1 Corinthians 6:1-11

1 Cor. 6 continues a theme from the previous chapter.  The common idea is sin in the church.  In Ch. 5 it involved a failure to judge a member for unrepentant immorality.  In Ch. 6:1-11 there is a failure to judge church members with legal differences.  It would be difficult for the Corinthian church to do this given the divisions mentioned in Ch. 1-4.  They needed to gather together (5:4) and judge between brethren (6:5), a unity that was difficult with such contention.  

Furthermore, you will notice the term judge twice in the preceding paragraph.  In 5:12-13 Paul reminds the church of its responsibility to judge those who are inside.  In 6:5 the word is essentially the same, though with a prefix so this term means to judge between.  But the concept is the same: to make a distinction.  

Many Christians object to this, quoting Matt. 7:1, Judge not, that you be not judged; or Paul’s words in 1 Cor. 4:5, judge nothing before the time.  Others might point out 1 Cor. 5:13 which says those who are outside (unbelievers) God judges and yet 6:2 says the saints will judge the world.  Does this seem confusing?  It is not IF we simply pay attention to context.

The Bible says we have responsibilities both ways.  Jesus in Matthew 7 dealt with hypocrisy, the sin of judging others for sins that we tolerate in ourselves.  A judge must have personal integrity (e.g. 2 Chron. 19:4-11).  And in 1 Cor. 4:1-5 Paul’s concern was not with immorality or sin of some sort.  It had to do with the judgment of the various teachers.  They were all doing the Lord’s work but in different ways and situations.  Whether they were faithful would be for the Lord to decide when He comes.

But unrepentant sin is clearly a concern for the Body.  What is at stake is our worship of Christ, our Passover sacrifice (5:7).  The unrepentant sinner worships with malice and wickedness.  That is why Paul says: we are to judge ourselves, in the Body, and not those outside.  May I say it is interesting that we often complain about the sinfulness of the world, where it is expected, and yet overlook the same sins in the Body.

In today’s passage Paul notes that in the future, when God judges those outside, He will do it through His Son and those who reign with Him.  We are those who reign with Him!  The point is: if we have that role in the future, how is it that we cannot use our godly wisdom to judge among ourselves now?  Why take our differences as brothers to the judges of this world?  If we cannot settle them among ourselves it would be far better to simply let it go, suffer the loss, and be cheated, rather than dishonor Christ by taking it before the world.  

The passage ends in such a profound way by reminding the Corinthians of the change brought about in their lives by Christ.  This is our testimony to the world.  Inability to come together and deal with sin in the Body results in presenting the world with a false Christ!  Let us hear and obey the Lord in this matter.