Article from the East Main Messenger, dated 8/3/2025.
When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?
1 Corinthians 6:1
Paul now turns his attention to another problem within the Corinthian church. Apparently, the saints there were taking each other to court over “trivial cases” (1 Cor. 6:1-2). By doing so, they were showing non-Christians that Christians not only were capable of defrauding one another but were also unable to solve these disputes by themselves (1 Cor. 6:1-8). This would be a serious blow to their ability to let their light shine evangelistically in the community (Matt. 5:13-16; 1 Pet. 2:11-12).
In an effort to get them to handle these small disputes among themselves, Paul rhetorically asks, “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” (1 Cor. 6:2a). This does not mean that Christians will judge the world on the last day and determine who will be saved or condemned; that ability lies only with Christ (2 Cor. 5:10; Matt. 7:21-23). Rather, Christians will “judge the world” in the same way that Noah “condemned the world” (Heb. 11:7) and the queen of Sheba and the Ninevites to whom Jonah preached will “condemn” those of Jesus’ generation who rejected his preaching (Lk. 11:31-32). Basically, Christians’ example of humble adherence to God’s wisdom and instruction would comparatively make the arrogant disobedience of the lost even more worthy of condemnation. Yet by showing the world that they were defrauding each other and could not settle disputes about trivial matters on their own, the saints at Corinth were robbing themselves of that good example (1 Cor. 6:2b).
Paul then writes, “Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!” (1 Cor. 6:3). This likely refers to the angels who had “sinned” and were then “committed…to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment” (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6). Just as “saints will judge the world” by the comparative example of their faithful obedience, in the same way Christians’ trusting acceptance of God’s directives will make the sins of these fallen angels even more worthy of judgment by comparison. Paul’s point is that since this is the case with matters of eternal consequence, Christians ought to be able to resolve amongst themselves the trivial arguments that come up during their life on earth.
There was no need for them to bring these problems to the attention of non-Christians (1 Cor. 6:4). Instead, they should have been able to find within their congregation a fellow Christian who was “wise enough to settle a dispute” (1 Cor. 6:5). The fact that “brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers” (1 Cor. 6:6) – indeed, “to have lawsuits at all with one another” (1 Cor. 6:7a) – was “already a defeat” for them (1 Cor. 6:7b) in that they were ruining their influence for Christ and thus making it harder to convince non-Christians that Jesus’ ways were better. Paul then told them that it would have been better if they had simply allowed themselves to “suffer wrong” and “be defrauded” (1 Cor. 6:7c) rather than show the sinful world around them that by “wrong(ing) and defraud(ing) – even their own brothers!” (1 Cor. 6:8) they were no better than the world.
In saying this, Paul shows the high value God places upon doing whatever it takes within his will to bring even one soul to Christ. As he would later write in this epistle, “Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved” (1 Cor. 10:32-33). All Christians should strive to live their lives in such a way that they are willing to do whatever is necessary for the spiritual benefit of the lost, including sacrificing what would profit them.
It is also worth noting that this passage does not prohibit any and all lawsuits between brethren. If such were the case, then one could not divorce one’s Christian spouse for their fornication as Christ allows since divorce proceedings from a legal perspective involve taking your spouse to court (Matt. 19:9). Rather, Paul specifies that he is prohibiting legal action between brethren in secular courts over matters which are “trivial,” inconsequential, and petty (1 Cor. 6:2). Cases of greater import, such as suing for divorce or child custody, would not be prohibited.
— Jon
To read Jon’s series on 1 Corinthians from the beginning and many other articles, visit https://predenominationalchristianity.com.