Lessons #61 and 62
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Paul’s preaching involves speaking of spiritual things (1 Cor 2:13-16)
13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: 16“For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
The third statement that we will state shortly is contrary to the second because of a Greek sign post at the beginning of verse 15 that enables us to recognize almost immediately, that what the apostle writes next contrasts with what he stated in the previous verse. Of course, the Greek sign post consists of a Greek particle (de) that is a second word of the Greek sentence since it is usually not the first word at the beginning of a verse or at the beginning of a new sentence in the Greek. The Greek particle in question is normally used to connect one clause to another, either to express contrast or simple continuation. When it is used as a marker connecting a series of closely related data or lines of narrative, it may be translated “and, as for.” It can be used as a marker of explanation of what precedes and so may be translated “that is, namely” but if it is used as a marker linking narrative segments, it may be translated “now, then, and, so.” When the particle is used as a marker of contrast between clauses, it may mean “but, on the other hand.” However, in certain contexts, the particle may be left untranslated. This may be the case when it is used in the Greek to resume a narrative that has been interrupted. Anyway, majority of our English versions did not translate the particle at the beginning of verse 15 probably because the content of the verse leaves no doubt that it states what is contrary to the previous verse, but a handful translated it either with the word “but” or “now.” It is better to translate it with the conjunction “but” to indicate to the English reader that what follows contrasts from what precedes it. With this explanation we proceed to consider the third statement.
A third statement is that You are spiritually matured if you can discern or judge spiritual truths when they are communicated. This statement is not that easy to perceive because the first sentence of verse 15 reads The spiritual man makes judgments about all things. However, as we consider the interpretation of verses 15 and 16 it would become clearer that the one who can discern spiritual truths when they are communicated is spiritually matured or spiritual person in the sense of being under the control of the Spirit.
We indicated that verse 15 contrasts with verse 14 because of the Greek word that means “but” which is not translated in the NIV. However, that is not the only indicator of contrast between the two verses. In verse 14, the apostle used a Greek word that literally translates “unspiritual” or in the words of the NIV man without the Spirit. In verse 15, the apostle used the word “spiritual” or in the NIV the spiritual man that contrasts the word “unspiritual” of verse 14. By the way, the word “man” does not appear in the Greek since the Greek literally reads the spiritual that the translators of the NIV probably because of the use of the Greek word that literally means “man” in verse 14 and because the apostle used the masculine form of the Greek article added the word “man” so they have the spiritual man instead of the literal Greek the spiritual. The word “spiritual” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (pneumatikos) that as an adjective pertains to being derived from or being about the Spirit or it pertains to the spiritual nature or being of a person, hence means “spiritual, from the Spirit, of the spirit, on a spiritual basis, in a spiritual manner.” The adjective is usually used to describe impersonal things. It is used of divine gift in Romans 1:11:
I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—
It is used of resurrection body in 1 Corinthians 15:44:
it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
The word is used of songs that should be sung by Christians in Colossians 3:16:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
When the word is used as a noun, as it is used in 1 Corinthians 2:15, it refers to spiritual things or matters. Therefore, the word is used for the preaching of the gospel by Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:11:
If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?
The clause If we have sown spiritual seed among you is literally from the Greek If we have sown spiritual things among you. Spiritual things here would refer to the preaching of the gospel and teaching of God’s word. The word used as a noun may refer to “spirit-filled” persons as that is the sense of the word in Apostle Paul’s use of it in the instruction that concerns restoration ministry directed towards believers who have sinned, as recorded in Galatians 6:1:
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
The Greek word may pertain to evil spirits or supernatural forces as Apostle Paul used it in Ephesians 6:12:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 2:15, it is used of a person characterized by the presence of the Holy Spirit in that the person is controlled or filled of the Spirit and of a Christian who is spiritually matured. In effect, the apostle is not merely concerned with a believer that is controlled by the Holy Spirit but that believer who is spiritually matured. This should not surprise us if we recall that the apostle had indicated that his teaching of truth is directed to the matured in 1 Corinthians 2:6:
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
If, as we believe, the apostle described the matured believer that is controlled by the Holy Spirit or Spirit-filled person, then the contrast between verse 14 and verse 15 is concerned not only with spiritual condition but spiritual status. In effect, the contrast is not concerned merely with believer and unbeliever but a person’s relationship with the Holy Spirit. Thus, we are correct in applying the truth stated in verse 14 to the believer regarding the unspiritual person’s refusal to accept spiritual truths. We are saying that we are correct to state that a believer not controlled by the Holy Spirit, like the unbeliever, does not accept spiritual truths. That aside, the apostle is concerned with the spiritually matured believer that is controlled by the Holy Spirit in verse 15 in the phrase of the NIV The spiritual man.
