1co01

7. Disorder in the church II: Lawsuits (1Co 6:1-11)

Explanation

Context: Following the command that the church is to judge sinners inside, Paul discusses another related problem about judgment: believers should handle (judge) disputes within their own church.

Apparently one brother (the offender) had defrauded another (the victim) (v.7). To redress his grievances, the victim took the offender before the civil magistrates at the judgment seat which was publicly located in the heart of the marketplace (Ac 18:12-17). This action totally destroys the witness of the church before the world (v.6).
6:1-6 Paul attributes the failure of the two men as mostly a failure of the church to be the church.

6:7-11 Paul briefly addresses the victim (v.7) and warns the offender (v.8-10), but the threat is followed by a word of assurance (v.11).

As in chapter 5, the stronger rebuke is aimed at the church for allowing such a thing to happen. Thus the entire passage is written in the second person plural.

6:1
"ungodly" = unrighteous in contrast to the believers who were justified; beginning of a series of rhetorical questions that express Paul's horror

6:2
The absurdity is: the saints will someday judge the very world before whom they are now appearing and asking for a judgment; "trivial cases": lawsuits in the present age are trivial (add up to zero) when compared to the eschatological judgment.

6:3
angels = the fallen angels (2Pe 2:4, Jude 6); "the things of this life" means "mere matters of business" which we should be able to handle

6:4
Two possible meanings: (a) appoint those of little account in the church as judges; the difficulty of this interpretation is Paul's use of such pejorative language--even in irony--to speak of fellow believers. (b) "If therefore you have such business disputes, how can you entrust jurisdiction to outsiders, men who count for nothing in the church?"

Alternative translation (v.3-4): "In light of our existence in Christ and our participation in the eschatological judgments, how can one care about such trifling matters in the first place, and in any case how can one bring them before those who have no standing in the church and therefore will not have a share in those judgments?"

6:5
In a church full of pride and arrogance where "wisdom" was a watchword, Paul shames them for the lack of wisdom.

6:7
"Already" (i.e., whatever the result of the lawsuit) it is altogether a defeat to you.

If the victim endures the loss, he would have truly won. Paul regularly encourages that one not return evil for evil (1Th 5:15, Ro 12:17) as a manifestation of carrying the cross.

"cheated" = defrauding; suggests that some kind of property or business dealing is the problem.

6:8
You (plural, the church as a whole) have greed and fraud going on in your own midst.

6:9
Paul warns the whole church, not only the offender who did wrong, that if they persist in the same evils as "the wicked" they are in the same danger of not inheriting the kingdom.

The warning is real; the persistent and unrepentent sinners will not inherit the kingdom.

Paul defines "the wicked" in terms of the 10 sins:

six sins from 5:10-11 including sexually immoral, idolaters, the greedy, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers; plus thieves,
adulterers (married persons having sexual relations outside marriage),
male prostitutes (the younger, passive partner in a homosexual relationship common in the Roman world where the young men sold themselves as mistresses),
homosexual offenders (the older active partner in a homosexual relationship).

6:11
Paul invites them to change their behaviour by reminding them that they do indeed belong to God. "Therefore, live out this new life in Christ and stop being like the wicked."

3 verbs as metaphors of salvation:

washed from the filth of their former lifestyles expressed in the sin list above ("washed" does not mean baptized; this word is not used elsewhere in the NT to denote baptism);
sanctified, set apart by God for holy, godly living in contrast to their former wickedness;
justified, right with God that they may inherit the kingdom

Discussion

How can the church help in settling legal problems or disagreements between Christians?

The church can set up a mechanism for binding arbitration in which both parties must agree in writing to abide by the decision of the person(s) appointed by the church.

Does Paul preach a gospel of works (salvation from good works)?

No, Paul only teaches salvation by faith. For Paul, accepting salvation would result in a new life (2Co 5:17). The behaviour of a believer will show evidences of this new life, i.e., salvation leads to good works, not vice versa. To accept salvation yet behave like non-believers is impossible.

Can a born-again Christian fail to inherit the kingdom of God?

The warning texts in Paul must be taken with real seriousness. There are two possible explanations:

(a) those those persistently sin are not real believers, or

(b) believers lose their salvation by sinning persistently (Mt 12:31, Mk 3:29, Heb 6:4-6, 1Jn 5:16-18; see also Jn 10:28-29 on eternal security).

Application

Christians should not take disagreements to unbelievers in secular courts because:

(a) If the judge and jury are not Christians, they are not likely to be sensitive to Christian values.
(b) The basis for going to court is often revenge; this should never be a Christian's motive.
(c) Lawsuits make the church look bad, causing unbelievers to focus on the problems rather than on the purpose of the church.

Minor problems among individuals in the church are often reflections of a greater problem of disunity and lack of maturity for the whole church. Don't minimize small problems because the church as a whole is often responsible.