What does it mean that Paul would be present in spirit in 1 Corinthians 5:4?
It means that although Paul was physically absent in Ephesus across the Aegean Sea, his spirit would be present when the local church gathered together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, joined with the Lord’s power to deliver the immoral man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh.
Les explains that 1 Corinthians 5 deals with a terrible immoral situation in the church at Corinth, and Paul tells them they must deal with it. In verse 4, Paul says that when the local church is gathered together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ—what the context calls a business meeting—'and my spirit' means Paul would be there in spirit even though he was across the Aegean Sea in Ephesus. This gathering was to be accompanied by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh. Les connects this to the earlier warning that if any man defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him, referring to the physical body, not the soul and spirit. The destruction of the flesh does not touch the soul and spirit.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,