Lessons #167 and 168
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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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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.
Let me refresh your mind of the primary message of 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 that we have been considering which is that Disputes between believers in a local church should be settled by the church through carefully selected members. We have considered 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 also considered the two reasons for this fundamental principle the apostle gave in verses 2 and 3. So, we proceed with the apostle’s instruction regarding the implementation of the message of the passage as given in verses 4 and 5.
The instruction of the Holy Spirit through the apostle regarding how to implement the message of this passage is linked to the reasons supplied in verses 2 and 3. We are certain of this point because of the first word Therefore in verse 4. The Greek contains a particle and a conjunction that somewhat overlap in their meanings. The Greek particle (men) that appears in our verse may be used as a marker of linkage in a discourse and so may be translated “and, so.” It may also be used as a marker of emphasis with the meaning “indeed.” The Greek conjunction (oun) used in our verse may be used as a marker of a continuation of a narrative and so may be translated “so, now, then.” It may be used as a marker of emphasis with the meaning “certainly, really, indeed.” It may also be used as a marker of inference, denoting that what it introduces is the result of or an inference from what precedes with the meaning “so, therefore, then, consequently, accordingly.” When the Greek particle and conjunction are used together, as in our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:4, at the beginning of a Greek sentence in the apostle’s writings, it seems that they are used to indicate a continuation in a narrative where there is the implication that what is stated results from what preceded and so may be simply translated “so, therefore.” We find the example of such usage in Philippians 2:23:
I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me.
Apostle Paul’s hope of sending Timothy to the Philippians is because of what he had previously stated about his faithfulness in Philippians 2:22:
But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:4, the Greek particle and conjunction are used to convey that the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul results from what he had stated in the preceding two verses. You see, in verse 2, the apostle gave the first reason believers should not allow unbelievers to adjudicate legal disputes between believers as because believers will eventually judge unbelievers. In verse 3, the apostle stated a second reason believers should not allow unbelievers to adjudicate disputes that involve the ordinary affairs of this life between believers is because believers will judge angels. Thus, because of these two reasons, the apostle gave the instruction of verse 4.
The instruction of verse 4 is still concerned with the ordinary affairs of this life that concerned making a living and or daily living. In effect, the apostle’s instruction is not concerned with criminal conduct per say but with the problems that people routinely encounter in the course of making a living or in interacting with others. We say this because the apostle began verse 4 with the last Greek word (biōtikos) he used in verse 3 that the translators of the NIV rendered “the things of this life” translated “such matters” in verse 4 probably to avoid repetition of the phrase used in verse 3. As we indicated in verse 3, the Greek word pertains to daily life and living and so means “belonging to (daily) life.” Our Greek word is translated “anxiety of life” in the Lord’s instruction to the disciples about being weighed down with things of this life in Luke 21:34:
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.
Because the Greek word was used with the meaning “business matters” in the business and official correspondence of the papyri, it is probably that the apostle was thinking of matters that enable people to make a living. It is possible that the apostle could be thinking of dishonest business practices such as using false standards of measurement for items offered for sale. The Lord had indicated to Israel that they should use the proper measurement standard for any quantity sold to others as implied in Leviticus 19:35–36:
“‘Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. 36 Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.
It is possible that a believer who is in business could deliver to another believer a quantity less than for what the person paid. For example, today, those who sell gasoline could tamper with the pump so that it delivers slightly less than a gallon while they charge the public the full price for a gallon of gasoline. If a believer knows another believer that does this to him that could be matters of this life. Furthermore, it is also possible that the apostle could be thinking of such thing as someone who is given another person’s possession for safekeeping that loses it, similar to what is stated in Exodus 22:7–9:
7 “If a man gives his neighbor silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if he is caught, must pay back double. 8 But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges to determine whether he has laid his hands on the other man’s property. 9 In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any other lost property about which somebody says, ‘This is mine,’ both parties are to bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges declare guilty must pay back double to his neighbor.
