1 Corinthians 5:4-5
So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satanfor the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
Paul lays out several conditions when the Corinthians deal with this problem. One is that this should be a group process when they are assembled. This will do several things. One it will bring more public shame to this man, which should force him to repent and reject his behavior. A second is that the church will be unified in its purpose. God blesses churches that are unified and grow together. They may be some weak Christians within this group, and so by acting together, these weak Christians will be strengthened and learn a valuable lesson. A second condition is that Paul will be present in “the Spirit.” One way to do this is through prayer. Paul no doubt would be interceding for this situation. Another way is the link the Holy Spirit brings to believers even when at great distance. A third condition is that the power of the Lord Jesus must be present. How? The power of Jesus is evident primarily through the work of the Holy Spirit. This church must be convicted and convinced of what they must do. They must listen to the Holy Spirit and follow the mind of Christ on this matter.
When these conditions are met, the church can shame this man so that he will come to the point of seeing the futility and utter sinfulness of his behavior. Paul hopes that this many will come to his senses before he faces eternal judgment. We too must never give up on people, but we may be required to expel behavior that will ruin a church. This is probably one of the most difficult things for any pastor or church to do. It must be covered by a lot of prayer and humility.
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