Lessons #163 and 164
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ 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. +
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Settlement of disputes among believers (1 Cor 6:1-11)
1If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints?2Do 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? 3Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! 5I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6But instead, one brother goes to law against another—and this in front of unbelievers! 7The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. 9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
The primary message of this section of 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 is that Disputes between believers in a local church should be settled by the church through carefully selected members. Because of this message, we stated and expounded in our last study the fundamental principle of handling disputes between believers in a local church, which is, that they should not be adjudicated by unbelievers but by believers. We continue with our exposition of this fundamental principle by considering the reasons for it.
Often in the Scripture, we find that God graciously provides us reasons for instructions or commands when in fact He does not have to do so since He is God that should be obeyed. Nonetheless, He graciously gives us reason for a given command or instruction. Take for example, when the Lord commanded Abraham not to be afraid, He gave him the reason of being his protector, as we read in Genesis 15:1:
After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
Take another example, when the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul commands us against taking revenge we are provided the reason, which is, that it is God’s responsibility to avenge wrongs done to us, as we read in Romans 12:19:
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
In these two examples, the reasons for the commands are provided after they were issued but it is also the case that sometimes the reason for the command may precede it. Take the example of the command for believers not to allow sin to dominate or rule them, as we read in Romans 6:12:
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
The conjunction therefore suggests that the command is because of something that was previously stated which is the reason for the command. In this case, part of the reason for the command for believers not to allow sin to rule or to dominate them is because they are in principle dead to sin and alive to Christ. This truth must become the abiding conviction of mind or heart for after all, believers are no longer what they used to be. It is because of this reason stated in verse 11 of Romans 6 that in verse 12 the apostle gave the command for us believers not to allow sin to rule over us. Of course, we do not mean that the Holy Spirit through the writers of the Scripture would always give reasons for the commands issued; for there are many instances in the Scripture where the Holy Spirit through the human authors would command us to do or not do certain things without stating the reason or without giving further explanation. Take, for example, the three commands in Ephesians 4:26–27:
26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
No reason is given in the immediate context for these commands. Thus, we have examples where commands are given without providing the reasons for them. In such cases, it is understood that we are to obey the command because of who God is. That said, we often find in the Scripture that God graciously provides reasons or explanations for a given instruction or command. This happened to be the situation in the instruction related to the fundamental principle of handling disputes between believers in a local church we stated, which is, that they should not be adjudicated by unbelievers but by believers. Following the implied instruction from which we developed this principle, the Holy Spirit gives us two reasons we should obey the instruction contained in the principle.
A first reason believers should not allow unbelievers to adjudicate legal disputes between believers Apostle Paul gives, is because believers will eventually judge unbelievers. It is this reason that is given in a first rhetorical question of 1 Corinthians 6:2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? Because this is a rhetorical question, it could be turned into a strong statement such as “I am certain that you are aware of the fact that...” as suggested in the UBS (United Bible Society) handbook of this passage.
The apostle used the formula Do you not know that...? that he used eleven times (out of the thirteen times of its occurrence in the NT) in the Greek of his epistles to Romans and Corinthians to teach or state what believers should know but did not. There seems to be three ways the apostle expected those to whom he used this formula to have known what he stated in the question. The first source of such knowledge is common observation in life. This was the case when he used the formula to convey that believers in Rome should have known from basic observation that a person is a slave to whom the individual obeys in Romans 6:16:
Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
It is from common observation that the apostle used it to indicate that the Corinthians should have known what fermented leaven or yeast does to a dough in 1 Corinthians 5:6:
Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?
