Immorality In The Fellowship

Q. It Looks like the Church at Corinth had about as many problems as we do today.  What exactly does it mean to deliver someone to Satan for destruction of the flesh that the spirit might be saved?  Is this the same guy in 2 Corinthians Paul is telling them to forgive?

It’s a good thing I don’t read the Bible with a laptop handy.  Even after all these years of reading your website,there is always something.  Thanks so much for your help.

A. In 1 Cor. 5:1-5 Paul advised the Corinthians to expel an immoral man from the church.  Since Paul never called him a brother he must have felt that the man wasn’t saved and was in effect telling them to give him back to Satan (the world) to allow the Holy Spirit to convict him of his sin and bring him to repentance.  In that way the man would come to the Lord, discontinue his immoral behavior, and gain victory over his sin nature (destruction of the flesh).  I believe this worked and that he’s the same one Paul told them to forgive and welcome back in 2 Cor. 2:5-11.