I’ll continue to contrast “Paul’s Regime” to “Jesus’ Regime.” Paul finally turned his attention to the man who had his father’s wife as follows.
|
Paul’s Regime |
Jesus’ Regime |
| For even though I am absent physically, I am present in spirit. And I have already judged (κέκρικα, a form of κρίνω) the one who did this, just as though I were present. When you (ὑμῶν) gather together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I am with you in spirit, along with the power of our Lord Jesus, turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. | Furthermore, I will strike [Jezebel’s] followers with a deadly disease, and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay each one of you what your deeds deserve.
Revelation 2:23 (NET) |
The English translation of 1 Corinthians 5:3 might actually be clearer than the Greek. I think Paul may have written something like, “I have already decided[1] as follows about what was done.” Considering what he had already decided the translators cut through all that: I have already judged the one who did this… Paul urged the believers in Corinth to turn this man over to Satan. [Addendum: January 25, 2024, see Addendum.]
The Greek word translated turn over is παραδοῦναι (a form of παραδίδωμι). Paul also handed Hymenaeus and Alexander over (παρέδωκα, another form of παραδίδωμι) to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.[2] I assume that to turn or hand one over to Satan was the antithesis of commending one to the grace of God.
After their first missionary journey Paul and Barnabas sailed back to Antioch, where they had been commended (παραδεδομένοι, another form of παραδίδωμι) to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.[3] Later, Paul chose Silas and set out, commended (παραδοθεὶς, another form of παραδίδωμι) to the grace of the Lord by the brothers and sisters[4] for his second missionary journey after parting company with Barnabas over John Mark. So I assume that both, being commended to the grace of God and being turned, or handed, over to Satan, were matters of prayer. We’re not told how God responded to this prayer vis-à-vis the man who had his father’s wife. What is recorded in Paul’s letters are the changes in his own perspective.
Here in 1 Corinthians Paul turned a man who committed πορνεία, one of the works of the flesh (σαρκός, a form of σάρξ), over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (σαρκός, a form of σάρξ): Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality (πορνεία), impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice (πράσσοντες, a form of πράσσω) such things will not inherit the kingdom of God![5]
But is the destruction (ὄλεθρον, a form of ὄλεθρος) of the flesh a work of Satan (Romans 7:4-6 NET)?
So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh (σαρκί, another form of σάρξ), the sinful desires (ἁμαρτιῶν, a form of ἁμαρτία), aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the law, because we have died to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code.
But I say, live by the Spirit, Paul wrote the Galatians, and you will not carry out the desires (ἐπιθυμίαν, a form of ἐπιθυμία) of the flesh (σαρκὸς, a form of σάρξ). For the flesh (σὰρξ) has desires (ἐπιθυμεῖ, a form of ἐπιθυμέω) that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh (σαρκός, a form of σάρξ), for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.[6] The one thing I can say with certainty about the man who had his father’s wife is that he was not led by the Holy Spirit at the moment he chose to take her. His flesh had taken control.
Brothers and sisters, if a person is discovered in some sin (παραπτώματι, a form of παράπτωμα),[7] you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness.[8] The spiritual (πνευματικοὶ, a form of πνευματικός) are those who live (περιπατεῖτε, a form of περιπατέω) by the Spirit (πνεύματι, a form of πνεῦμα). Paul’s teaching in his letters to the Romans and Galatians doesn’t explain, expound or even hint at any reliance on Satan for blessing—for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord—or cursing—to be taught not to blaspheme.
In the movie Miracles From Heaven Jennifer Garner completed her stunning transformation from Elektra through adoptive-mother-to-be Vanessa in Juno to Christy the Christian mother of three girls. There are spoilers here, and though Christy is based on an actual person Christy Beam, I am writing about a character in a film.
“No one here is going to hell,” Christy says to her three daughters. “Unless you girls get your clothes dirty. How many times have I told you not to play outside in your Sunday school dresses?” Then she yells to her husband in the field, “Hey Kevin, I have to tell you not to play outside before church, too?”
