A Scandal the Church Must Not Celebrate

Paul confronts a sexual relationship so serious that he says even the surrounding Gentile world would recognize the scandal: a man has his father’s wife. The deeper problem is the congregation’s pride. Instead of mourning and acting, they have tolerated what should have brought sober discipline.

“Deliver such an one unto Satan” is severe language. In context it means removing the offender from the protected fellowship of the church and handing him back to the realm outside, with a stated restorative goal: “that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” The passage does not authorize vindictive punishment or physical harm.