Likewise, he expected the Corinthians to recognize that only one person is indeed a winner in a a specific athletic competition in 1 Corinthians 9:24:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
A second source of knowledge the apostle expected those that he used the formula Do you not know that...? to have is his teaching of truth to them. This seems to be the case when he expected the Corinthians to know that the Holy Spirit lives in them as in 1 Corinthians 3:16:
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
A third source of knowledge the apostle expected those that he used the formula Do you not know that...? to have is the OT Scripture. He expected the Corinthians to know from the OT Scriptures that those who preach the gospel should be supported through the preaching of the gospel as he referenced those who served in the altar in the OT as supported by what is given in the altar, as implied in what he stated in1 Corinthians 9:13:
Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar?
By the way, Apostle Paul is not the only one that used the formula Do you not know that...? in Greek NT. The first usage of the formula, according to Luke’s record, is the Lord Jesus, to address His earthly parents when they were looking for Him in Jerusalem thinking He was lost, as recorded in Luke 2:49:
“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”
It is probably that the Lord Jesus expected His earthly parents to have know this fact from their experience with Him growing up. They should have known that He is the Son of God from the nature of His birth and other things they heard from the angels that announced His birth. Anyway, another human writer of the Scripture that used the same formula that Apostle Paul used is James, according to James 4:4:
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
In any case, Apostle Paul’s usage of the formula Do you not know that...? in the passage we are studying is probably to be classified as being one of the cases the apostle expected the knowledge he stated to have been derived from his previous teaching to the Corinthians or from the OT Scripture as we will note shortly.
In any case, the fact the apostle wanted the Corinthians to recognize is that believers will judge unbelievers as in the question Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? This question contains the doctrinal truth that believers should recognize that they will judge the world in the future. As the apostle asked the rhetorical question, he expected that the knowledge of this truth is one that the Corinthians should have possessed by reflecting on some of the previous doctrines he taught them during the period he was with them. We say that this knowledge is to have been attained by reflection on what the apostle taught in the past to the Corinthians because of the word “know.” The word “know” is translated from a Greek word (oida) that may mean to grasp the meaning of something or to comprehend, that is, “to understand, recognize, come to know, experience” as the word is used to describe the question of the disciples regarding Jesus’ statement of how in a short period of time they would not see Him but will also see Him shortly after that in John 16:18:
They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
The sentence We don’t understand what he is saying is literally we don’t know what he is saying. The Greek word may mean “to remember, recollect” as Apostle Paul use it in deemphasizing his importance in water baptism in 1 Corinthians 1:16:
(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)
The Greek word may mean “to know” in the sense of having information about someone or something as Apostle Paul used the word to indicate that the Galatians, prior to their salvation, did not know the true God in Galatians 4:8:
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.
The Greek word may mean “to understand how, to learn how” as Apostle Paul used the word to convey the sense of learning how to control one’s sexual desire to avoid sexual immorality, as stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:4:
that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable,
The sentence each of you should learn to control his own body of the NIV is literally each of you know how to possess his own vessel. The Greek word may mean “to honor, respect” as in the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul regarding what is expected of believers relating to their spiritual leaders as stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:12:
Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you.
The verbal phrase to respect those who work hard among you is literally to know those laboring among you, which does not make much sense unless it is understood either to mean to respect or to honor such individuals since believers would have known such persons. The Greek word may mean “to know” in the sense of being intimately acquainted with or stand in close relationship to someone so that it is used to know God, not merely to know theoretically of God’s existence, but to have a positive relationship with Him as in the claim in Titus 1:16:
They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:2, the sense of the word is that of having knowledge about something, normally acquired through reflection or thinking on some information someone already possessed. For this to be the case, the apostle must have taught or provided information that will lead to the knowledge he expected them to have in the question Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?
It is likely the apostle taught the truth he expected them to know from OT Scriptures which the Jewish Christians should possibly have known. The source of the apostle’s teaching is probably what is given in the Septuagint of Daniel 7:22:
until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.
The verbal phrase pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High is translated in a version of the Septuagint as “judgment was given to the saints of the Most High.” This sentence in the Septuagint is subject to two interpretations. It could mean that the Ancient of days judged in favor of the saints or that the saints were given the right to judge. It is this alternative interpretation that the apostle could have taught the Corinthians. If that is the case then, his rhetorical question is a reminder of what is stated in the OT Scripture regarding the saints of the Most High.
