4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
in the name (v.4) — in the authority
with the power (v.4) — Paul, as an apostle, had special wisdom and discernment from the Lord.
deliver … to Satan (v.5) — to put the offender in the world where Satan rules (1 John 5:19) See also 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14-15.
destruction (v.5) — loss of well-being, not loss of being — with a view to the person’s spiritual benefit — This destruction is the judgment of God but the work of Satan.
Something more than expulsion from the church seems implied, though this would ipso facto be fulfilled in the act of which the apostle here speaks, which sets forth a severer aspect of the retribution. To deliver to Satan would seem to involve severe physical affliction and apostolic authority, as is indicated by 1 Timothy 1:20, where the apostle states that he had exercised his authority in this way in the case of the promulgators of evil doctrine. Yet, while a church may not formally do so, the principle of the act is inherent. — Vine, page 37.
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We have here a unique apostolic case such as we would not find in our day. Only in Bible times could Satan inflict bodily suffering as on Job and on a woman (Luke 13:15), and on several in the church of Corinth (2 Corinthians 12:7). — Bultema, page 40.
spirit (v.5) — Satan is not allowed to touch the spirit of a believer.
That the fallen brother was [saved] is evident from 2 Corinthians 2:6-8 where we learn that he was graciously restored, and that because of his fall into immorality he was now even in danger of being “swallowed up with overmuch sorrow” (v.7). This was a wholesome reaction. Surely he was no longer “puffed up,” no longer arrogant, but rather “a broken and empty vessel,” now “meet for the Master’s use,” and doubtless providing a much -needed lesson to the rest of the assembly. — Stam, page 107.
