Perhaps the most puzzling part of the passage is found in verse 5: “hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit [literally, “the spirit”] might be saved in the day of the Lord.” Although there may be an echo here of Job 2:4–6, in which God gives Job over to the power of Satan to “touch his bone and flesh,” the situation is not closely parallel: Job is not being disciplined for any sin, and there is no sense in which Job’s suffering either purifies the community or promotes his own salvation. Thus, the faint echo of Job does not give us much help in understanding the passage. There are three major problems to be resolved in interpreting Paul’s command. What does it mean to “hand this man over to Satan?” Does “flesh” refer to the literal physical body or the “sinful nature” (niv) of the man? And is the purpose of the action remedial, hoping to induce the man’s repentance? These problems interlock with one another.

The best explanation of the “handing over to Satan” is suggested by the Passover metaphor (vv. 6–8). By excluding the incestuous man from the community, the church places him outside the sphere of God’s redemptive protection. He is no longer inside the house (cf. 3:9, “God’s building”) whose doorposts are covered by the blood of Jesus. He is therefore hung out to dry in the realm of Satan (“the god of this world,” 2 Cor. 4:4), exposed to the destructive powers of the world (cf. the reference to “the destroyer” in Exod. 12:23). We may remember that Paul has already spoken of those outside the community of faith as “those who are being destroyed” (1 Cor. 1:18). Probably Paul did not expect the community to perform a ceremony explicitly cursing the man; rather, delivering him to Satan is a vivid metaphor for the effect of explusion from the church. The parallel passage in 1 Timothy 1:20 should be understood in the same way. The closest analogy in the Pauline corpus to this notion of Satan as destroyer is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:9–10, which speaks of the powerful working of Satan to deceive “those who are being destroyed” (again, cf. 1 Cor. 1:18).

But what did Paul expect as the concrete result of this consignment to Satan? Did he expect the physical suffering and death of the excommunicated offender? Or does the expression “destruction of the flesh” refer to a process of purifying him of his fleshly desires, perhaps through shaming him into repentance? And does Paul think that this “destruction,” whatever it entails, will somehow bring about the man’s eschatological salvation? Some interpreters have suggested that Paul has no interest whatever in the final fate of the man, and that the sentence should be understood to mean: “Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh [i.e., the evil], in order that the Spirit [present in the community] might be saved [i.e., preserved] for the day of the Lord.” This reading has much to commend it, for it preserves a single-minded focus on the well-being of the church, which is Paul’s central concern in verses 2 and 6–13. Nowhere else, however, does Paul speak of “the Spirit” as needing to be “saved”; given his consistent use of the verb “save” to refer to the eschatogical deliverance of human beings (to cite only the examples in 1 Cor., see 1:18; 1:21; 3:15; 7:16; 9:22; 10:33; 15:2), it is more likely that Paul actually does conceive of the community’s discipline as leading somehow to the repentance and restoration of the sinner. In that case “the flesh” would refer—as in 1 Corinthians 3:3; Romans 7:5, 18, 25; 8:3–8; Galatians 5:13, 19, 24—to the rebellious human nature opposed to God. The meaning of the “destruction of the flesh,” then, must be interpreted in light of what Paul declares in Galatians 5:24: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Paul hopes that the community’s censure and expulsion of the incestuous man will lead to this result: his fleshly passions and desires will be put to death. Thus, the eschatological fate of this man, after undergoing discipline and repentance, will be salvation.

Even if 2 Corinthians 2:5–11 refers to a case different from that of the incestuous man, it demonstrates Paul’s belief that stern community discipline can lead to transformation and reintegration into the life of the community: “This punishment by the majority is enough for such a person; so now instead you should forgive and console him, so that he may not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.” (Cf. 2 Cor. 7:10: “Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation.”) Likewise, the other major New Testament passages on community discipline envision forgiveness and reconciliation as the ultimate goal of the community’s action; for example, Matthew 18:15–20 is followed by the teaching on forgiveness in Matthew 18:21–35 (cf. also Gal. 6:1). In all these cases, however, it is clear that forgiveness does not take the place of discipline; rather, it follows clear community discipline and authentic repentance.

Hays, R. B. (1997). First Corinthians. Interpretation, a Bible commentary for teaching and preaching (84) (or via: amazon.co.uk). Louisville, Ky.: John Knox Press.