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Daily Devotions

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 
Day 
Day 65

"I... have already judged..."

Text: 1 Corinthians 5:3

IS IT WRONG TO JUDGE?

Many quote Jesus, “Judge not” (Matthew 7:1) and thus they seek to muzzle people from speaking out for truth and justice. Paul’s understanding of the situation in Corinth demanded a judgment. Forthrightly he gave his judgment!

“For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit,
have already judged (as though I were present) him
who has so done this deed.
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,
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.”
1 Corinthians 5:3-5

1. “Already judged… him who has so done this deed”

a) Paul judged the man who had done this deed.
i) In absentia.
ii) He was not physically present in Corinth even as he made this judgment.
b) In what capacity?
i) In his capacity as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.
ii) With the authority and power of the Lord backing him up.

2. “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”

a) The Lord’s name is sacred thus it cannot be used in vain.
b) When His name is invoked, His authority is brought to bear.
c) This was the authority that Jesus spoke of to His disciples (Matthew 16:19).
i) They had authority to bind.
ii) They had authority to loose.

3. “Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh”

a) The Church represents the Kingdom of God.
b) The world is the domain of Satan.
c) Effectively, Paul was saying that the offender is to be excommunicated from the church.
d) The possibility of the destruction of the body was certainly a grim thought to deal with.

4. “That his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus”

If this offender is truly repentant after church discipline is exercised, he may yet be saved! The Lord’s Return was certainly in view when Paul wrote these words!