’LL LOOK AT ONE HARD SAYING IN THE BIBLE, AND FIND ITS ANSWER AND EXPLANATION."

I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the WWY Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about it…

… Throughout the Bible we find passages that even Christians have difficulty at times to understand. Yet, it isn’t God’s intention for Christians to stumble over them. Rather, God intended that we explore the whole of Scripture on the subject we find difficult, and allow the Spirit of God to give us the full and proper meaning to every passages in the pages of God’s holy writ. Today I want to look at a strange and often misunderstood passage spoken by the apostle Paul. It is found in his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 5. Here we discover a case study on church discipline and in that context we’ll find God’s intended meaning for our study of His wonderful Word today. But before I read the passage in question, let’s pause one more time for this delightful expression of music for your listening enjoyment. Then I’ll talk plainly with you about ľ “DELIVERED UNTO SATAN!”…

…I don’t know about you but when I read through the wonderful words of God penned by the great apostle Paul, I sometimes reach passages that cause me to pause and wonder about their meaning. Some of the passages have required great study to understand them fully, while others required more time and “light” from God. Why even the apostle Peter experienced the same thing. We read his words in,

2 Pet 3:16 (NIV) "… His [Paul’s] letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction."

Although some passages of Paul are “hard to understand” as Peter says, it does not mean that God intends them to remain that way. For Peter writes also,

2 Tim 3:16 (NIV) "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,"

How can that be, unless “all” of it can be understood. Thus, God does intend the faithful follower of Christ to come to a proper understanding of all texts in the Bible. So my friend, let’s begin now to dig deeply into a very problematic and often misunderstood text. And, to do it we must read it carefully. In the 1^st letter to the Corinthians in chapter five we read,

1 Cor 5:1-5 (NIV) "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? 3 Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. 4 When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord."

Here we come to three difficult phrases that have perplexed the church for centuries. The phrases are:

(1) “HAND THIS MAN OVER TO SATAN,”

(2) “ FOR HIS [FLESH] OR SINFUL NATURE TO BE DESTROYED,

(3) “HIS SPIRIT TO BE SAVED ON THE DAY OF THE LORD.”

Do you understand this very important passage and call? Well, let’s put the right “spin” on it.

First of all, we must always seek first the context of a passage before we try to interpret it. If we read the previous chapters and the sense the theme of the letter Paul writes, we come to realize it is basically a “disciplinary” or correction letter for the entire church. You see, there were a number of things wrong with the Corinthians as to their worship and even the outworking of their faith before the Lord and the Christian and secular community. Mainly, the people of the Corinthian church had through neglect and a growing pride, overlooked their need to grow in their faith, and to carefully follow God’s Word for their lives and fellowship. As a result, two grievous sins arose among God’s people.

First was the (1) “SIN OF COMPLACENCY,” and second was (2) a series of outward manifestations of personal sin in the life of professing believers. From that arose one big grievous sin – SEXUAL IMMORALITY of the worst kind! A man had committed sexual immorality with his father’s wife!

But before Paul addresses this, we read in the context of these difficult passages, that Paul throws a series of sarcastic barbs at the Corinthian’s lofty pride: “already you have become rich!” “you have become kings” said Paul in (1 Cor 4:8); “you are so wise in Christ!” “you are strong!” (1 Cor 4:10). Then he sums it up with the words “Some of you have become arrogant” (1 Cor 4:18). This was as Paul saw it a cause that allowed this sinful outbreak in the church. So, after his instruction about the need for the excommunication of the offender, he points again to their attitude: “your boasting is not good” (1 Cor 5:6).

Apparently, the church had grown influential in its community. It was a fairly wealthy church, and had probably many important people converted to Christ. It began to think that in and of themselves, they had arrived! No longer did they need the Word of God to instruct them, to guide them, and be the benchmark of all their lives and living. As such, when this specific sin of gross immorality arose, they simply ignored it, some even prided themselves on how far they had advanced in “love,” and tolerance of other’s sins. Yet, how God was grieved, and that grief through the Spirit of God, communicated it to those who truly walked with God. It took one man, probably an elder in the church who knew the wrongness of this sexual immorality, blatantly ignored and perpetrated in the midst of the assembly, to go to the apostle Paul and tell him of this unrepentant sin tolerated by the leadership and the church family. So… the context of the passage is to be seen as “the unchecked and growing public sin in the body of Christ, that had not been dealt with, and virtually ignored by those who were to deal with it on behalf of the congregation” – mainly the elders of the church! Now let’s look again at the passages. We read in,