The spiritually matured believer under the control of the Holy Spirit is known by the ability to discern or discriminate spiritual truth from what is not. It is this characteristic that is given in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 2:15 makes judgments about all things. This phrase implies judging something and so may seem to be contradictory to what the Lord Jesus taught about not judging in Luke 6:37:
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
We are saying that a person could argue that what Apostle Paul describes about the spiritually matured individual contradicts the idea of not judging that our Lord prohibits. But it is not. We can demonstrate this by first considering what our Lord meant in this passage in Luke and by examining the expression “makes judgments” of the passage we are studying. To begin with, we should understand that the Lord Jesus does not mean that you could not think critically, express opinion or make a conclusion about the rightness or wrongness of a given action. You see, there are many who do not want others to point to them that their action is wrong, so if you do then they quote this passage to you and say something like “does not the Bible say you should not judge.” Of course, they ignore that love involves helping to prevent what will eventually hurt a person. In effect, they mean that if you indicate that their action is wrong then you must be judging them when you are trying to prevent the person from harming himself by pointing to him his wrongdoing that has the potential of bringing harm to him. You are being kind to that individual as implied in Psalm 141:5:
Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness; let him rebuke me — it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it. Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers;
So, pointing out a failure to someone, which is really some form of rebuke, is good. Certainly, that is not what Jesus means here for if that was the case we would have a conflict in the teachings of the NT. For example, Jesus instructed believers should watch out for the false prophets in Matthew 7:15:
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
To obey this command requires that a person should have an informed opinion based on truth so that he could judge a prophet to be true or false. Furthermore, not judging others does not mean that a person should not evaluate others either as a supervisor in a work place or even as a judge or jury in a legal situation. No! There is nothing wrong in evaluating others based on a set of criteria. For example, a local church is to accept or reject a person as a pastor based on certain criteria given in the third chapter of the first epistle of Apostle Paul to Timothy. In doing this, the congregation would be evaluating the individual to see how he satisfies the standard given in God’s word. So, there is nothing wrong in evaluating others but only that if you are to do so, you must do it honestly and truthfully. There is also the fact that believers are expected to judge in the sense of settling of dispute within believers as in 1 Corinthians 6:2:
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?
These aside, what Jesus forbade is that we should not look down on others to express bad opinions of them based on a relative standard. It is focusing on the faults of others harshly as to attempt to tear them down that Jesus is prohibiting. Of course, we should be careful that if when we point to things that are wrong in the conduct of a person that we ourselves are not guilty of the same thing as in Romans 2:1:
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
In any event, the teaching of the Lord Jesus in Luke 6:37 does not contradict what Apostle Paul wrote in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 2:15 makes judgments about all things. We stated we can demonstrate that what Apostle Paul wrote in the verbal phrase makes judgments about all things does not contradict the teaching of our Lord Jesus in Luke 6:37 in two ways; first by considering what our Lord meant in Luke 6:37 and then by examining the expression “makes judgments” of the passage we are studying. We have considered what our Lord taught and so we need to consider the expression “makes judgments.”
The expression “makes judgment” is translated from a Greek word (anakrinō) that may mean to conduct a judicial hearing hence “to hear a case, question.” It is in this sense that the word is used to indicate the hearing of the charges brought against Jesus by the Jews, as recorded in Luke 23:14:
and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him.
