1 Corinthians 6:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Let us hear, then, what he says about this. “How dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the impious, and not before the saints?” By the very names he reveals the sin, rebukes it, and turns them away from it. At first he does not altogether reject judgment among the faithful. But when he has already rebuked them strongly, then he wholly forbids litigation. If, he says, it is absolutely necessary to litigate, it must not be before unbelievers. Better still, one should not litigate at all. Yet he states this last thought later. For now, he only forbids litigation before outsiders. Is it not strange, he says, to choose an enemy as mediator for reconciliation with a friend? Is it not shameful and disgraceful that a pagan should sit to judge a Christian? If one must not litigate before pagans in private matters, how can one turn to them in more important matters? And see how he speaks. He did not say, “before unbelievers,” but “before the unrighteous.” He uses the expression especially needed for his proposed aim, to correct and turn them away. Speaking of judgment, and knowing that litigants desire nothing so much from judges as great care for justice, he thereby instructs them. It is as though he said: where are you going, and what are you doing, O man? You are acting contrary to your own desire, seeking righteousness from unrighteous men. It was hard to hear a direct prohibition of litigation. Therefore he does not command this all at once, but first only changes the judge, turning those who litigated from outsiders to the Church. Then, because litigation before their own seemed humiliating, especially then, he makes them trustworthy. For they were for the most part simple people, perhaps unable to examine cases, and not so versed in laws or skilled in eloquence as the outside judges. Therefore see how he makes them worthy of trust, first calling them saints.

2), worldly matters (vv. 3 and 4), to the impious (v. 1), to those of no standing in the Church (v. 4), and to unbelievers (v. 6). Living in a Christian state, where judges are appointed from among Christians by a pious Sovereign, we cannot fear that we will be judged by unbelievers and impious men rather than by brethren in the faith. No one will dispute that it would be better if there were no court cases among us. Yet if they existed even among Christians of apostolic times, then they are an expression of human weakness that will belong to every age.

The Apostle further says that among Christians there will always be their own people who can judge every matter righteously. Then he reveals that Christians will judge the world, that is, the pagan world, and even the angels, meaning the unbelieving ones. Concerning this last point, Chrysostom says: “The saints will judge, not by sitting down and demanding an account, but by condemning. Thus the Lord also said: the queen of the South will rise and condemn this generation, and the men of Nineveh will rise and condemn this generation (Mt 12:41). If we prove to be believers while they are unbelievers, they will not be able to appeal to ignorance.” Blessed Theodoret says concerning judgment over angels: “The Apostle called the demons angels because they were formerly angels. The saints will condemn them because, although clothed with flesh, they cared for divine service, while those in a bodiless nature loved wickedness.” In the judgment of Christians before pagans he sees a threefold guilt: “First, that a believer litigates; then, that he litigates with one of the same faith; and, worst of all, that he litigates before an unbelieving judge.” The Apostle also indicates these faults, but in another order.

The Apostle also knew by report that the Corinthian Christians, perhaps mainly those from the pagans, went to pagan judges when disputes arose. They did this either from old habit, or because it was shameful to bring a lawsuit before the Christian assembly. At the mere mention of this, he becomes indignant and says: “Dare any of you?” How does anyone resolve to do this? What does this resemble? Chrysostom says: “In this too the Apostle rebukes them as in a matter already known. There he said, ‘It is actually heard that there is fornication among you.’ Here he says, ‘Dare any of you?’ At the very beginning he expresses anger and shows that this matter agrees with nothing. Is it not strange, he says, to choose an enemy as mediator for reconciliation with a friend? Is it not shameful and disgraceful that a pagan should sit to judge a Christian? See how he speaks: ‘to be judged before the unrighteous, and not before the saints.’ By the very names he exposes the folly of the matter and turns them away from it. He did not say, ‘before unbelievers,’ but ‘before the unrighteous.’ He uses the expression especially needed for his intended aim, to correct them and turn them away from such a matter. Speaking of judgment, and knowing that litigants desire nothing so much from judges as justice, he thereby instructs them. It is as though he said: where are you going, and what are you doing, O man? You are acting contrary to your own desire, seeking righteousness from unrighteous men. To dispose them to turn to their own, see how he exalts them and presents them as worthy of every trust. He first calls them saints, and then judges of the whole world. At first he does not altogether reject judgment among the faithful. But when he has already rebuked them strongly, then he wholly forbids litigation. If, he says, it is absolutely necessary to litigate, it must not be before unbelievers. Better still, one should not litigate at all. But he expresses this last thought after 1 Cor 6:7-8. For the present he only forbids litigation before outsiders. It was hard to hear a direct prohibition of litigation. Therefore he does not command this all at once, but first only changes the judges, turning those who litigated from outside judges to the Church.”