1 Cor 5:4-5 (NIV) "When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord."

Three things were commanded by Paul to begin the process of dealing with “unrepentant” known sins in the body of Christ. First, the assembly was to be GATHERED TOGETHER. There comes a time in church discipline when grievous sins, that a follower of Christ commits, that are refused to be acknowledged and turned from, that the Body of believers known as a local church must deal with as a united congregation. Yes, the whole congregation was to hold a meeting for the express purpose to finally “expel” this sinning brother from their fellowship! Today such actions are almost unheard of. I served a church once where when the elders took a similar stand against a sinning brother, that the congregation as a whole, would not stand with it. It was a difficult time, but I give praise God for the elders who took the action and initiative to call the congregation to yes, “shun” the sinning brother, until he came to his senses and repented.

But here, Paul calls for the final drastic moment of church discipline. He calls it “handing,” the sinning member, “over to Satan.” Now what did he mean by this? Well in researching the text and in the limited amount of time left let me sum it up.

Paul’s phrase “Hand this man over to Satan,” can be interpreted variously. I believe that, in the context of Scripture and the subject of church discipline, that God means, “formally in a church congregational meeting, before the assembly of God’s people, His holy angels, and the Lord’s presence – the congregation is to expel this man from their membership, and from their fellowship, and… to declare the judgment sentence that his ‘spiritual protection’ of the fold in this world of Satan’s domain, is now to ‘be removed.” Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, who said to the apostle Peter, the one ordained to begin the building process of the Body of Christ,

Mat 16:19 (NIV) "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.""

In essence, God said to Peter, when “My” Church is formed, I am going to give it judicial power to operate on My behalf. It will have the power and force, to declare judgments which the Father in Heaven will support and honor. So, the church was to declare this unrepentant sinning brother, who committed the sexual sin of immorality with his “father’s wife,” worthy of removal from the fellowship and protection of the fold. As a result, God in heaven would honor that and turn this man’s life over to Satan’s domain and control.

You see, the Bible tells us that this whole world we live in is under the control and spiritual domain of Satan, the fallen angel. He is the “ruler of this world.” He took this domain from our first father Adam, who handed it over by submitting to Satan’s rulership. But while the world is under the wicked rulership of Satan and his host of fallen angels or demons, God broke through into this world of sin and power by sending Jesus Christ. Now when Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, He began the process of building right in the midst of this evil kingdom, our world of humanity – a new kingdom with Christ as its rightful ruler. Therefore as one commentator has put it,

“ The new creation had begun, but had not yet been consummated; the dominion of evil had been invaded, but had not yet ended; the new age had superimposed itself on this present evil age, but had not yet replaced it. Thus the church was the arena of Christ’s presence and continuing work; it was the community of God’s Spirit. To be excommunicated was therefore to be transferred out of the kingdom of God’s Son into the dominion of darkness (a reversal of Col 1:13!). Such a transaction is aptly described as a “handing over to Satan,” that is, into the world, the sphere of his continuing domain.1

That’s it. The call was to formally declare before God that the spiritual, and physical protection against Satan and his domain, afforded to all those who are part of God’s family gathered together in a local church, is ended for this man. This man, who in the text we are told committed repeatedly and without repentance the sin of sexual immorality with his father’s wife, was the subject of the call for the discipline of excommunication and shunning. Now this sin was apparently not incest. The phrase ”father’s wife” in Jewish circles referred to sin with his stepmother. It also appears this man had ceased this action, but never confessed it, nor came to a place where he agreed it was wrong and sinful. Rather the opposite was true, he was proud, boastful, and continued in his heart to consider it worthy of doing it again, if allowed or opportunity was there.

And what’s worse, the congregation, beginning with the leaders took no action, and even considered it a personal freedom for this man to perform! How God was grieved! So God sent Paul the apostle to take control, and even though not present, He commanded them to obey God and cast this man out of the assembly ľ for the whole world to see God’s people maintained a spirit of holiness, and left no unjudged public sin in their midst.