With these few deft lines we understand that Christy has succumbed to the primary occupational hazard of motherhood: She doesn’t merely inhabit a world of rules and religion, she is its architect and chief executive. When her middle daughter Anna is diagnosed with an incurable disease Christy is utterly lost. Concerned about the cost of traveling every six weeks from Texas to a specialist in Boston she argues with Kevin (Martin Henderson).
Christy: I need to know how we’re going to do it.
Kevin: Well, We’ll figure it out.
Christy: No, No. You can’t say that. I hate when you say that!
Kevin: Well, I’m sorry, babe, but I don’t have any answers right now.
Christy: I need an answer!…I cannot operate under the assumption that it’s all just gonna be okay!
Kevin: It’s called faith, Christy.
Christy: I don’t have faith about anything. I can’t even pray, Kevin. I’m sorry.
Kevin: No. I hear you. But I can’t help you with your faith.
If I hadn’t known someone exactly like him, Kevin would have seemed like the least believable character in the film. The man I knew grew up in the faith. Being led by the Spirit was as natural to him as breathing. The faith that is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit seemed like his own. And he was just as tone deaf and incapable of explaining the Holy Spirit’s faith to someone for whom such faith was not natural as Kevin. He was also just as persistent and consistent an example of that faith as Kevin. Only his wife knew him intimately enough to perceive any wavering or inconsistency.
Christy talks with Pastor Scott (John Carroll Lynch):
Christy: Well, you could tell me why a loving God would let Annabel suffer the way she has.
Pastor Scott: I’m sorry. I don’t have an answer for that.
While it was dramatically necessary for Christy to discover her own answer, and Pastor Scott probably didn’t know specifics in her particular case, I want to explore a similar situation recorded in the New Testament.
Lord, if you had been here, Lazarus’ sister Martha said to Jesus, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will grant you.[9] This sickness will not lead to death, Jesus had said when he heard that Lazarus was sick, but to God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.[10] Lazarus has died, He told his disciples, and I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe.[11] Jesus put Martha and Mary (not to mention Lazarus), whom he loved (ἠγάπα, a form of ἀγαπάω), through sickness and death so that when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead his disciples may believe.
Though raising Lazarus from the dead was effective enough among the Ἰουδαίων that the chief priests planned to kill Lazarus too, for on account of him many of the Jewish people (Ἰουδαίων, a form of Ἰουδαῖος) from Jerusalem were going away and believing in Jesus,[12] it failed in its primary purpose for Jesus’ disciples. Not only did they not wait expectantly for three days for Jesus to rise from the dead, they didn’t even believe it when someone told them it had happened.
Who were these infidels?
They were handpicked by Jesus Himself. They were purified, purged of the evil among them in classic Old Testament fashion: Judas killed himself after he confessed his παραδοὺς (another form of παραδίδωμι). But before the Holy Spirit was given on Pentecost each remained a natural human (ψυχικὸς…ἄνθρωπος):
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural (ψυχικὸς, a form of ψυχικός) man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.[13]
Though Jesus’ display of power over death failed to persuade natural humans to faith and hope it continued to eloquently expound the theme He thought was sufficiently demonstrated in the Old Testament writings: You must all be born from above.[14] To be born from above entails, includes and ultimately means to be led by the Holy Spirit: For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.[15]
In Miracles from Heaven Anna (Kylie Rogers), writhing in pain, says to her mother Christy, “Don’t you understand that it never stops hurting. It never stops…I want to die…I want to go to heaven where there’s no pain…I’m sorry, Mommy. I don’t want to make you sad. I just want it to be over.”
This might have been the turning point of the story. If my daughter complained this way to me I would fall on my face confessing to anything and everything. But Anna’s doctor persuaded Christy that her daughter’s childlike faith was depression caused by prolonged illness.
When Anna fell and was trapped inside a rotten tree, however, Christy knelt and prayed the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV), not as a sing-song chant but, as a heartfelt expression of faith, not my will but yours be done.[16] Indeed we felt as if the sentence of death had been passed against us, Paul wrote the Corinthians in a later letter, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.[17]
No viewer of the film is forced to believe that God healed Anna when Christy learned to rely on the faith (πίστις) of the Holy Spirit. She clearly spells out an alternative to Anna’s specialist that is wholly compatible with progressive[18] evolution: “So you’re telling me that when this baby girl fell 30 feet, she hit her head just right and it didn’t kill her and it didn’t paralyze her and instead it healed her?” If this explanation rings hollow, one may be hearing from the Spirit of God because a natural [human] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God.