The word may mean “to examine, question” in the sense of engagement in careful study of an issue or question. It is with the meaning “to examine” that the word is used to describe the Bereans who studied the Scripture carefully to determine the truth regarding what Apostle Paul preached, as stated in Acts 17:11:
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
It is with the meaning “to question” the word is used in the instruction to Corinthians regarding meat sold in the market in 1 Corinthians 10:25:
Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,
The verbal phrase without raising questions is literally questioning nothing. The word may mean to make a judgment based on careful and detailed information or even to examine with a view to find fault hence means “to judge carefully, to call to account, to discern.” It in this sense that the word is by the apostle to describe the effect of prophesying in a local worship on a sinner who comes into their worship but has his sinful conduct exposed as implied in 1 Corinthians 14:24:
But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all,
In this verse “be judged by all” means “be condemned by all.” It is in the sense of forming a critical opinion of something by examination or scrutiny, that is, to evaluate or to judge or discern that the word is used in 1 Corinthians 2:15. The spiritually matured individual under the control of the Holy Spirit is characterized by this ability of discernment or careful examination since the apostle used a present tense for the word translated “makes judgment” in the NIV. The present tense is used here in the sense of habit that is associated with the matured believer controlled by the Holy Spirit.
Anyway, the object of the discernment or careful examination of the spiritually matured individual controlled by the Holy Spirit is described in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 2:15 about all things. The phrase all things is translated from a Greek word (pas) that means “all, every, each, whole” but in the Greek form used in our passage it means “all things, everything.” Quite often when we encounter the word “all” or “everything” most of us think in terms of absolute totality. Because of this I am compelled to repeat my lengthy comment not long ago about this problem because it creates difficulty for many in accepting specific teachings of the Scripture. For example, some people reject the doctrine of election because they say God is not willing for anyone to perish but wants everyone to come to repentance, as we read in 2 Peter 3:9:
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
The problem with using this passage to deny election is at least twofold. The first is with the word anyone translated from the plural of a Greek word (tis) that means “anyone, anything, someone; something, many a one or thing, any, some.” In the Greek text of 2 Peter 3:9, it is in the plural, so it is best to translate it “some” or “certain ones.” This interpretation is supported by the fact the translators of NIV translated the same plural Greek pronoun “some” in the clause as some understand slowness and so one wonders why they did not translate it “some” the second time the word appears. This interpretation of the Greek word used to mean “some” or “certain ones,” immediately reveals that those that will not perish are not humanity in general but “certain ones” or “some.” The second problem is with the word everyone that is translated from the same Greek word (pas) that we stated means “all, every, each, whole.” The context suggests that it should be translated “all” and not “everyone.” If this translation is followed, then it is easier to understand that “all” refers to the “some” or “certain ones” that God is not willing for them to perish but to repent. These certain ones are the elect to whom Apostle Peter mentioned in the beginning of his first epistle, that is, in 1 Peter 1:1–2:
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
The elect are those God is not willing to perish but to be saved for all the elect will be saved as implied in the reason Apostle Paul gives for his laboring to preach the gospel in different places in 2 Timothy 2:10:
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
The point we want to establish is that the Greek word translated “all” in the phrase all things in 1 Corinthians 2:15 should not always be taken in an absolute sense.
Be that as it may, the phrase all things is used in two major ways in the NT Scripture. When it is used in the absolute sense, it means “universe”, as in Ephesians 4:10:
He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
The verbal phrase in order to fill the whole universe is literally in order that he might fill all things. It is also in the sense of the “universe” that the word is used in the reconciliation that is achieved through the death of Christ on the cross in Colossians 1:20:
and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
The phrase all things, as we have indicated, here means here “universe.” When the phrase all things is used in a relative sense then it is the context that determines how it is to be interpreted. In some context, it may mean “everything.” It is in the sense of referring to all living creatures that the phrase is used in Apostle Paul’s preaching in Athens, as recorded in Acts 17:25:
And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
The phrase and everything else is literally and all things. The phrase may refer to the members of the body as in 1 Corinthians 12:19:
If they were all one part, where would the body be?
The clause If they were all one part is literally if the all were one member. The Greek phrase translated all things is used to describe humanity under sin in Galatians 3:22:
But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
The sentence the whole world is a prisoner of sin of the NIV is literally imprisoned the all under sin. The phrase all things may be used for summation of what precedes as Apostle Paul used it in Philippians 3:8:
What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
In this verse of Philippians 3:8, all things refer to the advantages the apostle mentioned in verses 4 through 6 and many more advantages that he had not listed in the passage. Thus, the context determines how the phrase all things is to be interpreted.