The word “saints” is translated from the same Greek adjective (hagios) Apostle Paul used previosly in 1 Corinthians 6:1 that we indicated pertains to being dedicated or consecrated to the service of God and so means “dedicated to God, holy, sacred.” The word may pertain to being holy in the sense of superior moral qualities and possessing certain essential divine qualities in contrast with what is human so means “holy, pure, divine.” We indicated when the adjective is used with a definite article in the singular, it refers to “the holy” whether of a thing or a person. However, we indicated that in such a usage, it is used in the NT for Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit but never an individual believer. The situation is different when the adjective is used in the plural with a definite article. It could refer to angels as that is certainly how it is used in the Septuagint of Zechariah 14:5:
You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
Based on this passage of Zechariah, the use of our Greek word is interpreted as “angels” by many interpreters of 1 Thessalonians 3:13:
May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
It is probably the case that the phrase his holy ones refers to a combination of believers and angels in 1 Thessalonians 3:13. Let me demonstrate my reason for including angels as part of the holy ones. We know that the title “holy ones” is also applied to the elect angels, according to the Septuagint of Daniel 8:13:
Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, "How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled-- the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and of the host that will be trampled underfoot?"
Daniel is referring to angels here and so we understand that the title “holy ones” could also apply to elect angels. In stating this, we should understand that there is a good understanding in the OT that when the Lord comes both for deliverance or judgment that He is to be accompanied by angels that are referred to as the ‘holy ones’, as during the giving of the laws in Deuteronomy 33:2:
He said: "The LORD came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes.
Or angels accompany the Lord in deliverance in battle, as in Psalm 68, but let us note verse 17:
The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands; the LORD [has come] from Sinai into his sanctuary.
This understanding is known in the extra biblical writings of Enoch which is quoted by Jude in Jude 14:
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones
On the other hand, we should understand that the apostle also had in mind believers who have gone to be with Lord, as he penned down the clause of 1 Thessalonians 3:13 when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. For later in the epistle to the Thessalonians, he made a reference to them in 1Thessalonians 4:14:
We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
The point is that while the holy ones refer to believers who have gone to be with the Lord, we must not limit this expression only to them as most translators have done but we should realize that the elect angels are also a part of the “holy ones” who would come with our Lord Jesus Christ at His Second Coming although the accompanying of the elect angels has a different purpose than that of believers. That aside, when our Greek adjective is used in the plural with the definite article in the Greek, it refers to God’s people often translated “saints” in our English versions. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:2, it is used to describe God’s people. Hence, the apostle indicates that believers who are God’s people will judge the world.
What does the apostle mean by saying that saints or God’s people will judge the world? This question is important especially because of the apostle’s declaration that it is not believers’ business to judge unbelievers or those outside the church, as stated in 1 Corinthians 5:12:
What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
Hence, it is necessary to consider the key words used in the rhetorical question of 1 Corinthians 6:2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?
There are three key words used in the question of 1 Corinthians 6:2 that we are considering. The first key word is “saints” that we have already considered that refers to God’s people or believers. The second key word is “judge” that is translated from a Greek word (krinō) that may mean to pass judgment on the lives and actions of other people with the intent to influence them. Thus, the word may mean “to judge, pass judgment upon, express an opinion about” as it is used in the Lord’s teaching concerning not judging what people do by external appearances, as recorded in John 7:24:
Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”
The word may mean “to judge as guilty, condemn” in the sense of being engaged in judicial process as in Nicodemus’ question to Jewish leaders in John 7:51:
“Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?”