Thus, it is likely that the apostle was thinking of actions of believers that though may be sinful are not criminal in nature.
We should be careful to recognize that the apostle was not trivializing the things of this life since such issues involved what unbelievers would take each other to court at that time. You see, the apostle associated the things of this life with lawsuits since the conditional clause of 1 Cor 6:4 if you have disputes about such matters is literally if you have cases (concerning) things of this life. The word “disputes” of the NIV is translated from the same Greek word (kritērion) the apostle used previously in 1 Corinthians 6:2 that means a place of justice hence means “lawcourt, tribunal” as it is used to describe the place the rich take the poor in James 2:6:
But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:4, the meaning is that of “lawsuit, legal dispute” or “case,” that is, a comprehensive term for any proceeding in a court of law whereby an individual seeks a legal remedy. Thus, when the apostle associated this Greek word with the word translated “such matters” in the NIV or “things of this life” in the literal translation, he implies that these things of life are such things, as we have stated, unbelievers take each other to court. The rich dragged the poor to court because of probably failing to pay a debt and the poor would take the rich to the court, probably with little success, because they are cheated by the rich in that they failed to pay for work done for them. Nonetheless, there are things that occur in everyday living that could create problems between two believers that unbelievers would want to settle in court. Such are the concern of the apostle’s instruction in the passage we are considering, that is, 1 Corinthians 6:4.
Believers who live according to the truth, that is, those who are spiritual should not normally have disputes with each other. However, when believers are not spiritual in that they do not live according to the truth and under the filling of the Holy Spirit, problems will arise. It is on this assumption that the apostle recognizes the possibility of disputes that do not need to occur but could in the clause of verse 4 if you have disputes about such matters. The conditional conjunction “if” used in verse 4 is different from that used in verse 2 where the apostle stated what is certain to occur in the future, which is believers’ judging of unbelievers. The word “if” in verse 4 is translated from a Greek conjunction (ean) that may be used in different ways. It may be used as a marker of the possibility of any number of occurrences of some event often after a relative pronoun hence means “ever, whenever, whoever” as it is used in the declaration of the Lord Jesus regarding the fate of an individual or teacher that causes someone to break any of the commandments of God, as recorded in Matthew 5:19:
Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
The clause Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments is literally whoever abolishes one of the least of these commandments. The Greek conjunction may be used as a marker of the prospect of an action in a point of time coordinated with another point of time hence means “when” as it is used in Jesus’ statement regarding His death on the cross and eventually His resurrection and ascension into heaven in John 12:32:
But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”
The clause when I am lifted up from the earth is literally if I be lifted up from the earth as reflected in the Authorized Version (KJV). Jesus was not stating something that is in doubt and so the Greek conjunction should be understood as “when” what Jesus stated would occur not if it will occur. The Greek conjunction may be used as a marker of condition, with probability of activity expressed in the verb left open and thereby suited especially for generalized statements and so may be translated “if” as Apostle Paul used it to indicate to the Jews that circumcision has significance only if they obeyed God’s law, as we read in Romans 2:25:
Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.
The Greek conjunction we indicated may be translated “if” when used with Greek verb in a subjunctive mood in the Greek, as in our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:4, denotes what is expected to occur, under certain circumstances, from a given standpoint in the present, either general or specific. Thus, Apostle Paul is concerned with giving a general instruction that should be adhered if and when there is dispute among believers. Again, if believers were all controlled by the Holy Spirit and so live by God’s word then there should be no disputes among them. The reality is that because we believers often fail to live up to what the Lord expects, we find that we do things that would bring dispute between us and others. We see this kind of failure even in the early church when those who distributed food among believers were not careful to ensure that everyone received fair portion leading to the complaint recorded in Acts 6:1:
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
This aside. The apostle when he wrote the conditional clause in 1 Corinthians 6:4 if you have disputes about such matters stated a condition that must occur before a local church takes the action contained in the instruction he gave in the passage we are considering.
