LESSON 8
(6:1-11)

LAWSUITS

6 When one of you has a grievance against a brother, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?  2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?  And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?  3 Do you knot know that we are to judge angels?  How much more, matters pertaining to this life!  4 If then you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who are least esteemed by the church?  5 In say this to your shame.  Can it be that there is no man among you wise enough to decide between members of the brotherhood, 6 but brother goes to lay against brother, and that before unbelievers?
7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is defeated for you.  Why not rather suffer wrong?  Why not rather be defrauded?  8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud, and that even your own brethren.
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolater, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts. 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.  11 And such were some of you.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of God.

Chapter five discussed a problem among the members that doubtless was resulting in repercussions beyond the local church group.  Our text, though perhaps not so image shattering as immorality, yet did not bode well for the reputation of the church.  Consequently Paul presented some direction in relation to the matter of lawsuits among the brethren.
We may want to recall in passing that God had made provision in the Mosaic law for judges to handle matters that would arise among the Israelites.  Such texts as Exodus Chapters 21, 22; Lev. 20; Deut. 19-24 provide plenty of instances where a decision/judgment needed to be made.  One important case was that relating to Boaz and Ruth, which was decided at the local place of judgment, the city gates.  Samuel had a circuit throughout Israel, In Sam. 7:16, 17.  Amos plead for justice in the city gates, Amos 4:14.  Jesus recognized the place of government in the life of a nation, as did all the apostles.  There was nothing inherently evil in a court system, or utilizing it if the need arose.  In Corinth, however, the brethren were evidently going to court needlessly, and this is the point addressed.  In our time, though some things are different than then, Christians still have been found in court when they ought not to have been.  As Paul wrote, it is better to be defrauded, v. 7, than to present a poor witness to the watching world.
6:1 – grievance – The Greek term refers to a “matter” of some sort, specifically between brethren.  Nothing in this text addresses the problem of a believer and a non-believer, however.  The particular fault that Paul had in mind was that they “dared” to do so, as if no thought was being given to their witness.
unrighteous – That is, a non-Christian.  Verse nine defines the unrighteous in some respects.  Obviously, the issue had to be one that could be handled legally out of court, thus not transgressing the law of the land.
V. 2 – How saints are to judge the world in general or angels in particular, v. 3, is a moot question.  Paul doesn’t explain the statement.  The argument Paul was making is that if Christians were able to do such things, then the cases in question could be taken care of apart from lawsuits.
V. 3 – matters . . . this life – As mentioned earlier on 2:2, that Christians are to judge is plain enough, and that includes things (matters) relating to this life.  Our judgment must be honest and based upon god’s standards, insofar as they apply.  While the matters in Corinth are not mentioned, evidently Paul believed that they were not beyond the competency of the group.
V. 4 – This verse presents a bit of a problem in translation.  NIV takes it one way, R.S.V. another, NASB straddles the issue.  The Greek text is ambiguous is the reason.  Some then take Paul to mean the judges were non-Christian while others understand the “least esteemed? to mean Christians who were not held in high repute.  There is no sure way to settle the issue.
V. 5 – man . . . wise – If v. 4 has in mind Christians, then this verse suggests the wrong brothers were being chosen to decide the cases in question.  Paul again brings up their professed wisdom and shows how unwise they were in what they were doing.
V. 6 – unbelievers – Probably the same people are meant here as in v. 1, though here the word is apist_n and in v.1 adik_n.  As noted above, the people in v. 4, the eksouthen_menous may or may not be meant here.
V. 7  – defeat – The idea is terrible to Paul: such things as they were doing could not turn out good in the eyes of the world; they had lost before even starting.  No victory was possible.
suffer wrong – The idea of “rights” comes into view, and quite naturally too.  All of us begin early in life thinking about our rights.  “Mine” is one of the first words we learn to say.  The death of self is the essential requirement of Christianity, so that we die to allow Christ to live.  Paul had to learn that all that was his was really of no value, and the real treasure was in Christ, Phil 3:1-14.  However, it is much easier said than done, all will admit.  “Not my will but God’s will” is not difficult to express; the intense struggle comes at the crossroad of decision.  What makes it more of a task is when no Scripture is in question, but rather it is a matter of freedom.  That is why Paul picks up this exact point in 6:12, and enlarges upon it in Chapters 8-10.
defrauded – Akin to bring wronged, Paul argued that the witness to the community would be better than it otherwise was if they would just let things go rather than argue and demand their rights.  This is reminiscent of what Jesus taught in Matt. 5:38-42, isn’t it?
The two words Paul used for be wronged (Greek, as in vv. 1, 9) and defraud (apostere_) indicate that justice was to be forgotten and the goods or whatever written off.  Consider here the example of the brethren in Hebrews 10:32-36, although the cases are not identical.  For the two Greek terms, consider for (Greek), Mt. 20:13; Lk. 16:8, 9; 18:6; Acts 7:26; 25:11; Rom. 6:13; In Cor. 4:12; Col. 3:25; Phile. v. 18; In Pet. 3:18; In Jn.. 5:17; Rev. 22:11; and for apostere_ Mt. 10:19; In Cor. 7:5; In Tim 6:5.
V. 8 – The case was this: who is to be the one to turn the other cheek: you or your brother?  While what has been done might be wrong. Paul says, yet the fact is that the lawsuits are resulting in two additional wrongs, both against the Church, and moreover are the same two wrongs for which the “injured” party brought the case to court.
