Matters of this Life – 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

[Transcript]

Are you familiar with the word “jurisdiction”? According to Merriam-Webster, one definition is “the limits or territory within which authority may be exercised.” Chapter six takes a closer look at this subject. The Corinthian believers went to worldly courts outside the church to resolve various civil matters between brothers. Essentially, they were submitting themselves to the inferior jurisdiction of a separate kingdom. Paul’s correction was plain and to the point.

“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

The implication of Paul’s question is simple. You are saints; they are not. You are being made righteous, while they remain unrighteous. Why seek them out instead of finding a resolution within the church?

It may be that the culture of Corinth was somewhat like ours in this regard. People would sue each other over trivial matters. Perhaps this is why the believers seemingly had no qualms with pursuing litigation in the Corinthian courts. It’s how they understood civil conflict resolution. It is important to note that these lawsuits concerned civil, not criminal matters. When someone breaks the law, the authorities are, “an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer,” (Romans 13:4). Criminal acts should be reported to the authorities, period. Thus, we are dealing with civil disputes, not criminal cases.

I have been a witness to a couple of matters. Both involved theft of significant amounts of money. In both instances, the parties attempted to handle resolution within the church. And in both cases, the desired resolution never really materialized. There was no apparent repentance for the action in either case, and because these matters were of a criminal nature, no justice was really achieved, and to my knowledge, no restitution of the stolen monies. I’m not judging the desires of the hearts of those who refused to seek legal action. Their desire was to see repentance and restored fellowship. But I’ve always questioned whether handling these things internally was the right choice. I understand the desire to protect the reputation of the body of Christ in the community, but I also believe that there’s a missed opportunity to demonstrate to the community our resolve against sinful behavior. I have no answers, just questions.

But when it comes to civil matters where no law has been broken, Paul is very clear. Don’t seek justice in worldly courts. I’m grateful that I’ve not seen a lot of civil litigation in my time in the church, but I know it happens. Paul’s dismay absolutely orbits around two central issues: the reputation of the Church in the community and the lack of wisdom within the body to handle such matters.

“Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!” – 1 Corinthians 6:3

Paul appealed to the eschatological moment when humans will be glorified and given authority to judge angels. That alone deserves lengthy discussion, but that wasn’t his point here. This is an argument from the greater to the smaller. If you will judge angels, then you can effectively judge the matters of this life.

The implication is that if they aren’t faithful in judging one another fairly and resolving their civil disputes within the family, they aren’t walking according to the Spirit. The Word and Spirit give us all the wisdom we need to manage such issues because when His work is complete in us, we’ll judge much larger, angelic matters! When we walk in the light as He is in the light, we are not only having fellowship with one another, but we also walk in kingdom jurisdiction with one another to judge the matters of this life righteously.

I think it should be said here that wisdom can be your best friend in these situations. I recognize that there are countless ways things can develop, so I won’t try to give you specific examples. But the principle of applying wisdom should be sought. If there is a dispute between you and a brother over some matter, ask yourself a series of simple questions.

First, identify the offense. Name it out loud. That in itself isn’t necessarily magical, but it is a good first practice in any conflict. Give the offense a clear definition that way you are less prone to let emotions add to the offense.

Second, ask yourself if the matter that caused the offense is truly important. The way I do that is I ask myself, will I or anyone be harmed if I just let it go? I may be angry, but at the end of the day, if I let my anger simmer down and think a little clearer, will I feel the need for justice that I feel in the heat of the moment? Now, admittedly sometimes letting it go would mean that you’re allowing a pattern of bad behavior to persist. Sometimes letting it go might mean that harm may continue to happen. In those cases, don’t. But I find that many times when I get angry, it’s not about some transgression against the Lord or anything like that. It’s usually because I’m being inconvenienced in some way. Inconvenience seldom equals actual injustice.

Finally, if I make it past the first two questions, I ask myself if I surrender my need to win, will the Lord be honored? I might be able to justify my anger and my response, but often it doesn’t pass the muster of this final question. If the Lord would be more honored by my surrender, then I let it go. If we’re supposed to do all things unto the glory of God, then seeking justice would be included. There are times when surrendering that pursuit will be more honorable to the Lord than winning. When you do that, you win regardless.

As a believer living in the jurisdiction of the Lord’s kingdom, you have a responsibility to judge wisely. That means knowing when to press for justice and when to show mercy. Knowing that difference will demonstrate great understanding, foster peace and harmony in the church, and glorify the Lord in the eyes of all.

