So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Paul has told the Corinthians to discipline someone, and they've done it thoroughly. Now the person is drowning in shame. Paul's reversal is striking: stop. You've made your point. Now he needs restoration. The goal of discipline is not to destroy the person. It's to bring them back.
I'm a church leader who's watched discipline become cruelty. We've made someone feel the full weight of their sin, and then we've withdrawn. We've let them sit in shame, thinking that's repentance. But Paul says too much sorrow will swallow someone. There's a point where the person is no longer learning. They're just dying inside.
This has completely changed how I do church discipline. Correction followed by swift restoration. Not just forgiveness, but active comfort. Not just words, but presence. We act as if the goal is the person's humiliation. But Paul says the goal is their healing. If discipline doesn't lead to restoration, if the person is drowning in overmuch sorrow, then we've failed. We need to change course. We need to become actively restorative.
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