Handing an Unrepentant Believer Over to Satan (?)

The apostle Paul gave a curious instruction to the Corinthian believers, an assembly that he started. It concerned a foolish man in their midst who was having sexual relations with his father’s wife. In other words, this was a practicing fornicator in the fellowship. The man was obviously confronted and corrected, but remained stubborn and impenitent. Thus Paul advised the believers to “hand this man over to satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 5:5).

What did the apostle mean by this? Simply that the man must be excommunicated from the assembly since he was unwilling to repent of his sin (1 Corinthians 5:12-13). The hope was that he’d eventually be spurred to repentance whereupon he’d be forgiven and warmly welcomed back. Thankfully, this is precisely what panned out, as revealed in Paul’s subsequent letter (2 Corinthians 2:6-11).

Paul was in essence instructing the believers at Corinth to hand the impenitent man over to a Discipline-Intended Trial. Nine or ten years later the apostle wrote about handing a couple of other unrepentant believers over to satan so that they’d learn a lesson (1 Timothy 1:20). To explain, there are three types of trials that believers will undergo during their pilgrimage on Earth: Self-Inflicted Trials (SITs), Discipline-Intended Trials (DITs) and Maturing-Intended Trials (MITs). Here’s an explanation of each:

SITs are obvious: they are the result of one’s own folly, like being injured after wrecking due to reckless driving or suffering physically due to a junk food diet. In both cases the person’s travails are not due to some satanic plot, but simply his/her foolish choices. The answer to SITs is learning wisdom and applying it.
A DIT means a curse is hitting you due to disobedience, whether a sin of commission or a sin of omission. I don’t mean “curse” like in those old horror flicks, but rather in a biblical sense (see Deuteronomy 28). If this is the case, immediately ’fess up and God will dismiss the transgression (1 John 1:8-9); then take up your weapons and “fight the good fight of faith” until the curse departs (1 Timothy 6:12).
An MIT means that the curse is striking you for righteousness’ sake and the LORD is allowing the enemy to assault you in order to test your character and, once your character is proven, turn the negative situation around to your good (Romans 8:28). What happened to Job is a good example (Job 1-2). The genius of MITs is that God takes something in which the enemy intends to destroy you with—or, at least, hinder you—and ultimately turns it around to your good, making you “strong, firm and steadfast” “after you have suffered for a little while” (1 Peter 5:8-10). Of course, this is providing you fulfill your role by fighting the good fight of faith and enduring. (Remember: the LORD is your “helper,” not your do-everything-for-you-so-you-don’t-have-to-do-anything-at-all-er). This is precisely what happened with Joseph (Genesis 50:20).

How was handing the unrepentant man in Corinth over to satan synonymous with a DIT? Simple, a dis-fellowshipped believer is removed from the protective covering of the church assembly and placed outside where the “god of this world” is at liberty to have his way with him/her, so to speak (2 Corinthians 4:4). The enemy will thus assault the individual with one or more of the curses of the Law because this is how satan & evil spirits attack people. They don’t manifest as spooky boogeymen with cloven hooves and pitchforks, they’re invisible spiritual beings who attack through one or more of the curses of the Law.

Any curse of the Law falls into one of five categories: physical ailments, mental illness, human attack/defeat, the threat of premature death and financial attack (again, see Deuteronomy 28). For a biblical example of this, read Job 1-3 wherein the devil struck righteous Job with these five curses after the Sovereign LORD gave permission to attack him.

Let me emphasize: The ultimate purpose for “handing a person over to satan” is to win him/her back. Paul’s goal was in line with God’s love, in this case tough love. The hope was that banishment from the community of believers and suffering one or more of the curses of the Law would humble the man, provoke desperation, and ultimately shock him back to his spiritual senses, at which point he would be warmly welcomed back into the fellowship, just like the prodigal son humbly returned to his father and was received with open arms (Luke 15:11-32).

So handing a person over to satan is one-and-the-same as handing him/her over to a Discipline-Intended Trial (DIT). These kinds of trials may be challenging, but they’re good in that they provoke a person to positive change.

If this article raises as many questions as it answers, it is because it’s meant to “wet your taste” and go deeper in God’s Word on the topic of spiritual warfare, which you can do by studying & applying the material in this article.

Related Topics:

What is “Backsliding”?

Spirituality — How to be Spirit-Controlled Rather than Flesh-Ruled

Handling Personal Offenses vs. Handling Criminal Acts

How to Confront & Correct (and How NOT to)

What if You KNOW a Confrontation Will Turn UGLY?

False Grace — “Hyper-Grace Cotton Candy”

Judging—When SHOULD You Judge and When SHOULDN’T You Judge?

Forgiveness—Should You Forgive EVERYONE for EVERYTHING ALL of the Time?