8. How did justice mark God’s dealings with the Christian congregation?

⁸ After many centuries God rejected the nation of Israel and chose the Christian congregation. But Jehovah did not change. He was still committed to justice and could be described as “a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:29; Luke 18:7, 8) He therefore continued to have a provision to instill godly fear in the entire congregation by expelling wrongdoers. Dedicated Christians who became unrepentant wrongdoers were to be disfellowshipped.

9. What is disfellowshipping, and what does it accomplish?

⁹ What is involved in disfellowshipping? We find an object lesson in the way a problem was handled in the first century. A Christian in Corinth engaged in immorality with his father’s wife and did not repent, so Paul directed that he be expelled from that congregation. This had to be done to protect the cleanness of God’s people, for “a little leaven ferments the whole lump.” Expelling him would prevent his wickedness from dishonoring both God and His people. The severe discipline of being disfellowshipped might also shock him to his senses and instill in him and the congregation due fear of God.​—1 Corinthians 5:1-13; compare Deuteronomy 17:2, 12, 13.

10. How are God’s servants to respond if someone is disfellowshipped?

¹⁰ The divine command is that if a wicked one is expelled, Christians must “quit mixing in company with [him] . . . , not even eating with such a man.”a He thus is cut off from fellowship, including socializing, with loyal ones who respect and want to walk according to God’s law. Some of them might be relatives outside the immediate family, not a part of the same household. It may be hard for those relatives to apply this divine directive, even as it was not easy for Hebrew parents under the Mosaic Law to share in executing a wicked son. Still, God’s command is clear; thus we can be sure that disfellowshipping is just.​—1 Corinthians 5:1, 6-8, 11; Titus 3:10, 11; 2 John 9-11; see The Watchtower, September 15, 1981, pages 26-31; April 15, 1988, pages 28-31.

11. How could various aspects of God’s personality become manifest in connection with a disfellowshipping?

¹¹ Remember, though, that our God is not merely just; he is also “abundant in loving-kindness, pardoning error and transgression.” (Numbers 14:18) His Word makes clear that a disfellowshipped person may repent, seeking divine forgiveness. Then what? Experienced overseers may meet with him to determine prayerfully and carefully whether he is giving evidence of being repentant over the wrongdoing that led to his being disfellowshipped. (Compare Acts 26:20.) If so, he may be reinstated in the congregation, as 2 Corinthians 2:6-11 indicates happened with the man in Corinth. Yet, some expelled ones have been away from God’s congregation for years, so can anything be done to help them see the way back?