1 Corinthians 5:4-5

Deliver the Sinner to Satan

The apostle directed that the whole congregation should act on the basis of Christ's authority. When the church acts on the basis of Christ's word, as delivered by inspiration, the action is taken by his authority (1 Corinthians 5:4; Matthew 18:15-20).

McGarvey writes, "The offender, being excluded from the kingdom of God, is to be thrust back into the kingdom of Satan, that the sense of his loneliness, shame and lost condition may cause him to repent, and mortify or subdue his flesh, i.e, his lust, after which his spirit, being thus delivered, might be saved." Lipscomb says, "When one has been excluded from the fellowship of the church, Christians should make him feel that he forfeits the esteem and association of all the members of the church, yet he should be warned and admonished as a brother" (1 Corinthians 5:5; 2 Thessalonians 3:15).