B. On Discipline (3:14-15)

Although Paul expects to be obeyed, he is aware of the possibility that someone (probably an individual rather than a group) might not heed his commands. If this occurs, the church is to take special note of him, perhaps some official censure (see Best, 343) or, more likely, a more informal procedure. Association is to be stopped, possibly exclusion from communal meals but not exclusion from worship.

The purpose of this dissociation is redemptive. It is not from the community: he remains a brother (v.15). In this sense, the situation is clearly different from the problem Paul encountered at Corinth (1Co 5).