This is a continuation of a series of articles on the practice within the Lord’s church of withdrawing fellowship. The purpose is to examine briefly the teaching of Scripture on this matter and to allow the New Testament to give the answers. We have already noticed that withdrawing of fellowship is a command of God. Let us continue to prayerfully search the Scriptures on this subject.
What exactly is meant by “withdrawing fellowship”? We will be studying the “who” and the “why” of this practice in later articles, but what is the actual action that is involved and required?
We are to “deliver such a one to Satan” (1 Cor. 5:5). This always strikes a nerve to hear this (also in 1 Tim. 1:20). The Greek word for “deliver” is found three times in Romans 1, and each time it is translated, “God gave them up” (1:24, 26, 28). They were determined to live outside the will of God, so God gave them over to it. That is what is involved in withdrawing fellowship.
We are to “purge out the old leaven” (1 Cor. 5:7). Other translations have “cleanse,” which is also the proper translation in 2 Timothy 2:21, where the same word is found. It means “to clean completely.” This implies a removal.
We are to “take away” or “put away” the person from among us (1 Cor. 5:2, 13). These two verses are the only places in the New Testament where this Greek word is found. The word means “to lift up, to carry off, to remove.”
We are “not to keep company with” the person (1 Cor. 5:11). Found only here and in 2 Thessalonians 3:14, the Greek word means “to mix up together, to have association with, to mingle.” God specifies, “Not even to eat with such a one.”
We are to “withdraw from” the person (2 Thess. 3:6). This rare verb in the New Testament is found only here and in 2 Corinthians 8:20, where it is translated “avoiding.” The Greek word means “to keep away from, to move oneself from, to abstain from familiar intercourse with one, to shrink from.”
We are to “note that person” (2 Thess. 3:14). Found only here in the Greek New Testament, “note” means “to mark, to distinguish, to put a tag on.”
We are to “admonish him as a brother” (2 Thess. 3:15). The word “admonish” means “to put sense into one, to warn, to exhort, to caution, to reprove gently.”
Go back and read these seven actions again and what they mean in a practical sense. This is God defining for us how to properly carry out His command. (more next week)