This situation in Corinth was serious; this man was openly flaunting his immorality. Maybe your marriage feels as problematic as this circumstance in Corinth, but if so, be encouraged; there is hope. God had a plan for the recovery of this man.
Paul told the Corinthian believers to gather together in the name of Jesus and the power of Christ and deliver the man over to Satan by putting the man out of the church. Essentially this is step 3 of Matthew 18, which we studied in a previous lesson; due to the openness of the immorality, the process accelerated quickly.
Question 6. According to 1 Corinthians 5:5, what was the purpose of handing the man over to Satan?
Notice what Paul did not say; Paul did not say, "Hand the man over to Satan, so he will get what he deserves." Paul's goal was gospel-focused: this man's salvation. The "handing over" was so that Jesus might save the man's spirit.
Gospel-focused counsel is restorative, not punitive. The goal of gospel counsel is that the sinful individual might realize their need for Jesus and return to their local body of believers washed and cleansed by the Lord Jesus.
Now, let’s read the conclusion of the matter and Paul’s additional counsel to the body of Corinth in 2 Corinthians 2:5-11:
“Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.”
This situation at Corinth caused a lot of grief to Paul and the body of believers in Corinth, but it is evident from Paul’s additional counsel (to forgive, love, and restore to fellowship) that the immoral man repented and desired to be restored to the body of Christ. And this is what gospel counsel is all about—forgiveness, love, and restoration through Jesus.
Gospel counsel is counsel that has the message of restoration through the atoning death of Jesus Christ at the heart of it. It is counsel that continually points us to the blood Jesus shed to redeem us, the death Jesus died to forgive us, and the resurrection of Jesus to provide us a new heart and life. It is counsel that brings a believing person (couple) to the cross and the empty tomb of Jesus so they might understand the implications and experience the benefits of this good news in their life and marriage.
Question 7. Do you have any thoughts or questions about gospel counsel? Please share.
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.