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First Corinthians 6:1-2

So many of the difficulties for the believers in Corinth can be traced back to a lack of understanding of who
they really are, in Christ - and what Christ had done for them.
They failed to see themselves as a completely new creation - united to Christ, and to one another - and so
they continued in the individualistic, selfish thinking of their former manner of life, as sons of Adam. They
failed to see that in Christ, they had everything that was needed for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3) - and so
each one was out for himself, trying to gain greater wisdom.
Instead of building themselves up in their most holy faith (Jude 20), they were puffed up with a false
spiritual pride. That made them blind to grievous sin in their midst; but at the same time, it made them
critical of those outside of their assembly, in the city of Corinth. They viewed them with a judgment so
condemning that some of the believers were walling themselves off from them - when they should have
been sharing Christ with them.
Now, part of the believers reason for avoiding those of sin city was a secret concern that it would cause
them to succumb to their own sinful lusts and desires. And you know what? They were right to fear that,
since the wisdom and spirituality they had embraced could give them no power over sin!
What the Corinthian believers needed is to see themselves as they truly are - unleavened - completely
severed from that old creation, from the world in which it operates - and instead, forever joined to God
through Christ, in His new life - one now with Him, and with one another, in the kingdom of the Son of
Gods love (Col 1:13).
What the Corinthian believers must learn - what every believer must learn - is to walk as a citizen of that
kingdom, even while still walking on this earth. To do that requires that the believer learn to walk in
newness of life (Rm 6:4).
Thats not natural for the believer. Whats natural is to walk according to the course of this world (Eph 2:2)
- which is the way he had always walked.
But in Christ, the believer is no longer natural; what is he? Spiritual (1 Cor 2:14-15). He walks according
to a higher law - the law of the spirit of Life (Rm 8:2) - eternal Life for the body, which Christ has given to
him, the moment he believed.
And as the believer walks in the spirit of Life, he will not fulfill what? The lusts of the flesh (Gal 5:16).
The flesh, which is ruled by the law of sin and death, is overruled by the law of the spirit of Life - a higher
law; a greater power.
But that law must be put into effect, in order for its power to be exercised. And Paul gives the believers in
Corinth the perfect opportunity to do that - outside of their assembly. They are not to try to avoid the
unbelievers, in Corinth - which is impossible, anyway, in the course of life. Nor are they to continue
condemning them for their sin - thats Gods part.
Their part is to witness to the unbelievers, so that they might be saved. And if they do so following the
Holy Spirits leading, allowing Him to transform their thinking with Gods thinking, then their ways will be
Gods ways. This will give them all the practice they need for walking in their new life - free from the
power of sin (Rm 8:2).

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Now Paul has already made it very clear to the Corinthian believers where their own thinking has taken
them - into condemning judgments of outsiders, on the one hand; and into a lack of discernment to those
within their assembly, on the other.
And by indicating to the believers the action they must take against the incestuous man, Paul has provided
an example of judging an issue of sin rightly, within their assembly - seeking discernment from the Lord, to
come to a decision - a decision that reflects not condemnation, but mercy and love.
But there is another issue in the assembly in Corinth, which has come to Pauls attention. And Paul will use
this issue to continue correcting and teaching the believers in Corinth, so that they can learn what it is to
show discernment, in their assembly.
Lets read through the passage first. To get the sense of it, well read through verse 11, but were only
going to be looking at the first two verses today.
[First Corinthians 6:1-11]
So we see that Paul is continuing to speak of judgment - judgments made, within the assembly - judging
those who are on the inside (5:12).
What kind of judgment is Paul speaking of? Is this the judgment of condemnation? No; this is
discernment; discerning the truth concerning situations in the assembly, and coming to decisions as needed
using righteous judgment.
This is also simply called judging in Scripture, along with the condemning kind of judgment. The
context shows which is being spoken of: condemnation, or discernment and decision-making.
I want to show you an example of the word being used as it is here; as discernment and decision-making.
Turn to Luke chapter 7. Jesus had been invited by a Pharisee named Simon to dine at his home.