The word may mean “to punish” as in Stephen’s sermon as he referred to God’s promise of Abraham of punishing those who would enslave his descendants in Acts 7:7:
But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’
The word may mean to make a judgment based on taking various factors into account, hence means “to think, consider, look upon,” as in the request of Lydia to Apostle Paul of coming to stay with her if he considered her a believer based on what has transpired as we read in Acts 16:15:
When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
The word may mean “to criticize, find fault with, condemn” as in the instruction of proper attitude of a believer towards the matter of food in Romans 14:3:
The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.
The word may mean “to prefer, select” as it is used to describe the preference of believers regarding day of worship in Romans 14:5:
One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
The word may mean to come to a conclusion after a cognitive process and so means “to reach a decision, decide, propose, intend,” as it is used in Apostle Paul’s instruction to Titus because of his decision, as stated in Titus 3:12:
As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:2, the sense of the word is “to judge,” that is, to be involved in judicial process of hearing and being the judge of a legal case. The Greek used a future tense indicating that the action involved is future and not applicable at the present time.
The third key word is “world” that is translated from a Greek word (kosmos) that may mean “earth, world” in contrast to heaven as Jesus used the word to describe His departure from planet earth to return to the Father in heaven in John 16:28:
I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
The word may refer to the system of practices and standards associated with secular society (that is, without reference to any demands or requirements of God) hence means “world system, world’s standards, world.” It is in this sense that Apostle Paul used it in Galatians 6:14:
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
It is this sense of a world characterized by sin and practices contrary to God’s word that Apostle Paul used our Greek word translated “world” in Ephesians 2:2:
in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
The Greek word translated “world” may mean “the universe,” that is, creation in its totality as in Philippians 2:15:
so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
The word may mean “the world “as the habitation of humanity as in 1 Timothy 6:7:
For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
The Greek word translated “world” may mean “totality, sum total” as that is the sense of the word in James 3:6:
The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
The phrase a world of evil may be translated the sum total of iniquity. The word may mean that which serves to beautify through decoration, hence means “adornment, adorning” as it is used in 1 Peter 3:3:
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.
The word may mean “world” as scene of earthly joys, possessions, cares, sufferings” and so that it is used in the sense of material possessions in 1 John 3:17:
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
The phrase material possessions is literally the goods of the world. The word may mean “the world” as a reference to humanity in general as in 1 John 4:14:
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
Jesus Christ came to save humanity not the planet earth so that the word “world” in this passage refers to “humanity.” Of the various meanings of the Greek word translated “world” in the English that we have considered, it is the meaning of people that are estranged from God hence, unbelievers, that is applicable in 1 Corinthians 6:2.
Our consideration of the key words used in the question of 1 Corinthians 6:2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? enables us to interpret what the apostle meant. Some interpreters indicate that this refers to the final judgment of the world in which believers would somehow be involved in association with Christ who is the head and representative of His people that carries out the final judgment. However, it is our interpretation that Apostle Paul means that believers would be involved in judicial process of passing judgment on the actions of unbelievers during the millennial reign of Christ on this planet. The reason for this interpretation is first because, as we have noted, the apostle used a future tense in the Greek for the word “judge” so that the judging in view is something that will take place in the future instead of the present. It is only if we understand that the judging is an activity for the future that there would be no conflict with what the apostle already taught that believers have no business at this time to pass judgment on unbelievers. A second reason for our interpretation is that no human would be involved in final judgment as that is the prerogative of God, specifically the Lord Jesus, as per His declaration recorded in John 5:22:
Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,
A third reason is that unbelievers would not be in the eternal state with believers as conveyed by the fact that no unbeliever would be permitted in the New Jerusalem as we may deduce from the declaration in Revelation 22:14–15:
14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
Hence, if unbelievers and believers would not be together in the eternal state and believers at the present do not have right to judge unbelievers then there is only one more time when believers and unbelievers would coexist so that believers would be judges; it is in the millennial reign of Christ. Thus, what Apostle Paul stated is the same thing the Holy Spirit revealed through Apostle John regarding believers judging the nations in Revelation 2:26–27:
26 To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery’— just as I have received authority from my Father.
Ruling involves judging in legal proceeding hence, those that would rule the nations would judge the actions of people of the world during the reign of Christ. There can be no doubt that it is the millennial reign of Christ that believers would judge unbelievers because that is the time that agrees with what is recorded in Revelation 20:6:
Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
By the way, it is certainly during the millennial reign of Christ that similar promise of the disciples judging the twelve tribes of Israel would be fulfilled. I am referring to the Lord’s promise to the twelve disciples in Matthew 19:28:
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
The point is that Apostle Paul informed the Corinthians and so all believers that they would judge unbelievers in the millennial reign of Christ although the details of such judging are not supplied but we can be certain that it is part of believers reigning with Christ during the millennium.
The apostle having given the first reason believers should not take their dispute before unbelievers as because believers would in the millennial reign of Christ judge unbelievers then proceed to state what is expected of believers at the present time which is to be able to resolve disputes among them. It is this expectation that is given in the second rhetorical question in our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:2 And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?
Apostle’s question should be understood as that which is intended to convey an expected result from what preceded, that is, from the first question of 1 Corinthians 6:2. The apostle in the first question had implied that believers will judge the world. Thus, based on that implied truth, the apostle expects that believers should handle disputes among them. The second question we are considering is certainly connected with the first one in a logical manner because the second question begins with the phrase and if. The word “and” is translated from a Greek conjunction (kai) that no doubt is often translated “and” in our English versions, but it has several other usages. For example, it may be used to introduce a result that comes from what precedes it and so may be rendered “and then, and so.” It may be used to introduce an abrupt question in which there is wonderment or incredulity as it is used in Elizabeth’s question to Mary where the conjunction literally means “and” although the translators of the NIV used the meaning “but” in Luke 1:43:
But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
In our passage of study, some take the conjunction in a connective sense implying that we have an additional idea to what was stated in the first question of 1 Corinthians 6:2. This is true but it is probably the case that the apostle was thinking more of the result that he expected from the implication of the first question. We mean that instead of “and” that the Greek conjunction is to be understood to mean “and so” to state result or even to draw an inference of what is expected based on the truth the apostle conveyed in the first question of the verse. The interpretation we have given would become clearer when we give an alternative translation to the phrase and if of the second question that we will give shortly. Anyway, in either way of interpreting the Greek conjunction, there is a connection between the first question and the second question.
Quite often in the English when someone encounters the word “if”, there is the sense that something may or may not be true. This is not the case in the clause And if you are to judge the world. If anything, the apostle states what is factual. This is because the word “if” is translated from a conditional particle in the Greek (ei) that may express a condition thought of as real or to denote assumptions relating to what has already happened so may be translated “if” or “since” or “because.” It is with the meaning “since” or “because” that our Greek particle is used at the introduction of Satan’s temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ, as stated in Matthew 4:3:
The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Certainly, Satan knows that Jesus is the Son of God for otherwise, he would not be tempting Him to do what only God can do. The Greek particle may be used as a marker in causal clauses, when an actual case is taken as a supposition where the meaning is “if” instead of “since, because” as when the apostle conveyed that believers, because of being in Christ, have died to the basic principles of this world in Colossians 2:20:
Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules:
The clause Since you died with Christ is literally if you died with Christ that gives the impression of uncertainty although what is stated in the clause is true. The apostle stated what is true of believers in Christ and so it is appropriate to use the word “since” in translating our Greek particle in Colossians 2:20. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:2, the Greek particle is used with the meaning “since, because.” Hence, we contend that the phrase and if that begins the second question of 1 Corinthians 6:2 may be translated and so because implying that what is expected of the Corinthians is based on what is true that was stated in the first question of our verse.