What then does the apostle mean in the phrase all things in 1 Corinthians 2:15? We should, of course, bear in mind that the phrase was used by the apostle in 1 Corinthians 2:10 as a reference to the “secret” of God mentioned in verse 7. Thus, whatever the apostle had in mind here, it is most likely he would include the concept of God’s secret that has been revealed through the preaching of the gospel so that within the context the phrase all things is confined to spiritual matters. This being the case, there are at least three things that are part of the phrase all things that a spiritually matured believer under the control of the Holy Spirit should carefully evaluate. A first thing is the teaching of the word of God. A spiritually matured believer under the control of the Holy Spirit should examine critically every teaching that is claimed to be the teaching of the word of God that the individual hears. This kind of critical evaluation of the teaching one received is what the Holy Spirit through Luke commended the Bereans in a passage we cited previously, that is, Acts 17:11:
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
The Bereans in view in this passage were Jews who lived in Berea since only the Jews had the OT Scripture although it is possible that some proselytes could be included. That aside, there is no indication that these Bereans were spiritually matured but what they are commended supports the truth that spiritually minded persons under the control of the Holy Spirit would evaluate critically whatever teaching they receive that purport to be the word of God. In case of the Bereans, they examined what they heard Apostle Paul preach about Jesus Christ. Notice that they did this daily not occasionally as in the verbal phrase examined the Scriptures every day. If the Bereans who probably were not spiritual matured examined critically the OT Scripture to verify the truthfulness of the preaching they heard from the apostle, then it stands to reason that a spiritually matured believer controlled by the Holy Spirit could do no less. Such a person should be devoted in daily and careful study of the Scripture to verify what the individual has been taught by one who claims to be teaching God’s word. The Bereans who examined the Scripture carefully, no doubt, discovered the truthfulness of the apostle’s preaching, resulting in their believing that what the apostle preached about Jesus as the Christ was indeed true. A spiritually matured believer controlled by the Holy Spirit would reach the right conclusion about the truthfulness of the word of God taught if that individual is devoted to the study of God’s word. Therefore, you should not be surprise that we keep asserting that spiritual growth does not take place without the kind of daily devotion to the word of God as we find even among the Bereans. Anyway, the point we are emphasizing is that one of the things a spiritually matured believer examines or evaluates critically is the teaching of the word of God. Such critical evaluation of what one has been taught enables the individual to find out the truthfulness of what has been taught. It is therefore not surprising that Apostle Paul indicates that proper, critical examination of what he taught would lead to the right conclusion regarding the truth of what he taught. Thus, he could tell the Corinthians that it is as they evaluate or examine critically what he taught that they would understand that what he taught concerning believers avoiding idolatry makes good sense, according to what is recorded in 1 Corinthians 10:14–16:
14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
It is the same careful examination of what is taught that the apostle meant when he implied that if the Ephesians carefully examined the epistle he wrote to them, then they would recognize the insight the Lord gave him regarding the secret teaching of God that shows the unity of Jews and Gentiles in one body of Christ in Ephesians 3:4–6:
4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Although the apostle did not explicitly state the importance of critical evaluation of what one heard taught, but this concept is one found in the Scripture. For example, the apostle expects believers to be able to recognize false teaching or what he described as doctrine of demons in 1 Timothy 4:1–3:
1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.
Apostle Peter implied that critical examination of the Scripture would enable a person to avoid distorting the Scripture when he spoke of those who because they are not schooled in the Scripture distort Apostle Paul’s doctrine, as stated in 2 Peter 3:16:
He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
Apostle John wrote about distinguishing true and false spirits and teachers in 1 John 4:1:
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
It is true that the passages we have cited from the three apostles we mentioned, did not directly use words that reflect careful examination of a teaching but that is implied. For any believer to be able to judge the truthfulness of anything requires a critical examination of what the person is facing. This could only be successful if the believer had been prepared through critical study of the word of God so that the person can critically weigh a teaching to ensure that it is in conformity with God’s truth. In any event, a first thing included in the phrase all things that requires critical examination by a mature believer is any teaching that is purported to be the teaching of the word of God.
A second thing that is part of the phrase all things that a spiritually matured believer controlled by the Holy Spirit should carefully evaluate is “self.” This may surprise you to hear that a matured believer controlled by the Holy Spirit should include self-examination as part of what requires critical examination, but it should not since the Scripture advocates this. In the OT Scripture, we read of the plea for self-examination of those in Judah in Lamentations 3:40:
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.