We begin in verse 36.
[Luke 7:36-50]
v. 36-38 This woman was a sinner of notoriety in the city, most likely a prostitute. Hearing of where Jesus
was dining, she made a deliberate decision to come see Him - in the home of a Pharisee. She took the risk
of exposing herself to being reviled - which showed great courage - and perhaps desperation.
The woman positioned herself behind Jesus as He was reclined, at the table. She anointed His feet with
fragrant oil, a gesture of great honor; an act of worship.
And as she was doing this, she was crying, her tears falling on the feet of Jesus, which she wiped with her
hair. It is a picture of utter humility and deep repentance. And Jesus permitted her to do this, indicating
His acceptance and approval of her.
But His host had a different take on it.
v. 39 This is what Simon was contemplating in his own mind, silently. The Pharisees above all saw
themselves as separated from sinners; they spent much time in ceremonial cleansings, in their religious
zeal.

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And here was Jesus, allowing a woman who had sinned so very much, to touch Him. To Simon, Jesus
couldnt be a true prophet, or He would know what a sinner this woman was, and never allow her to touch
Him. In this, we see Simons unbelief.
Well, Jesus did indeed know what a sinner this woman was - and whats more, He knew what a sinner
Simon was - a religious hypocrite. And as a prophet, Jesus knew exactly what Simon was thinking.
There was only one thing that wasnt known - Simon didnt know his own heart. So Jesus told Simon a
story, so that he could see his heart.
v. 40-43 Now, I know were getting involved in the account, but consider first Jesus use of the word
judge, here. Is Jesus using the word in terms of condemnation? No; Simon discerned the truth in the
story, and then he made a right judgment, a decision concerning it; and Jesus said Simon had rightly
judged. This is the way we have seen that Paul is using the word, concerning judgments in the assembly.
Would you like to finish the account? Of course!
v. 44-50 The things that Jesus mentioned - the washing of the feet, the kiss, the anointing of the head with
oil - were conventional courtesies, extended to a guest. Simon provided none of these, for Jesus - perhaps
an oversight, but possibly, a deliberate dishonoring of Jesus.
But what about the woman? She honored Jesus with more than the conventional courtesy, didnt she?
Washing with tears; kissing His feet; perfumed oil.
Now Jesus is not saying the woman was forgiven, because of her actions, or because she loved much; we
see in verse 50 it was what that saved her? Her faith.
But having believed into Jesus to come to Him; having experienced the depth of His forgiveness for her
sins, the womans heart welled up and overflowed with her love, for Jesus. Her love for Him was more,
because she had been forgiven more - like the one who owed the greater debt, in the story.
Did Simon represent the other debtor in the story? Only in the sense that he would see himself as the one
who owed less debt - after all, as a Pharisee, Simon felt he towed the line. But like the woman, he could
only be forgiven whatever he owed if he was willing to come to Jesus and humble himself, putting all his
trust in Him.
[Return to First Corinthians 6]
So having considered this example of discerning judgment used in decision-making, we see that Paul is
bringing up with the Corinthian believers another case reported to him where they are failing to use such
judgment in their assemblies - as they are supposed to be. It concerns what Paul calls going to law - in
this context, this means to bring something for judgment. Lets read the first verse again.
v. 1 Now, Paul is not using dare in the sense of boldness here - as in, Oh, youre so daring! The
implication is audacity - How dare you! - or, using his word in verse 5, Shame on you! You can tell
that Paul is indignant, here.
What is he so incensed about? The Corinthian believers are taking matters against one another to be judged
by the unrighteous - in other words, they are bringing lawsuits against each other, to be decided by the
civil authorities.

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Now in our day, we might be inclined to think, Why would Paul have such an issue with that? After all,
we are part of a litigious society, where everyone sues everyone for everything.
And perhaps we might remember from the account in Acts that even Paul himself took recourse through the
legal system, and on more than one occasion. Remember when Paul challenged the legality of his beating
and imprisonment in Philippi (Acts 16:35-39)? And when Paul appealed the case the Jews made against
him to Caesar (Acts 25:10-11)?
