The Victory of Forgiveness: Outwitting Satan's Strategy Text: 2 Corinthians 2:5-11
Introduction: The Two Front War
The Christian life is lived on a battlefield, and the local church is not a neutral zone. It is a fortified outpost of the Kingdom of Heaven, located deep in enemy territory. And like any good strategist, the devil wages a two-front war against the church. His first line of attack is to encourage sin, to promote laxity, to whisper that holiness is legalism and that discipline is judgmental. He wants the church to become so broad-minded that its brains fall out. He wants us to tolerate sin, to make peace with it, to fly a flag of truce over sexual immorality, doctrinal heresy, and bitter divisions. This was his initial strategy in Corinth, and it led to the appalling situation described in the first epistle, where a man was sleeping with his father’s wife and the church was puffed up about it.
But when that strategy fails, when the church rouses itself and, in obedience to the Word, exercises biblical discipline, Satan does not just pack up his bags and go home. He immediately opens up a second front. His new strategy is to encourage an over-reaction. He trades the sin of laxity for the sin of severity. He tempts the church to become harsh, unforgiving, and proud of its newfound zeal for purity. He wants to take the very medicine God prescribed for healing and turn it into a poison. He wants to see the disciplined sinner, now repentant, crushed by sorrow and driven to despair, not by his sin, but by the saints.
This is precisely the situation Paul addresses in our text. The Corinthians had obeyed his previous letter. They had dealt with the offender. The discipline had worked; it had produced godly sorrow and repentance. But now they were in danger of fumbling the victory. They had won the battle against laxity, but they were about to lose the battle against lovelessness. And Paul writes to them with apostolic urgency, not just for the sake of the repentant man, but for the sake of the whole church, lest Satan gain a strategic advantage over them all. We must understand that church discipline is a two-part process: excommunication is the ministry of the sword, but restoration is the ministry of the trowel. One tears down, the other builds up. And a church that only knows how to use the sword will soon find itself standing in a pile of rubble.
The Text
But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree, in order not to say too much, to all of you. Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather graciously forgive and comfort him, lest such a one be swallowed up by excessive sorrow. Therefore I encourage you to reaffirm your love for him. For to this end also I wrote, so that I might know your proven character, whether you are obedient in all things. But one whom you graciously forgive anything, I graciously forgive also. For indeed what I have graciously forgiven, if I have graciously forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.
(2 Corinthians 2:5-11 LSB)
The Corporate Nature of Sin and Discipline (v. 5-6)
Paul begins by framing the offense correctly. The sin was not a private matter, and neither is the restoration.
"But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree, in order not to say too much, to all of you. Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority." (2 Corinthians 2:5-6 LSB)
Paul first puts the sin in its place. While the man’s sin was an affront to Paul’s apostolic authority, he deflects from that. This isn't about him. The primary injury was to the whole body. When one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Sin is never a purely private affair within the covenant community. It is a cancer that affects the whole body, a pollution that defiles the whole temple. Paul says the man caused sorrow "to all of you." This is covenantal thinking. We are bound together in Christ, and therefore the sin of one is the shame and sorrow of all.
Then he declares the first phase of the operation a success. The punishment was "sufficient." The word for punishment here is the same one used for a legal penalty. It was a formal, official act of the church. And notice who inflicted it: "the majority." This was not the act of a rogue pastor or a handful of self-righteous elders. Church discipline, to be biblical, must be an act of the whole church, led by the elders. The congregation had stood together, and the discipline had its intended effect. The goal of discipline is not to punish for the sake of punishment, like some kind of spiritual pound of flesh. The goal is repentance and restoration. Once that goal is reached, the discipline has done its job. To continue it past that point is to turn medicine into poison. The church had done the hard thing, and now Paul says, "That's enough. Mission accomplished. Now it is time to change course."
The Urgent Command to Forgive (v. 7-8)
Having affirmed their obedience in discipline, Paul now issues a new command, a command to pivot from judgment to grace.
"so that on the contrary you should rather graciously forgive and comfort him, lest such a one be swallowed up by excessive sorrow. Therefore I encourage you to reaffirm your love for him." (2 Corinthians 2:7-8 LSB)
The pivot is sharp: "on the contrary." You were doing one thing, now you must do the opposite. The church is now commanded to do two things: forgive and comfort. Forgiveness is not a feeling; it is a transaction. It is a promise to not hold the sin against the person any longer. It is to release them from the debt. Comfort is the application of that forgiveness to the wounded conscience of the repentant brother. He is drowning in sorrow, and they are to throw him a life preserver. The sorrow he feels is a "godly sorrow," which leads to repentance (2 Cor. 7:10), but even a good thing can become destructive if it is "excessive." Satan loves to see a man so fixated on his sin that he cannot look up to see the grace of Christ. The goal is to get him back on his feet, not to grind his face in the dirt.