“To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?” – 1 Corinthians 6:7

This is the cornerstone of Paul’s argument. The existence of these disputes revealed the underlying issue. They were still immature. They weren’t prioritizing the needs of others over their own. They were more concerned with their own interests than those of others. What did James say?

“For where there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice.” – James 3:16 (LEB, emphasis added)

Selfish ambition is deadly to unity. It fractures community and invites chaos. Indeed, where selfish ambition exists, you won’t find men and women crucifying the flesh and walking by the Spirit. You won’t find believers serving and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Instead, you will find a group of people (not a community) devoid of spiritual authority, brimming with chaos, and ready to fall apart.

Unresolved conflict is evidence that decay is already at work. Taking these conflicts to worldly courts only reinforces this premise. You aren’t mature; you’re turning to the world for solutions, and you’re bringing shame to the name of Christ. But that’s not even the hard part.

Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? Paul took it to the next level. Perhaps you are right. You’ve suffered a wrong and you can justifiably pursue justice and restitution. Even so, why not simply suffer the wrong, and move on? Why not just accept the fraud and bear the cost? Why would Paul suggest such a response to injustice?

Because Christ suffered every wrong, every fraud, every injustice and opened not his mouth. Jesus bore the shame of the cross for the prize that He would receive on the other side of His suffering. The fair question then is, what prize awaits us for opening not our mouths?

His pleasure. Without faith, you cannot please Him. When we absorb the cost, forgive, and open not our mouths, we are more righteous—more Christ-like—than any pursuit of justice could ever achieve. That requires faith. Turning the other cheek means casting your hope forward by faith toward your reward. That pleases Him.

I cannot teach this without admitting the incredible difficulty that comes along with it. In practical terms, I believe this is one of the hardest things Paul teaches in this letter. He’s wanting us to put the pursuit of Christ-likeness at the top. He wants us to protect the reputation of Christ’s name more than our own. To be clear, like I said earlier, we need to use wisdom. One size does not fit all in conflict resolution. Sometimes, suffering wrong, forgiving, and remaining silent is the wise thing. Also, sometimes forgiving, then having a conversation is the wise thing. You and I must sharpen our discernment so that we can know the difference. Paul had no qualms about confrontation and neither should we. But he also understood this concept that there are times when shutting up and getting over it will bring more honor to Christ than opening your mouth and hashing things out. It’s on us to sharpen our powers of discernment and tune our ears to the Holy Spirit so that we can know which is the right thing to do.

“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.” – 1 Corinthians 6:11

Do you not know? In verse nine, Paul posed what should have been a rhetorical question, but in this instance, was quite serious. The unrighteous judges from whom they sought justice would have no part in God’s kingdom. Why, then, would any believer go to them for dispute resolution? Their jurisdiction is still a part of the kingdom of darkness from which you were delivered. Your jurisdiction is now within the Kingdom of God, which seeks to see heaven invade earth. Going to the world for justice is the opposite, letting earth encroach into Kingdom territory.

In verses nine and ten, Paul offered a list of behaviors that mark people who won’t inherit the kingdom of God. The implication may be that the outside judges the Corinthians had sought were engaged in these wicked behaviors. In light of that, the unspoken question is why would you trust their judgments? They are walking in darkness.

Then to wrap that discussion, Paul’s reminder that “such were some of you” is decidedly past tense. You no longer walk in darkness. You were washed, sanctified, and justified in Christ, therefore, you can and should resolve these kinds of civil disputes within the higher jurisdiction of God’s Kingdom.

Ongoing Discussion

“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,” – 1 Corinthians 6:5

First, Paul knew the answer to this question. Yes, there are people among you wise enough. How do we know this? Remember back in chapter one, he expressed gratitude that the Lord had gifted them in every way. Therefore, this wasn’t a case of lacking people who could help judge a dispute. It’s more likely that the ones going outside for justice didn’t believe they would get what they wanted from in-house help.

What kind of faith do you have in the Lord? Do you believe that He can resolve the “matters pertaining to this life” through those He equips for such purposes within the church? This points to an issue that many are reluctant to acknowledge. We face significant challenges with unbelief. You may scan the landscape of your congregation and feel like you can’t see someone with the right experience or credentials to handle your particular issue. But could the Lord have planted an ordinary person of extraordinary faith nearby, just a few seats down from you, who can help resolve things? The underlying issue of this passage is the unbelief of those who don’t trust that the Lord gifts His church sufficiently to handle their particular problems.