We need to be careful to keep what Paul is saying within the context of the passage. First of all, Paul is
speaking of cases where two believers are involved, one taking action against another - as we see in verse
6. In both cases where Paul sought legal recourse, it was due to his persecution at the hands of unbelievers.
Secondly, Paul is speaking here of what we would call a civil suit, not a criminal suit. The case has to do
with some kind of fraud - one believer allegedly cheating another believer out of some money or property
(v. 7-8). It is not a crime against the state and society, but a dispute between individuals; a private matter.
And as such, it could be settled privately.
But before we consider how that should be done, lets understand that, like Paul, there are times when the
believer can and should take recourse through the legal system - the law of the land, where he lives. The
believer is a citizen of his country; and he is commanded by God to obey the laws of that country (Rm
13:1-7; 1 Tim 2:1-4; 1 Pet 2:11-17).
Those same laws serve to protect him from the wrongdoing of others. Now - unbelievers dont
acknowledge Gods authority, and they are entirely capable of committing heinous crimes and injuring
others, in various ways. The believer is free to pursue legal recourse when he suffers such wrong at the
hands of an unbeliever - when and if the Lord directs him to do so.
That all pertains to the believers citizenship, on earth. But meanwhile, the believer has a dual citizenship;
our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20). There may be times when an earthly court is in conflict with the
heavenly court - as in the case of when the law of the land is a distinct violation of Gods will. What does
the believer do, in such a case? He follows the will of God - the higher court.
Now, there is one law that is always in effect in the heavenly court; do you know what law that is? Its the
royal law of love (James 2:8). Love always rules, in the kingdom of God. And what Paul is so incensed
about is the lack of love, among the believers in Corinth - which has caused them to take this action against
one another, through the legal system - in which unbelievers will hear the case.
But what is of even greater concern to Paul is that the matter is not being heard by those who should hear
it. Who is that? At the end of verse 1 - the saints. Paul has deliberately chosen this term for its strong
contrast to the unrighteous. The Corinthian believers are having their disputes settled by unrighteous men,
instead of the sanctified ones, who have been set apart to God through the righteousness of Christ.
Now, why would they do that? First of all, that is what they are used to doing; that is what they have
always done - as men in the flesh. But as Paul goes on, we understand that its not just a problem with the
individuals, who have the dispute; the problem concerns their church, as a whole.

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v. 2 Paul will eventually address the individuals in this case, which well look at eventually. But what we
recognize from this verse and the next is that Paul sees this primarily as a failure of the believers in Corinth,
collectively; of them, as a church. What is their failure? That they are not judging these matters - as they
should be; these disputes, between believers in the church - what Paul calls the smallest matters, here the idea is that these things are trivial.
The fact that these matters are trivial suggests that perhaps there shouldnt even be disputes, over such
matters - theyre not worth contending over. That speaks to the individuals, who are having the dispute.
But more importantly, the fact that the disputes are trivial suggests that they could be easily settled. And
who should be settling them? The believing members of the church in Corinth - obviously, were speaking
of believers who are uninvolved, in the given dispute.
As always, Paul puts it in perspective for them - what perspective? The eternal perspective. Paul asks the
believers in Corinth, rhetorically, Do you not know? - that is, Dont you have an understanding of this?
And what is it that they should understand - but apparently, dont? That the saints will judge the world.
Who are the saints? Them; the saints are the sanctified; all those who believe - including us. In context,
Paul is referring to the church; the Body of Christ.
What does Paul mean, that the saints will judge the world? We notice that this is in the future tense; so it
refers then to a future judgment.
Is Paul perhaps referring to the judgment of condemnation, at the Great White Throne? The world of
unrighteous men will certainly be judged at that time. And who will be their Judge? Jesus. Jesus said that
the Father has given Him authority to execute judgment (Jn 5:27). Will the church in some way participate
in that judgment?
Lets take a look at Revelation chapter 20, where we see that judgment described by John.
