(Chap. 6:1-11)
Paul turns to address a third disorder among the saints at Corinth—lawsuits among fellow Christians. The Corinthians were taking one another to court to solve their personal disputes, and the Apostle rebukes them for it.
Three Reasons Why Christians Should Not Take One Another to Court
He proceeds to give three reasons why they shouldn’t be taking their matters before “the unjust” magistrates in the world’s legal system (vs. 1).
1) Vss. 2-5—The Christian does not need to take his brother to court because, through having the Spirit and the mind of Christ, he is able to judge more correctly than the unregenerate men of the world (1 Cor. 2:10-16). The believer’s competence to judge is such that God is going to have the saints “judge the world” in the Millennium! (Dan. 7:22; Rev. 20:4) This will not be in regard to eternal judgment for sins, but judgment in the administrative affairs of “the world to come”—the Millennium (Mark 10:30; Eph. 1:21; Heb. 2:5).
The Apostle’s reasoning is unarguable: “If the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?” Not only will Christians judge in the affairs of the world to come, they will also “judge (fallen) angels” after the Millennium has run its course. (The elect angels do not need to be judged.) Since this is so, why would they ever need to take their problems before the “unjust” judges of this world?
In verses 4-5, the Apostle chides them for such folly. He tells them to “set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church,” and they would be competent to settle their issues. He asks, “Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?”
2) Vs. 6—The Christian should not take his brother to court because it renders a bad testimony before the world. He says, “Brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.” Christians are to manifest a testimony of love and unity before the world. When the world sees Christians not getting along with each other, it gives them an occasion to blaspheme the Lord (Compare Rom. 2:24; Phil. 2:14-16). Since a Christian bears the name of the Lord, he has to be very careful what he does. It is, therefore, unwise to put our “dirty laundry” out before the world (2 Sam. 1:19-20). It should be settled within the Christian community.
We are the only Bible the careless world will read,
We are the sinner’s gospel; we are the scoffers creed,
We are the Lord’s last message,
What if the type is crooked,
What if the print is blurred?
3) Vss. 7-8—The Christian does not stand up for his rights when he believes that he has been defrauded, because it is out of keeping with Christian character. Paul asks, “Why do ye not rather take wrong? Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?” It would be better to suffer loss than to give the world an occasion to blaspheme the name of the Lord; it would be the Christian thing to do. The spirit of Christian grace is to suffer wrongs, committing it to the Lord who is over all things, and He will set them right in His time (1 Peter 2:20-23; Heb. 10:34; 2 Sam. 19:24-30).
Warning to the Mixed Multitude
Vss. 9-11—With the horrendous practises reported to be among the Corinthians, Paul had reason to believe that there were some among them who were mere professors and not true believers at all. Hence, throughout the epistle he addresses the Corinthians as a mixed multitude (1 Cor. 1:2—“both theirs and ours”). The presence of mere professors among them perhaps is what produced a number of their problems. These people would naturally act on selfish and worldly principles, and thus bring impurity into the assembly. Knowing this, the Apostle gives a solemn warning here.
He reminds them that there is judgment coming for all who are characteristically “unrighteous.” A believer may act unrighteously in a certain circumstance, but one who lives that way habitually is not saved and will not “inherit the kingdom of God.” Being outwardly on Christian ground through profession is not what secures our eternal security. One needs to be “washed,” “sanctified,” and “justified.” Some of the Corinthians had been marked by the sins the Apostle lists, but were now saved, and needed to be careful not to lapse back into those former sins. He reminds them of what they are by the grace of God, and then in the next section (Chaps. 6:12–10:13) he exhorts them to live in accordance with their position.
To be “washed” (aorist tense in the Greek) is a once-for-all thing (John 13:10). It is the moral cleansing which results from new birth (quickening). They were washed from their old condition and were “sanctified” (set apart) to a new place before God. When sanctification is mentioned before justification in Scripture, it is always absolute (positional) sanctification. They were also “justified,” which is to be cleared from every charge against us by being put into a new position before God in Christ where no further charge of sin can ever be laid (Rom. 8:1). The Christian is “justified in Christ” (Gal. 2:17 – J. N. Darby Translation). “In Christ” is an expression used by Paul in his epistles to denote the believer’s position of acceptance before God. The new place that Christ is in as risen and seated on high in the glory is our place (Isa. 50:8; Rom. 8:33-34). To be “in Christ” is to be in Christ’s place before God. The very place of acceptance that He stands in before God belongs to the believer!
Thus, the Corinthians, being washed, sanctified, and justified, were brought under the Lordship of Christ—“in the Name of the Lord Jesus”—and were expected to acknowledge His Lordship in their lives practically.