deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh

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chuckd

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you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭5:5‬

That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭11:30-32

Are these two passages related? That God may use illness as a form of discipline and Satan is used as a minister to carry out the judgment.
 
Short answer: yes.


you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭5:5‬

A man is living in unrepentant sin. Excommunicate him so that he will feel the discipline of the Lord. Hopefully this will bring much terror upon his soul and so humble him that he would repent and turn back to God.


That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭11:30-32

Some are taking of the Lord's table wrongly. If we truly understood ourselves as we should, without boasting/seeming wise in our own eyes, we would see ourselves as in need of a Savior. And there would be no judgment upon us.

Though, when we are judged by the Lord it is an effort, once again, to humble us that we might feel the weight of our sins and turn back to Him in full repentance.
 
Thanks for the reply. How was this man delivered to Satan for the destruction of his flesh exactly? Excommunicated and became ill?
 
Thanks for the reply. How was this man delivered to Satan for the destruction of his flesh exactly? Excommunicated and became ill?

Some would say the destruction of the flesh equals destruction of the "old man", in which we all lived as sinners against God with hard hearts.

And yes, some would say illness, or some other misfortune come upon the man to humble him.
 
Some would say the destruction of the flesh equals destruction of the "old man", in which we all lived as sinners against God with hard hearts.

And yes, some would say illness, or some other misfortune come upon the man to humble him.

I don’t think so. Satan would certainly not destroy the old man. Chrysostom says the latter, but I don’t see how the man was delivered exactly. Calvin says he is delivered to the realm of the world (i.e. Satan). “Flesh” is contrasted with “spirit” as temporal v. eternal. But that interpretation seems stretched.


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The natural man suppresses the truth and hides iniquity in his bosom. By handing one over to Satan, the accusations therein manifest in the conscience, as fear, shame, guilt and anxiety over personal sin and this destroys the body. The apostate on the other hand is not tormented by his iniquity but lives at peace with the flesh and so his spirit is not saved on the Lords day; he hides iniquity in his bosom whereas the regenerate cannot.
Gill says;
that is, that his body might be shook, buffeted, afflicted, and tortured in a terrible manner; that by this means he might be brought to a sense of his sin, to repentance for it, and make an humble acknowledgment of it: End quote God brings to pass the active work of Satan upon said person where before he was not active in such a manner with the end result that the believers body is severely punished since their faith in the punishment of our Lord Jesus Christ is lacking. This may be done by permitting a believer to be deceived for a period of time, and during this time he is tormented in his body and that through conscience, and that through accusations and deceptions of the devil.
 
I don’t think so. Satan would certainly not destroy the old man.

To use an old testament example, Job is buffeted by Satan in order that God might reveal sinful attitudes he was holding towards God in his situation. God used Satan in order to bring about the eventual repentance he would experience.

To use a New Testament example, Paul was buffeted as well. It was used to keep him humble, thus falling in line with keeping the old man at bay.

Satan is used to God's purposes for His glory. Satan's goal isn't to do any of this, but God uses his evil for His own glory and our good.

I don’t see how the man was delivered

You mean you don't see how the man was delivered to Satan? Being excommunicated from the church IS to be delivered to Satan. It seperates you from God and His people. Paul's hope is that doing so will cause the person to see how much better things were following after Christ instead of making their stomach their God. Sometimes that prayer is answered, sometimes not.


Edit: I also agree with the above. I don't have the authority to do this but, hypothetically, if I were to excommunicate someone I would not pray that the Lord bring that person peace wherever their journey takes them. I would ask the Lord to make their lives terrible. That He would afflict their mind and body so terribly so that they might come to their senses and see what devastating effects their sin has. I would ask the Lord to rock their world so that in doing so, though it might leave them worse for wear, it would be better for their soul in the long run. I believe this is the emphasis behind the verses quoted above in 1 Cor.
 
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