When there is dispute of the type that the apostle had communicated then he instructs the appointing of some judges in the local church to handle the dispute. Of course, the question the Corinthians would have about such an instruction would be concerned with the qualifications of these judges. This is reasonable since it is important to have the right kind of judges to handle disputes among believers. Some of them, mostly those with Jewish background, would have known of the qualifications of the men that Moses appointed to help him as judges, following the advice of his father-in-law, Jethro, who gave the qualifications given in Exodus 18:17–23:
17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
The suggested qualifications of those who would assist Moses in his administration are give in verse 21. They are to be those who fear God, trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain. As we indicated, those with Jewish background would have known of this but it would seem that all the believers in Corinth would have heard of the qualifications of those the early church appointed as suggested by the apostles, to handle matters of this life in the church that has to do with daily necessities of believers in the early church. I am referring to what is recorded in Acts 6:2–4:
2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
The qualifications of those who are to administer matters of this life in the early church stipulated by the apostles are being full of the Spirit and wisdom. Hence, it is fitting that the Corinthians would expect help from the apostle in selecting the judges to handle disputes of the type the apostle mentioned. Consequently, the Holy Spirit directed the apostle to provide qualifications of these would be judges in the local church in Corinth.
There are two qualifications the Holy Spirit stipulated through the apostle – one given negatively and the other given positively – of those who are to be appointed judges. The qualification given negatively is that any male believer in the local church is qualified to be a judge regardless of the person’s social standing. It is this qualification and the instruction to appoint judges that are given in the verbal phrase in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 6:4 appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! The translation of the 1984 edition NIV is one of the ways to translate the Greek. The others being as a question as in the 2011 edition of the NIV and as an exclamation as in the NJB. Such variation in the rendering of the Greek does not affect the meaning the apostle intended to convey. For example, the question used is rhetorical that can be translated as a negative statement as suggest by the UBS handbook so the Greek question could read “You really should not choose as judges people whom other Christians do not respect.” Anyway, a literal translation that involves a question is; do you seat the despised in the church? This is because of the Greek words used in the text.
The expression “appoint as judges” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (kathizō) that may mean “to sit down” as it is used to describe the posture Jesus took while He taught people God’s word, according to Luke 5:3:
He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
The word may mean “to stay, settle, live” as the word is used to describe the time Apostle Paul remained in Corinth, as recorded in Acts 18:11:
So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:4, the word is used in sense of to put in charge of something hence means “to appoint, install, authorize.” It is not clear who is to be appointed and for what purpose but the context suggests the apostle was thinking of judges but that does not make it easy to understand what he meant about appointing or installing some to function as judges.
Again, the translators of the NIV translated the Greek as appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! but as we indicated the Greek may be translated as a question as we gave in a literal translation do you seat the despised in the church? The problem of what the apostle wrote lies primarily in what is meant in the literal Greek in the verbal phrase the despised. Does the literal “despised” refer to believers in the church or to pagan judges? To help determine what the apostle meant we need to consider the word “despised.”
The word “despised” or of little account in the NIV is translated from a Greek word (exoutheneō) that may mean “to treat with contempt,” that is, to regard another as of no significance and therefore worthy of maltreatment as the Roman soldiers treated Jesus with contempt as recorded in Luke 23:11:
Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate.
The sentence Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him is more literally Herod with his soldiers also treated him with contempt and having mocked him. The word may mean “to reject disdainfully” as in Acts 4:11:
He is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’
The word may mean to show by one’s attitude or manner of treatment that an entity has no merit or worth, hence “to disdain” as Apostle Paul used it to caution against looking down on another believer as it relates to 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 verbal phrase must not look down may be translated must not despise/disdain. It is in the sense of “to reject disdainfully,” that is, to have no use for something as being beneath one’s consideration that Apostle Paul used it in cautioning believers against rejecting prophecy, as we read in 1 Thessalonians 5:20:
do not treat prophecies with contempt.
