5:1-5 How can handing this man over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh be a means of saving his spirit?
5:1-5 How can handing this man over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh be a means of saving his spirit?
Delivering the man over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh does not mean that he was to be handed over to Satan to be literally killed.
Rather, it refers to returning him to Satan's domain - the world - by excommunicating him from the church and removing him from its spiritual protection and the blessings of Christian fellowship (CP V13). The purpose of this was remedial, not punishment (CP 1Ti 1:20).
Paul's purpose here in delivering Hymenaeus and Alexander over to Satan is also remedial - to stop them blaspheming. By exposing the man in 1Cor 5:1-5 to the destructive influences of the ungodly world system, the man's fleshly desires were defeated and he was brought back to repentance in order to be saved (CP Lu 15:11-24 with 2Cor 2:3-11).