Jesus’ Regime by contrast did not incite his followers to turn to Satan for remediation: Furthermore, I will strike her followers[19] with a deadly disease, and then all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts. I will repay each one of you what your deeds deserve. Eventually Paul perceived the practical sense of this, too (Romans 12:17-21 NET):
Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people. Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head [Table]. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Preferring Jesus’ Regime in Revelation 2:18-29 to Paul’s Regime in 1 Corinthians 5[20] I have been brought full circle. This world governed by God’s wrath is the world I thought I lived in before I became an atheist. I didn’t expect to return here again. But this time I am led by the Holy Spirit. This time I believe that πορνεία has much more to do with the pagan worship practices of Exodus 32 and Numbers 25 than it does with two young people marrying, that is to say having sex, before receiving Church, State or even parental sanction. This time I expect to weather my ordeal without serious incident.
Studying the various forms of παραδίδωμι has deeply colored my understanding of these things. The table I constructed during that study is below.
|
παραδίδωμι |
NET |
Reference |
|
Jesus’ Arrest, Prosecution and Crucifixion (66) |
||
| παραδεδώκεισαν | For [Pilate] knew that the chief priests had handed [Jesus] over because of envy. | Mark 15:10 |
| παραδίδως | “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” | Luke 22:48 |
| παραδιδόναι | …Judas, one of the twelve, was going to betray him. | John 6:71 |
| But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was going to betray him)… | John 12:4 | |
| παραδιδόντα | For Jesus knew the one who was going to betray him. | John 13:11 |
| παραδιδόντος | …the hand of the one who betrays me is with me on the table. | Luke 22:21 |
| παραδίδοσθαι | The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. | Matthew 17:22 |
| …for the Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. | Luke 9:44 | |
| παραδίδοται | …the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified. | Matthew 26:2 |
| …woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! | Matthew 26:24 | |
| …the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. | Matthew 26:45 | |
| The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men. | Mark 9:31 | |
| …woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! | Mark 14:21 | |
| …the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. | Mark 14:41 | |
| …woe to that man by whom he is betrayed! | Luke 22:22 | |
| παραδιδοὺς | Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” | Matthew 26:25 |
| Get up, let us go. Look! My betrayer is approaching! | Matthew 26:46 | |
| Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I kiss is the man… | Matthew 26:48 | |
| Now when Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus had been condemned… | Matthew 27:3 | |
| Look! My betrayer is approaching! | Mark 14:42 | |
| Now the betrayer had given them a sign… | Mark 14:44 | |
| Now Judas, the one who betrayed him… | John 18:2 | |
| Now Judas, the one who betrayed him… | John 18:5 | |
| “Lord, who is the one who is going to betray you?” | John 21:20 | |
| παραδῷ | …Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray him. | Matthew 26:16 |
| …how he might betray Jesus, handing him over to them. | Luke 22:4 | |
| παραδώσει | I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me. | Matthew 26:21 |
| The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. | Matthew 26:23 | |
| I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me will betray me. | Mark 14:18 | |
| I tell you the solemn truth, one of you will betray me. | John 13:21 | |
| παραδώσω | What will you give me to betray him into your hands? | Matthew 26:15 |
| παραδώσων | …and who it was who would betray him. | John 6:64 |
| παραδώσουσιν | …and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged severely and crucified. | Matthew 20:19 |
| They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles. | Mark 10:33 | |
| παραδοῖ | …went to the chief priests to betray Jesus into their hands. | Mark 14:10 |
| So Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray him. | Mark 14:11 | |
| …the devil had already put into the heart of Judas…that he should betray Jesus | John 13:2 | |
| παραδόντος | I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. | Galatians 2:20 |
