Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

Bird's-eye view

In this portion of his letter, Paul confronts a scandalous practice that had taken root in the Corinthian church: believers were taking other believers to be judged in pagan courts. This was not just a procedural error; it was a profound theological failure. It demonstrated a shocking lack of understanding concerning their identity, their future destiny, and the very nature of the church. Paul's rebuke is sharp and to the point. He argues from the greater to the lesser, reminding them of their high calling to judge the world and even angels, which makes their inability to handle earthly disputes all the more pathetic.

The apostle then drives the point deeper, showing that the very existence of such lawsuits is a sign of spiritual defeat. The Christian response to being wronged should be a willingness to be defrauded, not a rush to litigation. This flows from a kingdom perspective, which values gospel witness and brotherly love far above personal assets. Paul concludes this section with a stark warning. He lists a catalog of unrighteous behaviors that characterize those who will not inherit God's kingdom. This is not to say that any Christian who stumbles in these areas is lost, but rather that a lifestyle defined by such things is incompatible with salvation. He then offers a glorious reminder of the gospel's power: "And such were some of you." Their past was defined by these sins, but through Christ, they have been washed, sanctified, and justified. This new identity in Christ is the foundation for a new way of life, one that resolves conflicts internally and displays the righteousness of God to a watching world.

Outline

Context In 1 Corinthians

Paul is continuing his response to the reports he has received about the deep-seated problems in the Corinthian church. In chapter 5, he dealt with a case of gross sexual immorality that was being tolerated, even boasted of, within the congregation. He commanded them to exercise church discipline and expel the unrepentant man. This current passage on lawsuits is directly connected. Both issues reveal a church that has a worldly mindset, a failure to understand its own authority, and a disregard for the purity and reputation of the body of Christ.

The Corinthians were importing the litigious and honor-shame culture of their pagan surroundings directly into the church. Instead of living as a distinct counter-culture, a colony of heaven, they were simply mirroring the world's way of handling disputes. Paul's correction here is not just about legal procedure; it's about ecclesiology. It's about what the church is. It is a people set apart, indwelt by the Spirit, and destined for a glorious future of cosmic judgment. To drag a brother before a pagan judge is to deny all of this in practice.

Key Issues

Commentary

1 Does any one of you, when he has a case against another, dare to be tried before the unrighteous and not before the saints?

Paul opens with a tone of incredulous astonishment. The word "dare" is a challenge. How could you even think of doing this? The issue is not that Christians have disputes. We are still sinners, and conflicts will arise. The issue is where they take those disputes. To go "before the unrighteous" is to appeal to a system and a worldview that is fundamentally at odds with the kingdom of God. The pagan courts operated on principles of retribution, personal honor, and financial gain, not on principles of grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. To take a brother there was to publicly declare that the wisdom and resources of the church were insufficient. It was to air the family's dirty laundry in the town square for the amusement of those who hate our Father. The "saints" are the holy ones, those set apart by God. They are the proper court for believers.

2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not worthy to constitute the smallest law courts?

This is the first of three "do you not know" questions, a rhetorical device Paul uses to highlight basic Christian truths they should have already grasped. He grounds his argument in eschatology, in our future hope. Believers, united to Christ, will participate in the final judgment of the world. This is our destiny. This is the high calling we have in Him. So, Paul's logic is a classic argument from the greater to the lesser. If you are going to be entrusted with judging the entire world in its rebellion against God, are you seriously telling me you can't figure out a dispute over a leaky roof or a business deal gone sour? The "smallest law courts" are the everyday civil matters that were clogging up the pagan dockets. To be unworthy of these is to be utterly clueless about who you are in Christ.

3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?

Paul doubles down on his eschatological argument. Not only will we judge the world of men, but we will also judge angels, presumably the fallen angels who rebelled with Satan. This is a staggering thought. Our future authority in Christ is cosmic in scope. If that is our future, then how trivial, how utterly insignificant, are the "matters of this life" by comparison? The disputes that felt so all-important to the Corinthians, the ones they were willing to tear the church apart over, are put in their proper perspective. They are dust. To drag the name of Christ through the mud of a pagan court over matters of dust is a profound spiritual failure.