The truth the apostle stated in the first question that is restated in the second question is the declaration you are to judge the world. Literally, the Greek reads the world is judged by you. This is because we have a present tense and passive voice of the Greek word (krinō) we considered previously that means “to judge,” that is, to be involved in judicial process of hearing and being the judge of a legal case. Normally, a present tense in the Greek portrays an action in process or a state of being with no assessment of the action’s completion but there are other ways of using the present in the Greek. Recall that in the first usage of our Greek word, the apostle used the future tense so that we indicated that judging involved here would take place in the millennial reign of Christ. The apostle is so confident of what he stated would take place in the first question as he was directed by the Holy Spirit to write what he stated that in the second question he used the present tense to express his confidence that what he stated would take place so that the apostle looked upon this judging of the world as already occurring. This usage of the present tense for a future event that is so certain to occur that it is thought of as already occurring is found in other passages of the Scripture. For example, when Matthew reported Jesus’ prophetic statement regarding His resurrection quoted by the Pharisees who wanted Pilate to post guard over Jesus’ grave, it is the present tense that is used in the Greek although it is translated with future tense in the English of Matthew 27:63:
“Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’
The clause After three days I will rise again is literally After three days I do rise. The point is that the use of present tense in the Greek to describe a future event is one that is substantiated in the NT Greek. Anyway, the apostle states that it is true that believers will judge the world, that is, the unbelievers. The result or conclusion that is to be derived from this truth is the apostle’s expected action on the part of the Corinthians.
The apostle expects the Corinthians and so all local churches to settle whatever insignificant dispute that may arise between believers in the congregation. It is this point that is made in the last part of the second question of 1 Corinthians 6:2 are you not competent to judge trivial cases?
The word “competent” of the NIV is translated from a Greek adjective (anaxios) that means “unworthy.” It is related to a Greek verb (axioō) that may mean “to consider worthy, deserving” as Apostle Paul used it in his prayer for God to consider the Thessalonians worthy of God’s calling in 2 Thessalonians 1:11:
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
The word may mean to make an evaluation concerning the suitability of something, especially an activity and hence means “to deem, to hold an opinion” as it is used to describe that Apostle Paul did not deem or think it suitable for he and Barnabas to take Mark with them for a second missionary trip, as we read in Acts 15:38:
but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:2, the sense of the Greek adjective is “unqualified” so may be translated “not good enough” or “not competent.” Of course, the point the apostle had in mind is simply that the Corinthians are qualified to handle disputes among them that he described in the phrase trivial cases.
The word “trivial” is translated from a Greek word (elachistos) that may mean “insignificant, trivial” as it pertains to being considered of very little importance as the word is used in the Lord’s teaching against worrying in Luke 12:26:
Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
The word may mean “least” as pertaining to being the lowest in status as Apostle Paul used it in describing himself as an apostle in 1 Corinthians 15:9:
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
The word may mean “very small, short” as pertaining to being relatively the smallest in a specific class or group as it is used to describe a rudder of a ship in James 3:4:
Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.
It is in the sense of being of very little importance, that is, “insignificant, trivial” that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:2.
The adjective “insignificant” or “trivial” qualifies the word “cases.” Actually, the word “cases” is translated from a Greek word (kritḗrion) that may mean “lawcourt, tribunal” as reflected in the NASB or “cases” as reflected in the NIV. The meaning “lawcourt” implies that the apostle indicates that the Corinthians should be able to constitute the smallest lawcourt while the meaning “cases” suggest that Corinthians should handle the insignificant cases. It is probably the second meaning that the apostle intended. In other words, the Corinthians should be able to judge cases that are to be considered insignificant in comparison to the future judgment believers would carry out against unbelievers. It is this interpretation that fits better the context of judging of disputes between believers since the disputes are considered insignificant probably as rebuke that believers are concerned with things that are not that important as to cause tension between them. The point is that because believers will judge unbelievers in the millennial reign of Christ, they should be able to handle small matters between them. In any event, let me end by reminding you of the message we are expounding which is that Disputes between believers in a local church should be settled by the church through carefully selected members.
09/13/19