| παραδοθῆναι | …that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men… | Luke 24:7 |
| παραδοθήσεται | …the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the experts in the law. | Matthew 20:18 |
| …the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and experts in the law. | Mark 10:33 | |
| For he will be handed over to the Gentiles… | Luke 18:32 | |
| παραδοθῶ | …fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish authorities. | John 18:36 |
| παραδοῦναι | …so that they could deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. | Luke 20:20 |
| So Judas agreed and began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus… | Luke 22:6 | |
| παραδοὺς | …and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. | Matthew 10:4 |
| I have sinned by betraying innocent blood! | Matthew 27:4 | |
| Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of greater sin. | John 19:11 | |
| παρεδίδετο | …the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread… | 1 Corinthians 11:23 |
| παρεδώκαμεν | If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you. | John 18:30 |
| παρέδωκαν | …led him away, and handed him over to Pilate… | Matthew 27:2 |
| For [Pilate] knew that they had handed [Jesus] over because of envy. | Matthew 27:18 | |
| …led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. | Mark 15:1 | |
| …our chief priests and rulers handed him over to be condemned to death… | Luke 24:20 | |
| Your own people and your chief priests handed you over to me. | John 18:35 | |
| παρεδώκατε | …Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected… | Acts 3:13 |
| παρέδωκεν | …he handed him over to be crucified. | Matthew 27:26 |
| …Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. | Mark 3:19 | |
| …he handed him over to be crucified. | Mark 15:15 | |
| But he handed Jesus over to their will. | Luke 23:25 | |
| Then [Pilate] handed him over to them to be crucified. | John 19:16 | |
| Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. | John 19:30 | |
| …he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all… | Romans 8:32 | |
| …live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us… | Ephesians 5:2 | |
| …just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her… | Ephesians 5:25 | |
| παρεδόθη | He was given over because of our transgressions… | Romans 4:25 |
|
Arrest, Prosecution and Persecution of Jesus’ Followers (19) |
||
| παραδιδόντες | When they arrest you and hand you over for trial… | Mark 13:11 |
| …they will seize you and persecute you, handing you over to the synagogues and prisons. | Luke 21:12 | |
| παραδιδοὺς | I persecuted this Way even to the point of death, tying up both men and women and putting them in prison… | Acts 22:4 |
| Παραδώσει | Brother will hand over brother to death… | Matthew 10:21 |
| Brother will hand over brother to death… | Mark 13:12 | |
| παραδῶσιν | Whenever they hand you over for trial, do not worry… | Matthew 10:19 |
| παραδώσουσιν | Beware of people, because they will hand you over to councils… | Matthew 10:17 |
| Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. | Matthew 24:9 | |
| …and they will betray one another and hate one another. | Matthew 24:10 | |
| You will be handed over to councils and beaten in the synagogues. | Mark 13:9 | |
| …and will hand him [i.e., Paul] over to the Gentiles. | Acts 21:11 | |
| παραδοθῆναι | Now after John was imprisoned… | Mark 1:14 |
| παραδοθήσεσθε | You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends… | Luke 21:16 |
| παραδοὺς | …handing him [i.e., Peter] over to four squads of soldiers to guard him. | Acts 12:4 |
| παρεδίδου | …[Saul] dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. | Acts 8:3 |
| παρεδίδουν | …they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion… | Acts 27:1 |
| παρέδωκεν | …the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard… (NKJV) | Acts 28:16 |
| παρεδόθη | …Jesus heard that John had been imprisoned… | Matthew 4:12 |
| παρεδόθην | …I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans. | Acts 28:17 |
|
Other Usages (35) |
||
| παραδεδωκόσι | …who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. | Acts 15:26 |
| παραδεδομένοι | …Antioch, where [Paul and Barnabas] had been commended to the grace of God… | Acts 14:26 |
| παραδέδοται | …and the glory that goes along with it, for it [i.e., this whole realm] has been relinquished to me, and I [i.e., the devil] can give it to anyone I wish. | Luke 4:6 |
