God's People Must Be United and Growing in Holiness
1 Corinthians 6:1-11[1]
As preached at Rolling Hills Church on Sunday, February 19th, 2012
1 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?
2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?
3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!
4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church?
5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers,
6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers?
7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?
8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud--even your own brothers!
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
When it comes to trivial disputes and cases among the believers, here is the message: "We'll Be the Judge of That".
Setting/Background: Different approaches to 'trivial cases': In Jewish sub-culture, they took care of their own legal issues at the synagogue and Sanhedrin (in Jerusalem) if it escalated; they had the right from Rome to deal with everything except dealing out the death penalty. This is why they brought our Lord to Pilate; they needed Rome to sign off on putting Him to death. So it was more private, local, and more of a family-type affair.
Not so much in the Greco-Roman (Athens, no records of Corinth) world. Litigation had three levels; it was a part of everyday life and considered entertainment! One writer observed, "Every Athenian is a lawyer." Step one was private arbitration, where the defendants would each be assigned a disinterested citizen, then a neutral mediator would listen to both and settle the matter. If one pressed further, the next court could have 40 jurors, and each party would be assigned a public arbitrator. If they failed to resolve the case, it went to Jury Court (the third level), where the jury could be made up of anywhere from several hundred to several thousand jurors. Every citizen would be involved at some level if they lived an average lifespan[2]. As you can see here, Paul was trying to help this young church operate closer to the Synagogue model than the Greek model. It fit the church better as a disdained sub-culture, and allowed the church to present a loving, unified front to a lost world.
The tone of this passage: Paul is pushing here. His rhetorical questions are built to shame these folks into seeing the folly of what they were doing. He asks, "Do you not know!?" sarcastically three times; in these 11 verses Paul throws 9 questions at them. You read it a few times and you get the feel that Paul wants to say, very loudly to these believers…
"WHAT in the WORLD do you THINK you are DOING!?"
Their public litigation against each exposed at least three things about this church that Paul attacked with his line of questioning…
They despised their church family. 4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers,
The church was quite capable of judging minor issues. This is some lofty stuff assigned to the believing Corinthians here!
We're going to judge the world. What!? Well, consider what Daniel 7:22 and Revelation 3:21 show saints sitting in authority over the world; Jesus promised His disciples that they would sit on twelve thrones judging Israel (Matt 19:28).
We're going to judge angels. This isn't clear in Scripture; either fallen angels (along side Christ), or judge in the sense of 'rule over' angels, which it seems we will do, co-reigning with Christ.
We have wisdom among us already. We are apparently going to judge the world with Christ (Daniel 7:22, Revelation 3:21). Jesus did promise His disciples that they would sit on twelve thrones judging Israel (Matt 19:28).
The law of God in Exodus – Deuteronomy, Proverbs, the Prophets, the narratives of the Kings – we have much wisdom available to us, church. That's not even mentioning the New Testament! As it was in Corinth I daresay it is today; we are much more qualified and capable than we think. If you needed to get something done, somebody in this church could help you do it. If you needed insight, skills, strength, experience, or wisdom – you could find it here, folks. Their church was very capable of making such judgments; let me say to you that this church is too. Question is – do we think that only legal specialists could determine what is right and wrong? What value do you assign to the wisdom of God?
They disdained Christ's name among unbelievers. 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? It was embarrassing to Paul, I'm certain, when these who were supposed to be one in Him would be suing each other in public courts (before unbelievers, the unrighteous). He was ashamed, and he was shocked that they weren't ashamed of such behavior! When brothers and sisters sue each other in public courts, what does that say about the command to love one another? Why are we told to do that? Let Jesus answer that for us… John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." So they despised their church family, disdained Christ's name among unbelievers, and finally…
They were deficient and immature in character. 7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud--even your own brothers!
Such selfishness speaks of a very baby Christian learning to walk and falling a lot, or else – it actually brings their salvation into question: when you live like the unrighteous around you, who can be assured that you have been made righteous? When you live in selfish sin, who can vouch for you that your sins have been washed away? Are you who are supposed to be humble and grateful so set on getting all your rights and grabbing all you can while you're here? What does that say about your eternal hope? This is just STUFF, and you would hurt people for it – brothers in Christ? Phil 3:18-19 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.
So along with the strong reproof against these actions, Paul wants this church to have a strong reminder that we are called OUT of such ungodly behavior, and to continue in it brings the salvation of the so-called brother into question.
Here is what the Apostle wanted these disobedient, immature believers to feel: shame. He is whipping them (verbally) in order to bring a sorrow that would lead to true repentance.
6:5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, And later on…
15:34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
So let me get this straight. Is Paul telling this church NOT to sue each other over trivial cases? Yes. OK, so now… Does that mean that WE should not sue each other over trivial cases? YES; we should not. We have, just as they had, ample wisdom and capability among us to settle such issues. When they come up, we need to have this mind set… "We Will Be the Judge of That." No we can't judge one's eternal destiny; we can't judge one's motives. But we are quite able to arbitrate loan/money issues, rent, clothing, small claims, etc. We don't have to offer to saw the child in two every time; sometimes people just need a wise, gracious brother or sister to help them settle a difference.
So he offers this final warning to this bunch to grow up, or acknowledge this; unrighteous people won't be in heaven, regardless of their self-designation as a believer. Vs 9-11…
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Folks, be reminded; Paul meant exactly what He said. These are things we are saved FROM, not saved with a license to continue IN. There is a wrong way to live and there is a right way to live; God determines which is which, and He has given us that determination. We are called to repent of such, not to justify it as acceptable before God because it is acceptable before our fellow (but lost) man.
[1] All Scriptures, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (via E-Sword Software) © 2001 Crossway Publishing. All Rights Reserved. I paste them in red for distinction.
[2] Insight on Athenian courts found in The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1 Corinthians, by John F. MacArthur. Copyright © 1984 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. Published by Moody Press, Chicago. All Rights Reserved.
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