Where did Paul get the authority to deliver
two church members into the hands of Satan?

Where did Paul get the authority to deliver
two church members into the hands of Satan?

Q. Where did Apostle Paul get the authority to deliver two believers, church members, into the hands of Satan?

A. This matter of "church authority" is a subject of great controversy today among believers. Some church groups claim some kind of authority that the Scriptures don't support. Some, to the other extreme, contend that there is no such a thing as "church authority." Today, nobody can claim to have received instruction directly from Jesus, as the apostles did. There are some "wakos" who make that claim, but they can't be taken seriously. With all the divisions and fragmentation of God's people, today, who can really and legitimately claim to have God's authority? Besides the "wakos", there are religious groups who exercise great authority on church members. I have been in them and a number of believing Christians are still caught up in that trap.

Jesus instructed the apostles to play down authority, to say the least: Luke 22:25-26,

" And He said to them, 'The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.' "

The Scripture that follows is Paul's writing, as Scripture, and shows the two sides of this matter:

" Moreover I call God as witness against my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth. Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith we stand. " (2 Corinthians 1:23-24)

Paul wanted to make sure that he didn't come to play the big authoritarian boss ("not that we have dominion over your faith"), yet he makes it plain that he had authority ("to spare you I came no more"). Interestingly, he said we, implying that they, the apostles, had some authority. Undoubtedly, the passage of Scripture that follows is a further evidence of Paul's authority. It does actually directly answer your question:

" For even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall not be ashamed. " (2 Corinthians 10:8)

Paul's authority came from Christ, as it did with the other apostles. We come now to the Scripture you are referring to:

" . . . having faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. " (1Timothy 1:19-20)

Some people need "tough love" and have to be corrected. You can see from this Scripture that apostle Paul was not trying to destroy those people, but to correct them. It was equivalent to the "kill or cure" approach. What else could he do with believers that were blaspheming? This episode paralleled another, when a believer was sleeping with his stepmother. 1Corinthians 5:1-5 tells the story. Note the end of verse 5,

" . . . that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. "

Again, two factors are at play, here: The love of God and His truth and the love of fellow man. Does it not sum up the ten commandments?

" Jesus said to him, 'you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 'This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' 'On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.' " (Matthew 22:37-40)

Sadly, the way some church groups, today, exercise authority does not reflect this scriptural instruction. Where do they get that authority? That's another subject in itself.

Answer Given By: Adriano Borean