“For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,” (1 Corinthians 5:3 KJV)
In our day to day lives, being with someone in spirit is great, but it seems that being present with them in that same location adds a real significance. It would seem that the one who is right there next to you would have the best perspective of the situation. They would really grasp what the challenge of the moment is. In fact, one of our natural resistances to assistance is seeing that the one offering help is not present therefore their help cannot be adequate. Of course, that thinking is backwards, but it seems pretty straight at the moment. Just like it’s the sober driver that wasn’t drinking with you that can offer the safest ride home.
Yet, Paul goes beyond this. He knows that he is not (and was not recently) present in the body, but he still pronounces judgement in the spirit. Notice, not a person who has died and returned in the spirit. Paul is still very much in a physical body, just somewhere else. So, this begs a question. Is being present in the spirit more real or more substantive than being present in the body? It almost sounds like a judgement made by what is seen in the spirit is more accurate than a judgement made in person or in the body. We see something like this back in 1 Samuel 16:7 when Samuel is looking at the physical layer, but God is looking at the heart or the belief within.
This indicates that to see the heart, the spirit, or the belief within is to see what the individual is to become on the outside. That is why it is so important to see and address the decisions, the meditations, or the affairs of what is inside a person’s spirit. If left unchecked, a person grows to believe that forgiveness and grace are unnecessary. It’s interesting that this judgement should produce a spiritual decision which has a good chance of remedying the physical issue. It effectively shows the bad desires for the emptiness that they leave you with.
“To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” (1 Corinthians 5:5 KJV)