The Lamenter appealed to his people for self-examination of how they were conducting themselves since the phrase our ways refers to conduct. It is when the people examine critically their conduct would they recognize that they have gone astray and so will repent of their sins and return to the Lord. This aside, the Holy Spirit conveyed the same concept of self-examination through Apostle Paul. In writing to the Corinthians regarding the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, the apostle stated the importance of self-examination in 1 Corinthians 11:28:
A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
The self-examination involved here deals with the checking of a believer’s spiritual condition, that is, checking the presence or absence of sin in a person’s life as one approaches the table of the Lord’s Supper. Of course, the apostle indicates that failure to carry out this self-examination would lead to being judged by the Lord and consequent punishment, as implied in 1 Corinthians 11:31:
But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
The apostle referenced the same concept of self-examination in 2 Corinthians 13:5:
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
When the Holy Spirit through the apostle commands Examine yourselves, that is a command for self-examination. The self-examination stated is concerned with something specific as in the expression to see whether you are in the faith. A believer is to carry out self-examination to determine if the individual is in the faith. What does it mean to be in the faith anyway? The Greek word (pistis) translated “faith” reveals that there are three possible interpretations of the phrase in the faith in this passage. It could refer to living the Christian life. Thus, the self-examination would mean that the believer would critically determine if his/her conduct agrees with the teaching of the word of God. In effect, the believer who critically examines self is one that would determine if he/she is different from unbelievers. Such a person examines every aspect of his/her lifestyle to see if there is a difference between the person and unbelievers. Another meaning of the phrase in the faith is the doctrine of Christian faith. Thus, a believer should do thorough examination of self to determine if he/she is holding to the sound doctrine presented in the Scripture. Sound doctrine would include the true message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and all the other teachings of the Christian faith. Thus, a believer should continuously check if he/she is accepting Christian doctrine. Another meaning of the phrase in the faith is the act of personal trust and belief. This means that the believer should examine himself/herself to determine if he/she is trusting the Lord continuously. All these interpretations are applicable to the instruction of the Holy Spirit in the command of 2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. It is important to remember that “self-examination” is one of the most difficult things for us to do. We are saying that it is difficult for us to evaluate ourselves critically because it is usually a painful experience if we do so honestly. Therefore, most of us would not want to do so but if you are spiritually matured, controlled by the Holy Spirit you should be able to examine your life considering the Scripture to see how you measure up.
A third thing that is part of the phrase all things that a spiritually matured believer controlled by the Holy Spirit should carefully evaluate is “others.” I imagine that this is one of the easiest things for us to do. However, we should caution that in doing this we should be careful to distinguish critical judging of others as an activity a believer should be involved and slander. We are instructed to avoid slander, as we read in James 4:11:
Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.
This passage would imply that the spiritually matured, controlled by the Holy Spirit, should never examine critically another person but that is not the case once we distinguish between it and slander. A slander is a communication to another in which three factors are present. First, there would be some form of hostility or hatred on the part of the communicant. Second, the information given must be untrue. Third, the intention of the informant is to destroy the reputation of another. If any or all these three are involved in information that one supplies, then we have the case of slander. Now, we are to avoid slander, but we are still required to critically examine others in certain matters. For example, we are to critically examine disputes between believers, as we read in 1 Corinthians 6:1–5:
1If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4 Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! 5 I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?
The judging involved here requires critical evaluation of things and persons to determine what is right or wrong. But that is not the only case of judging where we should avoid slander; there is the judging of conduct of others that will enable the matured believer controlled by the Holy Spirit to discern who needs spiritual restoration. You see, if we are not to examine other people critically without slandering them then there is no way for us to carry out the command given in a passage we cited previously, that is, Galatians 6:1:
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
How can a spiritual believer determine that another is caught in sin? The answer is that there ought to be critical examination of another believer by the spiritual person otherwise there is no way to judge a person to be caught in sin. Thus, the spiritually mature believer controlled by the Holy Spirit evaluates others critically but avoids slander. In any event, the truth we have studied is that the spiritual matured believer under the control of the Holy Spirit is known by the ability to discern or discriminate spiritual truth from what is not. It is this characteristic that is given in the verbal phrase makes judgments about all things of 1 Corinthians 2:15.
07/27/18