4 So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint those who are of no account in the church as judges?

This verse can be read as a question or an ironic command. Either way, the point is sharp. You have these earthly disputes, and who do you go to? You go to pagan judges who, from the perspective of the church, are "of no account." They have no spiritual standing, no wisdom from God, no part in the covenant. Paul might even be saying, with biting sarcasm, that it would be better to appoint the least esteemed person within the church to judge these matters than to go outside to the pagans. Even the simplest believer, filled with the Spirit, has more true wisdom for settling disputes between brothers than the most learned pagan magistrate.

5 I say this to your shame. Is it really this way: there is not one wise man among you who will be able to pass judgment between his brothers?

Paul now states his purpose directly: he wants to shame them. This is not a therapeutic, feel-good approach. It is a necessary pastoral rebuke. Their behavior was shameful, and they needed to feel the weight of it. He then asks another pointed question. In this church that prided itself on its wisdom and spiritual gifts, was there not a single person with enough common sense and spiritual discernment to mediate a dispute? It's a devastating indictment. For all their talk of wisdom, they were acting like utter fools. They were a family with no one mature enough to stop the children from fighting.

6 On the contrary, brother is tried with brother, and that before unbelievers!

Instead of finding a wise man within, what was happening? Brother was going to law against brother. The repetition of "brother" emphasizes the familial, covenantal nature of the relationship being violated. And the ultimate scandal is the venue: "and that before unbelievers!" This was a terrible witness. It told the watching world that the gospel of reconciliation had no real power. It showed that Christians were just as greedy, vindictive, and grasping as everyone else. The court case became a public spectacle of Christian failure.

7 Actually, then, it is already a failure for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?

Paul now goes to the heart of the matter. The problem isn't just where they are having the lawsuits, but that they are having them at all. The very existence of these lawsuits is an "utter defeat" (as some translations put it). It means the flesh has won a victory. Then he presents the radical, counter-cultural, cruciform solution. Why not just let it go? Why not choose to be wronged? Why not allow yourself to be cheated? This is the way of the cross. Jesus did not demand His rights; He laid them down. He was wronged and defrauded on a cosmic scale for our sake. To follow Him means being willing to suffer loss for the sake of peace, unity, and the witness of the gospel.

8 On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brothers.

But the Corinthians were doing the exact opposite. Far from being willing to be wronged, they were the ones doing the wronging and the defrauding. They were the aggressors. And the ultimate sting is that they were doing this to their own brothers in Christ. They were treating members of their own spiritual family, those for whom Christ died, as enemies to be conquered in a legal battle. This is a complete inversion of Christian ethics.

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,

Paul's third "do you not know" question broadens the scope from lawsuits to the entire pattern of life. The behavior of wronging and defrauding brothers is a characteristic of the unrighteous, and the unrighteous have no place in God's kingdom. He warns them, "Do not be deceived." This is a crucial warning because the world, and our own hearts, are constantly trying to deceive us into thinking that we can have Christ and our cherished sins. He then provides a representative list of sins that characterize an unregenerate life. It begins with sexual sins, which were rampant in Corinth: general sexual immorality (fornication), idolatry (which was often connected to sexual rites), adultery, and then two words referring to homosexual practice. These are not just isolated acts but patterns of life that define a person's identity apart from Christ.

10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

The list continues, moving into sins of appetite and acquisition. Thieves and the greedy (or covetous) are relevant to the lawsuit discussion, as greed is what drives a man to defraud his brother. Drunkards are those controlled by drink rather than the Spirit. Revilers are those who use their words to tear down and abuse others. Swindlers are those who take by extortion. The point of the list is not that a true Christian never stumbles into one of these sins. The point is that a life characterized by these things, a life of unrepentant practice, is proof that a person is not on the way to the kingdom. Such a lifestyle is fundamentally incompatible with the righteousness that God requires and provides.

11 And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

After the stark warning comes this glorious gospel sunrise. "And such were some of you." This is the past tense. This is who you were. Your identity was defined by that list of sins. But then comes a threefold declaration of what God has done. "You were washed," likely referring to the cleansing of baptism, which pictures our union with Christ. "You were sanctified," meaning you were set apart as holy to God. "You were justified," meaning you were declared righteous in God's sight. These three verbs describe the great salvation accomplished for them. And how did it happen? It was all "in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." It is a Trinitarian work. The authority is in the name of Jesus, and the power is from the Holy Spirit. This is their new identity. They are no longer defined by their sin, but by the saving work of God. And because this is who they are, they must now live like it, which includes settling their disputes in a way that honors their Lord and testifies to the power of His grace.