[Revelation chapter 20:11] Who is sitting on this great white throne? Jesus; the Son, to whom all judgment
was committed by the Father (Jn 5:22). Here is the Judge of all the earth - of all the beings of humanity who will do right (Gen 18:25).
The Son is seated to render His judgment. And John says that from the face of that Judge, the earth and the
heaven fled away - past tense. What does John mean? That having fled, they dont have to face this Judge;
for the finding of the Judge had previously been that theres no place for them, at this judgment.
When does this judgment take place? At the end of the 1000-year reign of Christ, on the earth. By that
time, all men who then are in heaven and those who then remain on earth had, at some point, fled to Jesus
as their refuge (Heb 6:18) - and in receiving His righteousness, they were delivered from the wrath of this
judgment, through Him (Rm 5:9).
The church had long ago been received in glory by her Bridegroom, and taken to her heavenly home.
Those who are still on the earth had been invited into Christs Kingdom there, and had received Jesus as
their Lord; the rebels having been put to death. So by then, both heaven and earth are filled with glorified
sons of God - and with them only - in fulfillment of the plan of God.

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By this time, all of these sons had already been judged in Christ, in whom they have been made the
righteousness of God; therefore, they have been acquitted of all charges of sin. They will therefore not be
present, at this judgment; no place is found for them there. Only those who never believed will be present;
it is they who will have to face Jesus as this Judge.
Since the church will therefore not be present at this judgment, it is hard to see how our passage in
Corinthians could mean that they would in any way participate in rendering this judgment.
So in what sense might Paul mean that the saints will judge the world? Remember that Paul is citing this as
a reason why the Corinthians should be capable of rendering their own judgments, over their small matters.
And what kind of judgments was Paul talking about? The discernment to make righteous decisions, in their
assemblies. We would expect that what Paul is citing in our passage would pertain to a similar kind of
judgment.
So do we see that the church will be involved in this kind of judgment, in the future - to make righteous
decisions? We do.
We have just looked at the end of the thousand year reign of Christ. But in this same chapter, John was
given to see how that reign began - following the campaign of the Great Day of God Almighty (Rev 16:14);
following the defeat of all the enemies of God and His Christ.
The beast and the false prophet were cast alive into the Lake of Fire (Rev 19:20), and the dragon, that
serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, was bound and cast into the pit of the abyss for a thousand years
- that he should deceive the nations no more, until the reign of Christ on the earth was complete (Rev 20:3).
In Revelation 20:4 John wrote, And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to
them. Who are they? John doesnt say, here, because the occupants of these thrones have already been
mentioned by him many times in the Revelation.
Turn to Revelation chapter 4. This is where John first makes mention of them on their thrones; when he is
first caught up to heaven, and begins to see the revelation, which is signified to him (Rev 1:1); that is, it is
given in signs and symbols that John would understand, from his knowledge of the pictures and symbols in
the OT Scriptures.
[Revelation 4:1-4]
v. 1-2a In the tabernacle, only the priests were permitted to pass through the door, into the Holy Place.
Keep this in mind. Here we read of a voice like a trumpet calling John up to heaven through an open door;
and immediately, he is in the Spirit.
In this way, John becomes part of what will be signified to him. He himself becomes a picture of the
church being caught up to heaven, hearkening to the voice of their Lord - and changing in the twinkling of
an eye into their glorified bodies of spirit-life (1 Th 4:13-17, 1 Cor 15:51-54).
v. 2b-3 Who is the One seated on this throne? Its Jesus - seen here as the King-Priest, after the order of
Melchizedek. He is enthroned in glory. And He is surrounded by a rainbow that looked like an emerald green, the color that symbolizes life.

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v. 4 So what was this to signify, to John? Who are these twenty-four elders? The imagery goes back to the
days of the monarchy in Israel. By that time, there were many more priests than were needed for daily
service in the temple, so the LORD had David establish twenty-four divisions of the priesthood, which
worked in rotation in the temple (1 Chr 23-24, 28:11-13).
