1 Corinthians 6:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church?

NIV: Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church?

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

CSB: So if you have such matters, do you appoint as your judges those who have no standing in the church?

NLT: If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church?

KJV: If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.

NKJV: If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge?

Paul is addressing a group of Christians: the church in Corinth. He has identified a root problem for them, born out of their wealth and self-reliance. They are proud and arrogant. That has led them to become divided into factions and to ignore serious sin among them (1 Corinthians 1:11–12; 5:1–2).

Now Paul is addressing another result of their selfishness: in at least one case, a member of the congregation has taken another to a secular Roman court over a minor dispute. Paul has made clear that believers ought to be capable of settling such disputes within the church. There is no legitimate reason for brothers and sisters in Christ to submit minor issues to the judgment of unspiritual people (1 Corinthians 2:14–15). Instead of taking trivial matters to those who are not in Christ, such disputes ought to be settled "in-house" among fellow Christians. Paul will write in the following verse that the Corinthians should be ashamed of making this mistake.

Does this mean no Christian should ever sue another, for any reason? Some Bible teachers have reached this conclusion. Most, however, take Paul's reference to "trivial cases" (1 Corinthians 6:2) to imply that secular courts ought only be used as a last resort. In extreme cases, or where one party or the other is living in open rebellion against Christ, involvement of government and secular court might be justified.

Whatever the issue was in this civil case in Corinth, Paul insists that both parties and the rest of the church should have been able to resolve it together instead of taking it outside the church to pagan, un-spiritual Roman judges.

First Corinthians 6:1–11 details Paul's objections to Christians taking another to secular court over a minor issue. Believers will one day judge the world and angels. They should be able to judge small disputes amongst themselves. It would be better for a believer to be defrauded than to ask unbelievers to settle an argument between brothers in Christ. After all, unbelievers will not inherit God's kingdom. They are known by all the sins they do. Christians, though, have been cleansed from those sins and are now known only as belonging to Christ. This passage includes a passionate, powerful reminder that no person's sins are beyond Christ's power to forgive.

First Corinthians 6 continues Paul's confrontations of the Corinthian Christians over issues in the church. Earlier passages discussed problems of division into factions, and tolerance of heinous sexual sin. Paul is also outraged that they would take one another to court in a lawsuit over minor issues. Instead of suing each other before unbelievers, they should settle trivial issues in the church. Second, Paul urges them to live up to their new identities in Christ instead of living down to the sexually immoral standards of the culture. This sets up discussions of marriage in chapter 7.

Paul confronts two major issues happening in the church at Corinth. First, he is outraged that one of them has brought a lawsuit against a brother in Christ over a minor dispute. It is absurd to think that Christians—those who will judge the world and angels—cannot even judge a small matter between themselves. Second, Paul warns his readers to run from sexual immorality. Sex creates a powerful bond intended only for marriage. Since our bodies belong to and are part of Christ, we have no right to bring Him into a one-body union with someone to whom we're not married.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.