1 Timothy 1:20

Paul cited two examples of casualties of this type with which Timothy was apparently familiar: Hymenaeus (cf. 2 Timothy 2:17) and Alexander (cf. 2 Timothy 4:14). Paul had turned them over to God’s discipline because of their determination to continue living in a manner contrary to the will of God. This discipline would come on them through the agency of Satan so they would repent and stop blaspheming God by their lives. [Note: See Sydney H. T. Page, "Satan: God’s Servant," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 50:3 (September 2007):449-65.]

Handing someone over to Satan may mean that Satan had permission to inflict some illness or disability on the evildoer (cf. Job 2:6). [Note: Kelly, p. 59; Mounce, pp. 69, 72. Cf. Matthew 18:15-20.] It may picture life outside the fellowship of the church as Satan’s sphere (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:5). [Note: See Knight, p. 111.] Thus to deliver these men to Satan could mean that Paul had removed them from the church’s fellowship and placed them in Satan’s realm where they would experience his malice (cf. Acts 5:1-11; Acts 13:11). [Note: Thomas D. Lea and Hayne P. Griffin Jeremiah , 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, p. 81. Thomas Lea wrote the commentaries on 1 and 2 Timothy in this volume. See also Walter Lock, The Pastoral Epistles, p. 19.] These men appear to have been leaders, teachers, and even elders in the Ephesian church. It was very rare for Paul to name names when referring to serious sinners. That he did so here indicates that he wanted everyone to know to whom he was referring.

"It is certainly a disciplinary or remedial and not a merely punitive penalty . . ." [Note: J. H. Bernard, The Pastoral Epistles, p. 36. Cf. Guthrie, p. 69.]

"We should not misunderstand the nature of this process. It was not simply intended to ’cut out a cancer’ in order to preserve the rest of the body, as some churches view it today. Neither is it a practice that the church today can afford to ignore, as if it were an aberration belonging to the Inquisition. Taken together, Matthew 18:15-17, 1 Corinthians 5:5, 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 and 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 reflect the development of a carefully measured process. Each step was designed to bring the erring individual to the point of admission and true change of mind and behavior. Even if the individual persisted in a stubborn refusal to change (like the two mentioned here), the final step of expulsion from the fellowship back into the hostile world was ultimately intended as a means (desperate and last-ditch though it be) of reclamation. To be handed over to Satan (compare 1 Corinthians 5:5) is to be exposed, without the protection God promises to his people, to the dangers of sin. For some it takes being cast off into the sea to realize the advantages on board ship [cf. Jonah]." [Note: Towner, 1-2 Timothy . . ., pp. 59-60. Cf. idem, The Letters . . ., pp. 161-62.]

Hymenaeus and Alexander appear to have been genuine believers in view of how Paul described them here and in his other references to them in 2 Timothy. [Note: See Knight, p. 110; and Joseph C. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings, pp. 333-36.] Perseverance in faith and good works is not inevitable for the Christian. The many New Testament warnings against turning away from the Lord and the truth should make that fact obvious. There are also examples of Old Testament believers who did not remain faithful to the Lord (e.g., Lot, the Israelites in the wilderness, Saul, Solomon, Uzziah, et al.).

"Within the overall context of the PE . . . it seems that Paul is saying that the opponents rejected their personal faith and as a result have brought the Christian faith into reproach . . ." [Note: Mounce, p. 67.]

The Greek word translated "blaspheme" (blasphemein) means to "by contemptuous speech intentionally come short of the reverence due to God or to sacred things." [Note: A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, s.v. "blaspheme," p. 102.]

This first chapter deals with matters of vital importance to every Christian since we are all ministers of Jesus Christ. These matters are especially relevant to church leaders. In the communication of God’s Word, our primary responsibility (2 Timothy 4:2), we should avoid speculation and seek to represent God’s intention accurately (1 Timothy 1:3-11). We can face our task optimistically since God has the power to transform even the worst of sinners into the greatest of saints (1 Timothy 1:12-17). Nevertheless we should be careful not to go against the warnings of our consciences programmed with God’s Word as we carry out our ministry.