The twenty-four elders here, then, represent the priesthood; not the Levitical priesthood, but the royal
priesthood (1 Pet 1:9); the Body of Christ. John wrote to the seven churches in Asia that through His
sacrifice for us, Jesus has made us as a kingdom of priests to His God and Father (Rev 1:6).
The 24 elders on the thrones represent this entire kingdom of priests, the true church - a rainbow of Life (v.
3) - from every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Rev 5:9). They surround their High Priest and
King, Jesus.
They have been crowned with the glory of His eternal Life; they have been clothed with a forever-living
body of glory. And whenever we encounter them in the Revelation, they are filled with worship and songs
of praise for the One who shared His Life with them (4:10-11 What is the service of priests toward God?
Worship.
Their presence in heaven is noted here by John, just before the storm of Gods judgment breaks upon the
earth. In this, we see that Jesus has kept His word: to keep them from the hour of trial, which was coming
upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth (Rev 3:10).
Turn now to Revelation chapter 5. No one was found worthy to open and read the scroll that contained the
judgment of God, on the earth. But then John beheld the One who was worthy - He who had prevailed the Lamb who was slain. And the twenty-four elders sing a new song of praise to Him.
[Revelation 5:9-10] In verse 10, the oldest manuscripts have a kingdom of priests. Here we see that the
true church, those who were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, have received their inheritance in the
kingdom of God as joint heirs with Christ (Rm 8:17) - the heir of all things (Heb 1:2).
Having endured, they shall also reign with Him (2 Tim 2:12) - notice reigning is still spoken of as future,
here. The word on which follows reign can also be translated over. Together with Christ, the church
will reign not on, but over the earth - from the New Jerusalem, which is the home of the Bride, the Lambs
wife (Rev 21:2, 9-10).
In Revelation chapter 11, the twenty-four elders are again seen, praising Jesus as He takes His great power
to reign over the earth (Rev 11:17-18). And again in chapter 19, the twenty-four elders rejoice for Jesus as
the remnant of Israel receives Him as her King, uniting herself with Jesus for His thousand-year rule over
the earth (Rev 19:1-8). The regenerate nation of Israel will be the head nation on the earth during the
Kingdom age.
And it is at the beginning of that reign that judgment is committed to those who sat on the thrones, in
heaven. This is when the church will be invested with the power to make decisions, over the earthly realm as the bride of the Lamb.
In the messages to the seven churches, two particular promises were made concerning this, to the
overcomers - to those who persevered, showing the reality of their faith in Christ.
To the church in Thyatira, Jesus said the true church will be given power over the nations - the earthy realm
(Rev 2:26). As the bride of the Lamb, the church will administrate through His authority over the earth.

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To the church in Laodicea, Jesus said that the church will be granted to sit with Him on His throne (Rev
3:21), in the New Jerusalem - another emblem of the sharing of His authority.
A few weeks ago, we visited a passage in Matthew in which Jesus told His disciples about this. Turn to
Matthew chapter 19. This was the response of Jesus, when Peter and the disciples were seeking assurance
from Him, that they would be part of His kingdom.
[Matthew 19:28] Following the regeneration - the cleansing of heaven and earth during the Tribulation Jesus will take His rightful place as ruler over the nations.
You who have followed Me refers not only to the apostles, but to all who followed Jesus as they did - the
true church. In Scripture, twelve is the number of government. The church will administrate over the
earth, Jesus mentioning particularly here over the ruling nation on earth, Israel.
It is in this way that the saints will judge the world; through implementing wise judgments concerning its
affairs, during the kingdom age. The church will be given responsibility over the earth for discerning what
is right, and seeing that it is done; for determining what is needed, and seeing to it that those needs are met.
The bride will be ensuring that the will of her Husband is being carried out; and having learned His ways
while still on earth, she will be capable of such responsibility; some believers more than others (Lk 19:1219). It is in this sense that the church will rule. They will rule by serving; just as their Lord had served
them (Luke 22:24-27).
Reading: Heb 1; 2:1-15; Eph 6:10-13; Gal 5:19-21.