1 Timothy 1:20 Handed Over

1 Timothy 1:20 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

In 1 Timothy 1:19 Paul talks about the way some have rejected faith and a good conscience and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. In verse 20 he gives the example of Hymenaeus and Alexander. A Hymenaeus (probably the same one) is mentioned in 2 Timothy 2:17 but we know nothing more about these two or what exactly happened but it is clear that whereas at one point they showed promise at a later point they, like Judas and Demas and others, became apostate. Paul says that he had handed them over to Satan, which is a phrase that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 5 and is clearly a reference to church discipline. Paul did this with the hope that these blasphemers may be stopped. Whether Paul was hopeful of restoration or simply means that he was antiseptically removing the source of the blasphemy is not clear. What the verse reminds us is that people can become apostate, real people, people we know. It also makes clear that such people must be dealt with. They must be removed from the church so that they will not cause others to reject the faith and good conscience held out in the gospel. If such people are restored all to the good but if not at least the rot is stopped from spreading.