| παραδιδῷ | Then comes the end, when he [i.e., Christ] hands over the kingdom to God the Father… | 1 Corinthians 15:24 |
| παραδιδόμεθα | For we who are alive are constantly being handed over to death[21] for Jesus’ sake… | 2 Corinthians 4:11 |
| παραδῷ | Reach agreement quickly with your accuser while on the way to court, or he may hand you over to the judge… | Matthew 5:25 |
| …and if I give over my body in order to boast, but do not have love… | 1 Corinthians 13:3 | |
| παραδώσει | …and the judge hand you over to the officer… | Luke 12:58 |
| παραδοῖ | And when the grain is ripe, he sends in the sickle because the harvest has come. | Mark 4:29 |
| παραδοθεὶς | Paul chose Silas and set out, commended to the grace of the Lord by the brothers and sisters. | Acts 15:40 |
| παραδοθείσῃ | …contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. | Jude 1:3 |
| παραδοθείσης | …the holy commandment that had been delivered to them. | 2 Peter 2:21 |
| παραδοῦναι | …turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh… | 1 Corinthians 5:5 |
| παρεδίδοσαν | …they passed on the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the Gentile believers to obey. | Acts 16:4 |
| παρεδίδου | …he threatened no retaliation, but committed himself to God who judges justly. | 1 Peter 2:23 |
| παρέδωκα | …maintain the traditions just as I passed them on to you. | 1 Corinthians 11:2 |
| For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you… | 1 Corinthians 11:23 | |
| For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received… | 1 Corinthians 15:3 | |
| …whom I handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme. | 1 Timothy 1:20 | |
| παρέδωκαν | …they have given themselves over to indecency… | Ephesians 4:19 |
| παρέδωκας | …Sir, you entrusted me with five talents… | Matthew 25:20 |
| …Sir, you entrusted two talents to me… | Matthew 25:22 | |
| παρεδώκατε | Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. | Mark 7:13 |
| παρέδωκεν | And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards… | Matthew 18:34 |
| …who summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them. | Matthew 25:14 | |
| …change the customs that Moses handed down to us. | Acts 6:14 | |
| …gave them over to worship the host of heaven… | Acts 7:42 | |
| Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity… | Romans 1:24 | |
| For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. | Romans 1:26 | |
| …just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind… | Romans 1:28 | |
| …delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment… (NKJV) | 2 Peter 2:4 | |
| παρέδοσαν | …the accounts passed on to us by those who were eyewitnesses… | Luke 1:2 |
| παρεδόθη | All things have been handed over to me by my Father. | Mathew 11:27 |
| All things have been given to me by my Father. | Luke 10:22 | |
| παρεδόθητε | …you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to… | Romans 6:17 |
Paul’s Religious Mind Revisited, Part 3
Back to Paul’s Religious Mind Revisited, Part 4
[1] When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided (κέκρικα, a form of κρίνω) to spend the winter there. (Titus 3:12 NET)
[4] Acts 15:40 (NET) Table
[7] In Paul’s letter to the Romans παραπτώματι was translated transgression, a violation of a specific command (Romans 5:15, 17; 11:11 NET). I wrote about the relationship between παράπτωμα and ἁμαρτία in Is Sin Less Than Sin? Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.
[13] 1 Corinthians 2:12-14 (NASB) Table
[18] I think most evolution/creation arguments are tangential because the actual issues are mindless vs. mindful creation and progressive vs. degenerative evolution.
[19] Though it is not literal I think the NET translators were right to translate τέκνα (a form of τέκνον) followers here (Mark 10:24, Luke 13:34, John 1:12, John 8:39, John 11:52, Romans 8:16, Romans 8:17, Romans 9:7, Romans 9:8, Ephesians 5:8, Philippians 2:15, 1 John 3:1, 1 John 3:2, 1 John 3:10, 1 John 5:2).
[20] I want to be very specific here because I think that Paul’s Regime in Galatians 6:1-5 is more of the faith of Jesus’ Regime in Revelation 2:18-29 and shows much more respect for the wrath of God.
[21] If Paul meant this exclusively for apostles it would belong in the category above (Arrest, Prosecution and Persecution of Jesus’ Followers). But I take the Holy Spirit to mean that death to what controlled us. Though that death is a one time event, I need to be brought back to it continually—constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake—because I am proud and slow to believe.