Therefore, Paul urges them to "reaffirm" their love for him. The Greek word means to confirm, to establish by a formal act. This isn't about just feeling warm fuzzies. It is a public, official restoration. Just as the discipline was a public act, the restoration must be a public act. They are to formally and publicly welcome him back into the fold. The same body that voted to put him out must now vote to bring him in. This should be a time of celebration, a prodigal son party. The sinner has come home, and the fatted calf should be on the grill.
Obedience, Authority, and the Presence of Christ (v. 9-10)
Paul then explains the broader principle at stake. This is about more than just one man; it is about the church's submission to Christ's authority, mediated through His apostle.
"For to this end also I wrote, so that I might know your proven character, whether you are obedient in all things. But one whom you graciously forgive anything, I graciously forgive also. For indeed what I have graciously forgiven, if I have graciously forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ." (2 Corinthians 2:9-10 LSB)
Their obedience was being tested on two fronts. First, would they be obedient in the hard work of discipline? They passed that test. Now, would they be obedient in the joyful work of restoration? True obedience is "in all things," not just the parts that align with our natural temperament. Some people are naturally inclined to be tough, and they find discipline easy but forgiveness hard. Others are naturally inclined to be tender, and they find forgiveness easy but discipline impossible. Biblical obedience requires us to do both, in their proper time, as commanded.
Paul then aligns his own apostolic authority with their congregational responsibility. "Whom you forgive, I forgive." There is a beautiful harmony here. The church on the ground is to act, and the apostle in his authority concurs. This is the principle of Matthew 18: what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. The church's actions have heavenly significance. And Paul makes it clear that his forgiveness is not some private sentiment. He does it "for your sakes" and "in the presence of Christ." Literally, "before the face of Christ." This entire drama of sin, discipline, repentance, and forgiveness is unfolding on a cosmic stage, with Christ Himself as the audience. This raises the stakes entirely. We are not just tidying up a messy church relationship. We are acting on behalf of Christ, under His watchful eye.
Spiritual Warfare and Satan's Schemes (v. 11)
Finally, Paul reveals the ultimate reason for this urgency. This is not just a matter of pastoral care; it is a matter of spiritual warfare.
"so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes." (2 Corinthians 2:11 LSB)
Here is the intelligence briefing from the apostolic command. Satan is a strategist. He has "schemes." He is always looking for an "advantage." The word for advantage is a commercial term, meaning to defraud or take more than is due. Satan is a con artist and a thief. And an unforgiving church is an open door for him to rob you blind.
What are his schemes in this context? He has many. First, he wants to destroy the repentant sinner through despair. If he can't have him through rebellion, he'll take him through depression. Second, he wants to destroy the unity of the church by creating a permanent faction of the "holier-than-thou" against the "fallen." Third, he wants to destroy the witness of the church to the outside world. What kind of gospel do we preach if we proclaim a God who forgives all our sins, but we refuse to forgive our brother's? An unforgiving church preaches a gospel it clearly does not believe. It makes us hypocrites, and gives Satan a massive propaganda victory.
Paul says, "we are not ignorant of his schemes." We have the playbook. We know how he operates. He attacks at the point of laxity, and if that fails, he attacks at the point of severity. He tempts us to sin, and if we repent, he tempts us to despair over that sin. He tempts the church to ignore sin, and if it disciplines, he tempts it to never forgive that sin. The Christian life requires constant vigilance. The victory is won by obeying the Word of God at every stage of the battle, not just the first one.
Conclusion: The Full Circle of Grace
The gospel is a message of radical discipline and radical grace. At the cross, the sin of the world was met with the fiercest discipline imaginable. The wrath of God was poured out upon His own Son. The penalty was paid in full. That was the ultimate excommunication. But it did not end there. On the third day, God the Father publicly reaffirmed His love for the Son by raising Him from the dead. That was the ultimate restoration.
This is the pattern for the church. We are called to be a community that takes sin seriously enough to confront it, but takes grace seriously enough to forgive it. We must be hard as nails against impenitent sin, and soft as a mother's touch toward the penitent sinner. To fail on either side is to fall into one of Satan's traps.
When we exercise discipline, we are declaring that sin is a damnable poison that will not be tolerated in the house of God. We are protecting the flock and honoring the holiness of God. But when a brother repents, and we swing wide the doors and throw a party, we are declaring something even more glorious. We are declaring that the blood of Jesus Christ is more powerful than our sin. We are demonstrating to one another, and to a watching world, and to the devil himself, that our church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners, saved by a grace so fierce and so free that it can take our greatest failures and turn them into a showcase for God's glory.
Let us therefore be obedient in all things. Let us be wise to the schemes of the enemy. And let us reaffirm our love for one another, forgiving as we have been forgiven, before the face of Christ our Lord.