Defending the Church: When to Hand Someone over to Satan, and what it means to do so

In two places in the Bible, Paul uses the idea of handing someone over to Satan as both a command,
and from his own experience. As in, “you should hand him over to Satan” and “I have handed him over to Satan.” The question is what in the world does this mean? How could Paul do such a terrible thing? It can just sound bad to our modern ears and to the ears of someone who is nonchalantly reading the Bible for the first time.

In 1 Timothy 1:18-20, Paul tells Timothy that there are a couple people who have made a disaster (shipwreck) of their faith, and so Paul uses a tactic in hopes to bring them back.

This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.[1]

So, Paul is telling Timothy that Hymenaeus and Alexander, these two dudes, have not been holding faith and do not have a good conscience. Paul tells his readers that he handed them over to Satan to learn not to blaspheme.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul commands[2] his readers (for a specific situation) to do the same thing. Let’s get some background concerning the first place it is mentioned in the Bible, which is in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5. Paul says,

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 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.[3]

Here, Paul is deeply disappointed, and one could rightfully say, ashamed at the actions of several of the Corinthians. Not only is he ashamed and disappointed with the obvious man who is sleeping with his father’s wife, but also that Corinthians Christians are cheering him on in doing so.

When Paul says that he handed them over to Satan in the 1 Timothy passage above, it means that he excommunicated them from the church. Paul’s hope is that these two crazy guys will come back to their senses. They rejected solid ground and made a mess of their life, and they let their feelings get in their own way. God is telling us not to be like this. Instead, we should fight the good fight.[4]

Similarly, in the 1 Corinthians passage, Paul s telling this crazy group to do the same thing, so that there will be proper order back in the congregation. Paul says in verses 4-5, “So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 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.” This is telling us not only what it means, but also why we should do such a thing.

To hand someone over to Satan as mentioned above, means to ex-communicate the person. To push them out of the Body of believers. Paul says, “When you are assembled together…” signifying that this is the time when they do such things. It is a public event. The humility and the embarrassment caused by such an action is part of the driving force that Paul hopes will bring someone back to their senses. The phrase “Hand you/him over to Satan” is not to be taken literally. It does not mean that Paul is sending these people to Hell, and now Satan has control of them. Paul is hoping that this public ex-communication will scare the living daylights out of the person in order for them to repent from their sin and that they come to the foot of the cross with healthy humility.

In another passage, Paul tells the Galatians, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.”[5] What he means by this is that a little poison will kill the whole body, so don’t even let it in! Like a child that swallowed something harmful, it is time to pump the stomach! The Church has responsibilities to take care of these kind of things.

One idea Paul is portraying here is that the Corinthians should be grieving over such behavior: “Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship…?” When we grieve, we should be praying more frequently. When someone is handed over to Satan, it is not like we stop praying for them. It means we should pray more for them. We should pray that the Holy Spirit convicts them of their sin[6] and that they make wise decisions.

What is interesting about all of this is that Jesus mentions the same thing, and Paul is just reiterating what Jesus said in Paul’s own language. Jesus says in Matthew 18,

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.[7]

Here, Jesus is telling Christians how to handle when a brother sins against you. This would perhaps be from the perspective of the “father” in the 1 Corinthians passage we have discussed already. He would go to his son and discuss such things with him, then show up with two witnesses, then go before the church and then ex-communicate him. “Let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” means that you’re back at square one. Ex-communication just means to start over with a person. It does not mean that we never give them the time of day again. We continue to pray for them and treat them as a person who needs Jesus.

Paul skips these steps in the 1 Corinthians passage because his judgment tells him that this situation is severe and demands drastic, immediate action. He wants nothing to do with the sin that is taking place and doesn’t want to let it seem that he is condoning it in any way, and he also does not want anyone to think that it is not that urgent of a situation. By having them “hand him over to Satan,” He is expressing how urgent and devastating this behavior is to the congregation. “A little leaven leavens the whole lump.”

What if this person does not go to church but claims to be a Christian?

First of all, we cannot expect non-Christians to behave like Christians. But when there is someone who claims to be a Christian but does not live like it, how do we handle such things when they are living in blatant, unrepentant sin? It seems that using the same principles is not a bad idea. Go and discuss this with the person. Have the difficult conversations. The phrase, “If a brother sins against you” applies to anyone who claims to be a Christian. Judge from this list that Jesus gives us in Matthew 18 where and how to take action, as Paul did in our 1 Corinthians passage.

Always remember that in the end, we keep this person in our sights in fervent prayer. Every time we hurt or grieve because of his action, it should remind us to pray for the situation. Pray for him to gain a healthy fear of God. Pray that he clearly sees all of the consequences of his actions.

In the sense of handing the person over to Satan, make it known through your own broken heart that you do not condone his sinful lifestyle. Don’t be present with him in his sin. See the blessing of (NIV) Psalm 1:1-2,

"Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night."

Do not be an accomplice, so to speak. Perhaps this will encourage him to repent and come back to his senses. If so, then you have won your brother back, as Jesus said. If not, continue to pray both for them as discussed, and for yourself to know how to handle things and what to say.

Written by Nace Howell through the grace of the Lord Jesus

[1] ESV 1 Timothy 1:18-20. Emphasis mine.

[2] For you nerds out there, this is in the aorist tense!

[3] NIV. 1 Cor. 1:1-5. Emphasis mine.

[4] See 1 Timothy 6:12.

[5] See Galatians 5:9.

[6] See John 16.

[7] ESV Matthew 18:15-17.

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