To Sue or Not?

One of the ways we describe our society today is as a litigious society. So many lawsuits, so many lawyers. Every day on TV or in social media we hear of lawsuits brought by others who seek to get court decisions favorable to them.

Just in the state of Oregon, the Oregon State Bar has 14,000 active lawyers registered by them. in 2023, there were a total 113,211 civil cases decided in the state, 371 in our county alone. That is just civil cases.

In the 1st century, the Greco-Roman culture abounded with lawsuits. The city of Athens, not that far from Corinth, was considered the lawsuit capital of Greece.

What Paul addresses here is the believers who were acting no different than their pagan neighbors in regard to real or perceived wrongs suffered, even among themselves

In chapter 5, Paul has chastised the Corinthians for failing to pass moral judgment on sexual perversion in their midst. They did not judge those they needed to judge for the sake of the holiness of the church. Here in chapter 6, when the Corinthian believers did judge one another, they turned to unbelieving judges, further compromising their holiness.

1. Remember your Identity in Christ, vs. 1-3.

Paul uses a series of rhetorical questions to make his point,; there are four in these first three verses:

question 1: “Does any one of you … dare to go to law before the unrighteous ...? (verse 1)

The case revolves around a dispute between brethren. Two believers would rather go to court and lay their case before an unbelieving judge rather than resolve the dispute between themselves or with the help of the saints. The Corinthians considered themselves wise, but in this they displayed foolishness.

question #2: Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? (verse 2)

“Saints” is our Christian identity, our true status before God.

question #3: Are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? (verse 2)

This is an “if-then” statement ending with the rhetorical question. The smallest” likely refers to trivial matters that should never have gone so far as to go to court, more what we might call civil disputes today. Paul is reminding these believers on the basis of their identity in Christ, they will judge the world after the resurrection of the dead. The saints (us) will reign with Christ as judges over both earthly and spiritual realms (verse 3)

Jude 14–15 NASB95

It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

Revelation 2:26–27 NASB95

‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father;

Revelation 3:21 NASB95

‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

Revelation 20:4 NASB95

Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Paul: “In light these truths, why are you having such trouble arbitrating the smallest issues of this world?

question #4: Do you not know that we will judge angels? (verse 3)

Paul argues here from the greater to the lesser; emphasizing the fact that in Christ we will have the the capabilities to judge the angels of God, so we certainly should be able to judge the matters of this life, our judgment being rooted in the values and virtues of our Christian faith.

2. Use God’s wisdom to settle disputes, 4-8.

In this next section, Paul questions why believers should have cases against other believers at all.

question #5: Do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? The values of the Christians faith, sourced in love and centered on grace do not match the values and virtues of the civil court, which simply follow the letter of the law without love nor grace. They do not walk in the Spirit, seek God’s perspective, weigh the temporal against the eternal, or look out for my interests as well as the interests of others. to the world, this is foolishness, 1 Cor. 2:14

1 Corinthians 2:14 NASB95

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

This is not an attack on human government. Government is a God-ordained institution empowered to promote law and justice in the world. Criminal cases are under the legitimate jurisdiction of of the state and government. but Paul is addressing those believers who have voluntarily brought civil suits against other believers before unbelievers. It might be compared to entering a writing contest with judges who do not know how to read!

This is an expression of continued surprise that there should be such quarrels and problems among themselves. To know that one day their position as saints who will one day judge the world and angels should surely remind them that they can make righteous and godly decisions right now.

The Corinthians were proud of their alleged wisdom, yet ...

question #6: Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man … ?

They should be able to decide between each other as brethren. For a community that prides itself on “knowledge” and “wisdom,” Paul has sarcastically revealed the true bankruptcy of such pride. This should indeed bring shame upon them, and Paul has no compunction as he insists upon this.

Outside observers might infer that the Christian leaders are fools who cannot handle even simple worldly matters. They have chosen the route of civil litigators, and from God’s perspective they have already lost. To the world, they have lost their testimony as an authentic Christian church. As a church, they have lost their holiness and unity.

question #7: Why not rather be wronged?

question 8: Why not rather be defrauded?

These two rhetorical questions suggest that it is better to be wronged and defrauded than be known as one who wrongs and defrauds others

Hear what Jesus said: Matthew 5:39-42

Matthew 5:39–42 NASB95

“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

These commands are tough to apply.

Like the Corinthians, our tendency is to stand up for our rights and fight for our reputation and possessions. Yet by doing so, we reflect the values of the world, not the values of our Savior nor His kingdom.

The church and Corinth has a least one member of the church, and perhaps more, who have actually gone to court. For Paul, that “saints” should do this to “saints,” given the reality of the future roles of the saints, is unbelievable.

3. Live out your Identity in Christ, 9-11.

Here Paul contrasts the values and lifestyles of unbelievers and believers;

question #9: Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Paul is not implying that the Corinthians might lose their salvation; but he is emphasizing that those who they are going to to decide matters between brethren who are unbelievers will not receive the inheritance that is theirs in Christ. They are outside the church, they are not “in Christ.”

Paul secondly warns them not to be deceived about their own status, indicating that it is possible to be deceived by relying on their (worldly) wisdom, which is foolishness before God, 1 Cor 3:19

1 Corinthians 3:19 NASB95

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness”;

Their lack of wisdom has led them to be worldly in their approach to all that is “unrighteousness.”

In two representative categories of “unrighteousness,” Paul Paul list behaviors that may be apparent among those who will not inherit the kingdom of God. Those categories are sins that are sexual in nature, and sins of ill-gotten gain.

Paul reminds them that some of them practiced such things in the past, but not now because their status is:

a washed people (made pure)

a holy people (set apart for God’s use)

a people judged righteous before God (set free from the power of sin)

This transformation is completed by the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, applied by the Spirit of our God. The Triune God is involved in the plan, and the effecting of the plan, to bring about a holy people for God.

These changes listed by Paul have taken place in the lives of these believers but they have to be worked out and lived out in each person’s life and in the life of the church as a whole. For a people who prided themselves in their wisdom and grace-gifts, Paul carefully reminds them of the work of the Spirit in bringing about their new status. It is by the Spirit that they have been changed. It is by the Spirit, who indwells them, that they now must live.