1 Corinthians 5:3

3 For [although I] am absent in body but present in spirit, I have already passed judgment on the one who has done this in this way, as [if I] were present.

1 Corinthians 5:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Corinthians 5:3

For I verily, as absent in body
As he really was, being now at Philippi, if any dependence is to be had upon the subscription of this epistle; or rather at Ephesus; however, wherever he was, it is certain he was not at Corinth:

but present in spirit;
in his affection to them, care of them, and concern for their good, and the glory of God:

have judged already;
he had considered of the matter, thought very deliberately about it, and was now come to a point, to a determination concerning it, what to do in it:

as though I were present;
upon the spot, in person, to do what he had resolved upon:

to him that hath so done this deed;
this infamous one, and in so scandalous a manner, and which was continued in: what that was which the apostle, upon mature deliberation and judgment, determined to do with this wicked man, is expressed in ( 1 Corinthians 5:5 ) which is to be connected with this, the whole fourth verse being to be read in a parenthesis, and that was to deliver him to Satan.

1 Corinthians 5:3 In-Context

1 It is reported everywhere [that there] is sexual immorality among you, and sexual immorality of such a kind which [does] not [even exist] among the Gentiles, so that someone has the wife of [his] father.

2 And you are inflated with pride, and should you not rather have mourned, so that the one who has done this deed would be removed from your midst?

3 For [although I] am absent in body but present in spirit, I have already passed judgment on the one who has done this in this way, as [if I] were present.

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, [when] you are assembled, and my spirit, together with the power of our Lord Jesus,

5 [I have decided] to hand over such a person to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, in order that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

Footnotes

• [a] *Here "[although]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("am absent") which is understood as concessive
• [b] *Here "[if]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("were present") which is understood as conditional