A man was going to Halloween party one night dressed in a devil’s costume. On the way to the party it started to rain and storm, lightning began to strike and the power went out so he decided to take shelter in the nearest building, which just happened to be a church building where a gospel meeting was taking place. As soon as he walked through the door everyone turned around to see who was coming in late. When they saw him there in the dim light after their power had gone out, they began to scream and scatter like a covey of quail.
One lady got caught in her pew and fell down in the midst of all the confusion. The man decided to go check on her and make sure she was okay. He slowly made his way over to where she was. Seeing the devil coming toward her the lady said, "Satan, I’ve been a member of this church for over 30 years, but I want you to know right now that I’ve really been on your side the whole time!" (Sermoncentral Illustrations)
When we know we are in the presence of God it is easier to sing praises and rejoice in goodness. But when we think we are in the presence of Satan or his cohorts, faithfulness can be much harder. Here at church we can sing and pray and praise God with comfort surrounded by encouragement before Him. When we leave and go to work or school and find ourselves surrounded by godlessness, well, it’s a lot harder, isn’t it?
The key is to remember that we are in Christ 24/7/365.25. We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses all the time, cheering for our faithfulness. But we must be tuned in to hear it.
Today and Lord willing, next week will be the last two studies in this series on how Jesus overcomes Satan. We will have covered a lot of what the God’s word says about Satan in this series and I hope this has been helpful. Again, our focus is not on the devil, but on Jesus Christ who has defeated Satan and who gives us victory over him when we submit ourselves to Christ and obey God’s word in faith.
This morning I would invite you to open your Bibles again to 1 Corinthians 5. We will be considering a somewhat shocking verse that needs to be understood and interpreted with scripture.
Look with me at verse five again.
1 Corinthians 5:5 hand this man over to Satan, so that the flesh may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
This verse is somewhat similar to 1 Timothy 1:20 where Paul writes concerning some Christian men who had turned away from faith and a good conscience and they have shipwrecked their faith. Listen to what Paul says: Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
After reading these passages and their contexts and praying for guidance I also looked them up in some commentaries to see if my understanding was in agreement with what others were thinking. Sure enough this passage is difficult for a few reasons. Not the words themselves, but the lack of information.
Remember last week we looked briefly at Acts 5:3 in the story of Ananias and Saphira? This couple had evidently pledged to give the proceeds of a sale of land to the church. But then they kept some of the money back and acted like they were giving the whole amount. It was this lie part that Peter picks up on. Why did they have to lie? Who were they actually lying to? What was the consequence of their lie?
Ananias and Saphira failed at the very foundation of faith. They were not honest. Worse, they were not honest to God! They acted as if God were not present and they seemed to think that they could lie without any repercussion. Peter asked Ananias, “How is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept back some of the money you received for the land? While it was unsold, was it not yours? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men, but to God!”
What happened next shocked the whole church. Ananias and his wife both died as a result of agreeing together in this lie.
Now, was this event, or others like it in Paul’s mind when he told the Corinthian church to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh? That is what some commentators think. But what follows in 1 Corinthians 5:5 at the end of the verse makes that harder to swallow.
After saying hand him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, he says that the purpose is so that he will be saved on the day of the Lord.
Let’s look at a passage that may help us with this. Go to 1 Corinthians 11 where Paul is correcting and instructing the Corinthians about how they took the Lord’s Supper. This very important and intimate act of worship was being abused by them. Look at verses 27-34 and notice especially verse 32.
27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
And when I come I will give further directions.
This is an important passage to help us understand what he means in 5:5 for many reasons: First, it is the same writer. Second, it is in the same document. Third, the language is similar. Fourth, there is nothing elsewhere in the letter that contradicts the meaning here.
1 Corinthians 5 talks about judgment of ourselves in the church, and here in chapter 11:31-32 we have the same language. Verse 30 specifically lists judgments of God against some in the church who have been disobedient.
So, what’s the conclusion here and how does it apply to us and our theme?
It appears that sometimes God punishes us by allowing us to have physical afflictions as part of our discipline. Perhaps the most intense would be if we were given over to Satan’s power, especially as a Christian who has escaped his clutches by God’s grace in Christ.
Is this possible even today? What does the Bible say?
I think of the book of Hebrews in chapter 12:1-12. Go there with me.
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.
Also, I think of Revelation 3:19 where Jesus says: “Those I love I rebuke and discipline.”
But… you may be thinking, how is handing someone over to Satan an act of love?
Well, in the least we would have to call it, “tough love” or as C. S. Lewis framed it, “Severe Mercy.”
It is the purpose of salvation that conditions this severe act of discipline and defines it as loving.
Why would anyone discipline their disobedient child with severe punishment? Is that loving? God’s word says that it can be.
2 Corinthians 7: 8 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— 9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. 12 So even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong or of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. 13 By all this we are encouraged.
God wants us to repent and walk in humble, obedient faith. It is the only way we can escape the ultimate judgment and condemnation.
Somehow, God can even use Satan’s destructive works against himself to accomplish this repentance. He can also use Satan’s afflictions to keep us humble so that we do not fall.
Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 talks about this. As he describes the amazing revelations he received from God he then speaks of an affliction that he also received. Listen to the language as he describes this:
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
The amazing grace of God, it comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. God can even use Satan’s powers to bring us to our knees before him for salvation. May this be our attitude toward whatever hardship or affliction we face: that we honestly, humbly and obediently turn to God in faith and seek his face.
As Job said, “And though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.”
This week one of our families has had a crisis. It has had amazing effects on not only themselves but also on their unbelieving families. God is working to put us on our knees, even through affliction. Let us all seek His face and humbly accept what He allows with assurance that He knows exactly what is best. He who knows us best and loves us most will not abandon us or forsake us. Let us remember Jesus, our Savior, who suffered and endured it with patient obedience all the way to the grave. Three days later, Jesus overcame the grave. His victory over Satan, sin and death is for us.