It is in the sense of “to be utterly disdained,” that is, to be or become treated contemptuously as if completely worthless or despicable that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:4. This meaning, as we have indicated, causes problem with what the apostle wrote whether he means believers or pagan judges. Our task is to determine which; but before we do, we need to make an observation because we indicated that the apostle instructs appointment of male judges. There is, of course, no problem with the gender identification of those who are to be appointed judges because we have a masculine gender used in the Greek participle so that the literal Greek phrase the despised refers to men, that is the reason translators of the NIV used the word “men” in the phrase men of little account in the church. That aside, the major problem is how we should understand those describe literally in the Greek as the despised.
Two factors help us in identifying what the apostle meant in the literal phrase the despised. The first is that the apostle used a passive voice in the Greek for the participle translated “despised.” The use of passive participle demands that we determine the subject of the Greek verb translated “despised.” There are two possibilities. It could be members of the church in Corinth or unbelievers in Corinth. To take the members of the local church in Corinth as those that despise the ones in view seems to be supported loosely because such an action would lead to the apostle shaming the Corinthians. This notwithstanding, we should take the subject as unbelievers in Corinth. This is because the apostle had already referred to the fact that by human standard, many of the believers were not considered great as he wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:26:
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
The interpretation that the subject are unbelievers in Corinth that evaluated those who are to be appointed judges as despised is further supported by the second of the two factors we said enable us to understand what the apostle meant in the literal phrase the despised. The second factor is that the apostle used a perfect tense in the Greek for the word translated “despised.” The perfect tense used here implies that the apostle is concerned with the present state of those in view that results from the action of the past. He focused on the fact that the state of those in view has not changed from how they were perceived in the past. This being the case, it makes sense that the apostle was thinking of those that the world considered despicable because of their low social standing. The status of such individuals has not changed when viewed from human standard but when viewed from spiritual standard, it has. Therefore, the apostle in using the literal phrase the despised or of little account of the NIV means that those who are despised by the world although their social status has not changed are in different spiritual status and that qualifies them to be judges. In effect, although many interpreters take the phrase as a reference to unbelievers who are despised by members of the church in Corinth but because of the two factors we considered, it is our interpretation that literal phrase the despised refers to believers in the church who are considered as being of low status by unbelievers. We reject the interpretation that takes the literal Greek phrase the despised as a reference to unbelievers for the primary reason that the apostle was concerned with providing the solution to the problem the Corinthians were having. Thus, he was not being sarcastic as to suggest that they should appoint unbelievers as judges, something the church, of course, was not qualified to do. We are saying that the apostle was concerned with writing what will help solve the problem of believers taking their fellow believers to pagan courts. This being the case, we are correct to state that qualification given negatively regarding potential judges is that any male believer in the local church is qualified to be a judge regardless of the person’s social standing. This brings us to the second qualification but before we get to it, we need to deal with a problem that concerns what the apostle stated next.
The apostle writes next in the first sentence of 1 Corinthians 6:5 I say this to shame you. Literally the Greek reads I say to your shame. The problem is to determine what is it that the apostle meant in the literal sentence or using the translation of the NIV what is meant by the pronoun this that should cause the Corinthians to be ashamed. By the way, the word “shame” is translated from a Greek word (entropē) that means “shame, humiliation” that appears only twice in the Greek NT; its other occurrence is 1 Corinthians 15:34:
Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.