The brethren who considered themselves “wronged” might have believed that justice was needed.  Perhaps so, but Paul argued that the desired end could be accomplished outside of the public courtroom.  Even if not so, it was still better than to wrong another in public.
It doubtless was a difficult lesson for them to learn.  yet they (and all of us) needed to be of the mind that Paul described in Tim. 6:6-8, and expressed so well in Ph8il. 4:11.  Jesus suffered the loss of all that was rightfully His to die for those who were helpless, ungodly, sinners and enemies, Rom. 5:6-10.  It is not too much to say that all should learn from Jesus.  If God notices the fallen sparrow, He will surely notice us if we do as He directs, Mt. 6:19-34, won’t He?
V. 9 – A clear threat was present, besides the potential wrongs: they had been removed by God’s grace from the state of the unrighteous to the righteous.  A return to the former state was not impossible for them.
All diligence must be given to maintain their present state of justification.  So this warning by way of remonstrance and recall was in order.
Deceived – An interesting Greek term here, from a word plana_, ‘to wander’ as a planet was thought to wander through the heavens.  One who was so characterized was without purpose in life, lacked a guiding principle for living, and was thus all bu lost.  It is so descriptive of a state to be avoided that it is often used in the N.T., as Mt. 24:4, 11; 27:63, 64; Mk. 12:24; Jn. 7:12; Rom. 1:27; In Cor. 15:33; II Cor. 6:8; Gal. 6:7; Eph. 4:14; II Thess. 2:11; II Tim. 3:13; Tit. 3:3; Heb. 11:38; Jam. 5:19, 20; In Pet. 2:25; II Pet. 2:15; Jude v. 11, 13; Rev. 2:20; 18:23; 20:3, 8, 10.
As Paul begins to list those who will not be heirs of God and children of the Kingdom and instructs them to “quit being deceived,” be aware that all of the terms describe the unrighteous.  Such the Corinthians had been, but God’s wisdom in Christ had been accepted, and Jesus had become their righteousness, sanctification and redemption, 1:30.  They needed then to stand back and take a good look at themselves in view of their actions.
We have discussed the words for immoral, idolater, thief, greedy, drunkard, reviler and robber in previous texts.  Two are new and will bear discussion.
V. 9 – Adulterer – From moichos, generally indicative of married person who has sexual relationships outside the marriage.  Consider these passages from among the man: Mt. 5:27, 2; 12:39; 16:4; 15:19; 19:9; Mk. 8:38; Lk. 16:18; 18:11; Rom. 2:22; 7:3; Heb. 13:4; Jam. 4:4; II Pet. 2:14.
Homosexual – From two Greek words malakos which has a general idea of something soft, Mt. 11:8; Lk. 7:25, or a physical problem, Mt. 4:23; 9:35; 10:1, except in this text.  None of the above ideas seem to fit here, so translators do various things.  The original term was used as a synonym for a Greek word in general usage that indicated lack of strength, weakness or infirmity, then came to be applied to a person who was weak in a moral sense; hence our term effeminate, or fainthearted.  N.A.S.B. translated malakos as an “effeminate” person, while N.I.V. chose “male prostitutes” for the term, since the term came to be applied to such persons.
The Revised Standard committee, however, chose to combine it with the following term, arsenokoit_s which normally was applied to a male temple prostitute.  N.I.V. and N.A.S.B both opted for the idea of a homosexual person, since the term denoted such a person.
That the versions differ somewhat is clear enough.  What is also clear is that people whose lives are characterized by either term are among the unrighteous and cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.  Homosexuality is condemned in Rom. 1:26-27 as a perversion of God’s natural order of life, and sufficient in perverseness that God gave such people up.
V. 11 – In the face of so bleak a picture, Paul paints in vivid colors and descriptive terms the fact that God had been permitted to work in the lives of some people in Corinth, and though they once were involved in one or more of the things that were shameful even to name among Christians, Eph. 5:3ff., yet God had created a new being, translating them from Satan’s trap to God’s loving care, from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.  He used three terms to portray the metamorphosis, preceding each term with a strong adversative in Greek: alla = contrast to your former state, you have been:
(1)Washed – they, like Saul of Tarsus, had believed in Christ and, having arisen, had their sins washed away (see Acts 22:16, where the same Greek term is used; and Eph. 5:26; Titus 3:5 and Heb. 10:22, where the root term is used).
(2)Sanctified – The act of redemption was the means of deliverance from all their sin, and they became holy in God’s sight.
(3)Justified – In the same moment, the righteousness (justification translates the same Greek term as righteousness) of Christ was given them.  As Paul state the principle in Rom. 1:17, faith in Christ brought justification, a new life began for they had been born anew, and a peace with God came into being.
All these terms refer to the same at of obedience, but from different angles.  As Galatians puts it, faith in Christ brought about obedience in immersion, and they put on Christ as they would a change of clothes.  Romans 6 has it in the likeness of a death, burial and resurrection.  Peter described it as an act of salvation that corresponded to what God commanded, 3:21.  The end result was no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus, Rom. 8:1.
in the name of Jesus – By His authority the commands were given and obeyed; by His authority the promises were given and fulfilled.
the Spirit of our God – As Jesus outlined the Spirit’s work in John 16:7ff., the work was to convict men of sin, righteousness and judgment to come.  They had been willing to hear and respond, and they were no longer among the unrighteous.
From this viewpoint, then, they needed to act like Christians in every way.  Paul expected of them the expulsion of the man in ch. 5 and ceasation of the needless lawsuits in ch. 6.

	LESSON 8 QUESTIONS

1. 	State as clearly as you can the essential problem in our lesson.

2.	Had God forbidden lawsuits altogether?

3.	Must a Christian consider the possibility of being wronged personally rather than bringing the whole church into disrepute?

4.	What advice did Paul give about the cases in question?

5.	If the issues could not be settled, what action did Paul advise?

6.	Does Paul seemingly say that since all were in a transformed state (no longer non-Christian) that they should therefore act that way?

7.	Is it easy for sin to deceive us? (Red Heb. 3:7-4:13 at this point.)