Do you have unjudged sin in your life? Have you confessed your sins? You know the greatest sin in the universe for which all humanity will be cast out of God’s presence one day, is the sin of not acknowledging Jesus Christ as the Lord of the universe and the Savior of the world! Amazingly, so few people understand this. Yes, it’s true, no one goes to Hell, and is barred from Heaven and eternal life for say: smoking, dancing, drinking, swearing, or even immorality. Do you understand that? The Bible says there is only one sin for which Hell was created, for which Hell will be populated, where individuals will reside who were cast out of God’s kingdom, presence, fellowship, and sphere of protection – that is THE SIN OF UNBELIEF. Listen carefully to God’s Word, which states,

John 3:18 (NIV) "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

2 Th 2:12 (NIV) "and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness."

John 8:24 (NIV) "I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.""

Do you see it? God is warning the whole world. Repent, turn from your continued sin of rebellion, your continued sin of rejecting God’s rightful rule of your life, the continual sin of refusing to seek the One true God – the Lord Jesus Christ who has plainly revealed Himself to all. For this grave and great sin, the whole world will one day be condemned and all will be cast out of God’s presence, and lose all that God is and has given them. Yes, realize this ľ God is light, love, goodness, grace, and mercy. He is the provider of all things that give us pleasure, hope, help, and joy! Thus HELL, is a place of the absence of all these things, and more! The Bible has already passed judgment of all who remain in this state of rebellion, unrepentance, and wicked disobedience. So God’s Good News Gospel is declared to save you and me!

John 3:16 (NIV) ""For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Rom 10:9-10 (NIV) "…if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

This wicked man in Corinth was to be turned over to Satan’s world and domain, where with God’s permission, Satan was allowed to “work him over” as he saw fit. Of course, Satan’s goal was to destroy him both body and soul. In the world without God’s overriding protection, Satan seeks to destroy every Christian. So without God’s protection, this immoral man would be buffeted by Satan, and even brought to the place of physical death in time. The goal? To allow this man to come to his spiritual senses, for he apparently was a believer; And, when he came to it, like the prodigal son in Jesus’ story – he would repent, even though it might become a deathbed confession.

You see my friend, God will never allow His children to remain in sin in this life. The Bible also says in the disciplines of God, there is even “a sin unto death,”

1 John 5:16 (NIV) "If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that."

This is not one particular infraction, but a series of sins or an attitude toward them that is unrepentant! This refers to sins that are grievous to God and injurious to the ongoing testimony of God’s church in the community surrounding Satan’s world. Indeed, God will not tolerate them and expects them to be dealt with by His church and its leadership; and, failure to do so brings judgment not only on the sinner, but the church which is tolerant of such sins.

So, “handing this man over to Satan” refers to simply making the judgment call which Heaven honors, to give permission to Satan to buffet him or her even until death for the sake of their final confession of sin before that moment arrives. Satan does so for evil, but God allows it for good. The final phrase,

1 Cor 5:5 (NIV) "hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord."

Now the phrases, “sinful nature be destroyed,” and “spirit saved on the day of the Lord,” then refers to a sinning Christian going down to the point of death if necessary, and losing his or her life in this world, but their spirit and soul is rescued for eternity. Yes, every true Christian will reach heaven. But they will come into heaven with little to no reward, and with utter shame, and with full remorse for a life lived in disobedience, dishonor, and lasting shame.

May nothing like this ever be a mark against your soul, and if you are one living in such unrepentant sin ľ turn now, confess it openly before the congregation of God’s people before it’s too late. Remember, God is a forgiving God and His mercy endures forever to those who come to him with a contrite heart. But even greater than this personal evil sin of gross immorality, is the greatest sin of all – failing to confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Come to Christ now, turn from such sins, and He will save you, He cleanse you, and place you in the protective fold of the new kingdom born of Christ, and one day to rule the world for all eternity. May God grant us light, help, hope and love to experience this personally, and to protect it in the midst of God’s assembly where it is, for Jesus sake, Amen…

… Yes in the Church of Corinth, sin was being ignored not only by the sinning brother who committed sexual immorality with his father’s wife, but by the church family as well. God was grieved by all this sin, and we are told it is the duty of every church to deal with all sin in the Body, especially, that which is openly flaunted and unrepentant. I trust you are walking with God, through a life of confessed sins. None of us are free from sin even if we are Christians, but all of can be freed from any temporal judgments and disciplines, if we keep short accounts with God on such matters. Be faithful to confess your sins to God and to those whom you sin against, and be prayerful for others who fail you and sin against you. As God forgives your sins so forgive them in your heart. May God grant you now a better understanding of what it means to be “delivered unto Satan.”

1 HARD SAYINGS OF JESUS, by Walter C. Kaiser Jr.,Peter H. Davids, F.F. Bruce, Manfred T. Brauch, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois

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