That aside, there are two possibilities regarding what the apostle meant in the literal sentence I say to your shame or the pronoun this of the NIV. The apostle could have meant everything he had said so far which is that the Corinthians are taking their problems to unbelievers to decide or that they have failed to appoint judges to handle the disputes among believers. Both interpretations are related that it is difficult to separate them. Nonetheless, it seems that when the apostle wrote in the literal sentence I say to your shame or in the words of the NIV I say this to shame you, he meant to say that what he had said about taking their disputes to be settled by unbelievers should cause shame to them. We say this because the apostle continued his rebuke of the Corinthians for taking their disputes to unbelievers in verses 6 to 8. So, the apostle indicates to the Corinthians that his focus was them taking disputes among them to unbelievers; this should cause them shame. Having said that, he continued with the second qualification of would be judges in the local church.
The qualification given positively is that any male believer in the local church that is considered wise is qualified to be a judge. This qualification is given in a question format as translated in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 6:5. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? Literally the Greek reads so is there no one among you wise who will be able to decide between his brother? This is because of the key Greek words used as we will show.
The expression Is it possible of the NIV is how its translators rendered a Greek word (houtōs) that has several usages. It may be used as a marker of a relatively high degree, used before an adjective or adverb with the meaning “so” as the word is used by Apostle Paul to rebuke the Galatians about abandoning the concept of justification by faith, as used in Galatians 3:3:
Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
The word may be used as pertains to what follows in discourse material hence means “in this way, as follows” as the word is used by Stephen during his sermon to report what God said to Abraham as narrated in Acts 7:6:
God spoke to him in this way: ‘Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
The word may be used to refer to what precedes and so means “in this manner, thus, so” as the word is used in the discussion among the members of the Sanhedrin regarding what to do about Jesus Christ because of the many miracles He was performing, as narrated in John 11:48:
If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
The phrase like this is literally in this way/in this manner. It is in this usage of referring what precedes that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:5. Thus, instead of the literal verbal phrase so is that we used in our literal translation of 1 Corinthians 6:5, according to the standard Greek English lexicon of BDAG, may be fully translated “do you mean to tell me.”
Another key word used in 1 Corinthians 6:5 is “wise” that is translated from a Greek adjective (sophos) that was primarily used in classical Greek for a clever person who knows how to do something or construct something, such as buildings, poems, and speeches. Thus, the word pertains to knowing how to do something in a skillful manner and so means “clever, skillful, experienced.” It is in this sense that the Apostle Paul used the word to describe himself as skilled master builder in 1 Corinthians 3:10:
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.
The phrase an expert builder of the NIV is more literally a skilled/wise master builder. The Greek adjective may pertain to the understanding that results in wise attitudes and conduct hence means “wise.” It is in this sense of “wise” in understanding that leads to proper conduct that Apostle Paul used the word in Romans 16:19:
Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
So, the Greek adjective conveys the meaning “clever, skillful, experienced” or “wise.” It is with the meaning “wise” in the sense of accumulated knowledge or discernment that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:5.
The next key expression we used in our literal translation so is there no one among you wise who will be able to decide between his brother? but not directly translated in the NIV is “be able” that is translated from a Greek word (dynamai) that means to possess capability (whether because of personal or external factors) for experiencing or doing something hence means “can, am able, be capable.” It is in the sense of being able to do something that the word is used to describe the inability of Jesus’ mother and His brothers to get to Him on one occasion that the crowd surrounded Him as He taught them, according to Luke 8:19:
Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd.
It is in the sense of being capable to do something that the word is used to indicate God does not permit Satan to tempt believers beyond their capability in 1 Corinthians 10:13:
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
It is in the sense of “to be able,” that is, to be sufficient to meet or carry out a task that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:5.
Another key word used in 1 Corinthians 6:5 is “judge” that is translated from a Greek word (diakrinō) that may mean “to judge correctly” although the translators of the NIV used the meaning “interpret” to translate our Greek word in Matthew 16:3:
and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
The clause You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky is literally You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky. The word may mean “to evaluate oneself” as it is used to describe the self-examination of those who participate in the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:31:
But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
The idea of judging self is that of self-examination or self-evaluation. The word may mean “to recognize” as the word is used in 1 Corinthians 11:29:
For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
The word may mean “to criticize” as it is used to report what some in the early church did because of Apostle Peter’s going to Cornelius to preach the gospel to him, as stated in Acts 11:2:
So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him
The word may mean “to hesitate” as in the Lord’s instruction to Peter regarding going to Cornelius’ house in Acts 10:20:
So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”
The word may mean “to make a distinction, differentiate” as it is used in Peter’s address to those gathered for the church council in Jerusalem Acts 15:9:
He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
The word may mean “to waver, doubt” as it is used to prohibit the attitude a believer who prays to God for wisdom should not entertain in James 1:6:
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
The word may mean “to dispute” as it is used to describe the variance between Archangel Michael and Satan over Moses’ body, as stated in Jude 9:
But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:5, the sense of the word is to evaluate discerningly as to render a legal decision hence means “to judge, decide.”
The last key word used in the NIV is “believers” but we used the word “brother” in the literal translation. This is because we have a Greek word (adelphos) that has several meanings in the Greek. The word may mean “a neighbor” as that is the sense of the Greek word in Jesus’ statement during His sermon on the mount, as given in Matthew 7:3:
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
The word “brother” as used in this passage could refer to a neighbor or a fellow believer. The Greek word may refer to a fellow country man or a compatriot as the apostle used it to refer to fellow Jews in Romans 9:3:
For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race,
The word “brothers” here is used for Jews, male and females. By the way, the phrase those of my own race can be misleading since there is no Greek word that is equivalent to the word “race” as it is used by many people to differentiate one group from another. Truly, the word “race” is a meaningless term in differentiating one human being from another since it is a word that may be used to differentiate humans from animals as belonging to a different species. Thus, the phrase is better translated “kinsmen” as in the NASB or “my people” as in the NCV since it is translated from a Greek word (syngenēs) that may mean “a relative” or “a fellow countryman,” in the sense of belonging to the same people group. The word may mean “brother” in the sense of a male from the same womb as the referenced person as Apostle Paul used it to describe James, the half-brother of the Lord Jesus, in Galatians 1:19:
I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.
It is not only one from the same womb that the word “brother” will apply but also one from the same ancestors as that is the sense Apostle Paul used it to address his fellow Jews in his defense began in Acts 22:1:
“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”
The Greek word translated “brother” may refer to one who shares beliefs with another. Thus, Jesus calls those who are devoted to Him His brothers in Matthew 12:50:
For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Similarly, those who believe in Christ, regardless of gender, are described as “brothers” in their relationship to each other, as the apostle used it to describe fellow believers in Rome in Romans 1:13:
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
It is in this sense of one who shares the same faith and so belongs to the Christian community that the apostle used the word to describe to the Thessalonians Timothy, who was clearly a Gentile because his father was a Greek, in 1 Thessalonians 3:2:
We sent Timothy, who is our brother and God’s fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,
It is in this sense of anyone who belongs to the family of God in Christ, that is, a fellow Christian – male or female – that the apostle used it in our passage of 1 Corinthians 6:5.
The key words we have considered suggest that the last question of 1 Corinthians 6:5 Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? may be translated; Do you mean to tell me that there’s not one person among you wise enough to settle a dispute between members? This question is rhetorical implying that the apostle means they should have as judges those who are wise among them. This then enhances our interpretation that the second qualification of a male believer to be appointed as a judge of dispute among believers should be one who is considered wise among believers. In effect, such a person regardless of his social standing if he is considered by the local church as one with experience and skill to handle matters, is qualified to assume the role of deciding disputes among believers of the type we have considered. A local church must not fall into the kind of attitude where a person’s experience and skill to be a good judge of disputes are ignored because of the person’s social standing similar to what Solomon described in Ecclesiastes 9:16:
So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.
To sum up, two qualifications of those to be appointed judges in a local church to settle disputes between believers are: they should be male regardless of their social standing and they are to be considered wise in the sense of having accumulated knowledge or discernment.
09/27/19