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Set to dark mode1 Corinthians 6:1-6
Lawsuits Discouraged
1 Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints?
2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts?
3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?
4 So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church?
5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren,
6 but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?
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1 Corinthians 6:1-6 meaning
In 1 Corinthians 6:1-6, Paul the Apostle confronts a troubling pattern among believers in Corinth: taking family disputes in Christ into the public court system of their surrounding culture, rather than living out the wisdom and unity of the gospel within the church. In the first chapters of this letter, Paul dealt with divisions arising within the church over which leader to follow (1 Corinthians 1:11-13). Now he deals with another type of division regarding disputes between members within the church.
He writes to Christians living in Corinth—a prosperous port city in southern Greece (Achaia) famous in the Roman world for commerce, wealth, status-seeking, and public competition. In such a setting, it was normal to "win" disputes through rhetoric, influence, and social standing.
Paul begins by expressing shock that a believer would treat a disagreement with another believer as something best settled by those outside the church: Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? (v.1).
To go to law before the unrighteous is to compel a brother or sister to answer a legal dispute in the public court, with a pagan judge. The Greek word translated saints is "hagios" which is usually translated "holy." In this context it refers to those who are set apart and made holy in Christ through faith in Him. In other words, fellow members of the church.
What those in the church ought to be doing is to settle their disagreements within the church. Paul gives several reasons they should settle disputes among themselves rather than go to a secular court:
The Greek word translated dare in the clause dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints in verse 1 also appears in Mark 15:43 where the verb form there is rendered “and he gathered up courage.” To have “courage” is to do something with substantial risk, to endure danger.
Paul's inference is that people who sue someone in a civil court rather than settling the dispute before the saints is taking a major risk. The context of Chapter 6 indicates that the risk they are taking is failing to live as a faithful witness, thereby risking loss of rewards in the next life as well as fellowship and self-harm in this life.
Verse 1 indicates that the subsequent verses are intended to address the risk associated with harboring an attitude or perspective that leads to taking others to court. The inference in verses 12-20 is that the entitled perspective that leads believers to take fellow believers to court to extract a benefit from them also leads to immorality.
What suing a brother and immorality would seem to have in common is they both involve self-justifying the exercise of seeking advantage over others in order to gain a benefit. In the case of a lawsuit, it might be an attempt to recover something we believe rightfully belongs to us. In the case of immorality, it might rationalize the pursuit of satisfying an intense sexual desire ("I could not help it" or "I need to be honest with my feelings"). Paul will address sexual sin as a sin against our own bodies (1 Corinthians 6:18).
Paul contrasts presenting disputes before the unrighteous to be judged as compared to placing such matters before the saints. The Corinthians are redeemed by Christ's blood, which makes them righteous in God's sight, and therefore saints (Romans 3:21-26). Those who have not believed are unrighteous, having not believed. It should be obvious that those who are righteous in Christ ought to be making better decisions about what is right and good.
This verse also reveals that Paul thinks the church is a place where conflicts should be dealt with as a matter of discipleship. The church is not simply a preaching station; it is a training ground for faithfulness. Lawsuits between believers publicly broadcast disunity, and they pull the dispute into a setting where “winning” can matter more than truth, reconciliation, or love.
Paul asserts that a Christian community should be capable—through Spirit-led wisdom, Scripture-shaped priorities, and humble leadership—of addressing wrongs in a way that protects both justice and fellowship. Paul then supports his rebuke with a startling reminder of the believers' future role: Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? (v.2).
The Greek word with the root "krino" translated judge in verse 2 is the same word translated to go to law in verse 1. The idea is that in the next age, those who possess the reward of their inheritance by being a faithful witness will judge the world, and an integral part of being a faithful witness is to learn to effectively judge one another in this life.
The Greek word translated saints is "hagios" here just as it is in verse 1. Again, "hagios" is usually translated "holy." In this context it means any believer who has been made holy, or set apart, by being declared righteous in God’s eyes through the blood of Christ.
When Paul says the saints will judge the world, he is referring to a future age, when God's original design for humans is restored. Humans were intended to reign over the earth in harmony with God and one another (Psalm 8:5-6, Hebrews 2:5-8). However, humanity fell into sin, and Satan gained the reign (John 12:31). So now we do not see "all things subjected to him"—where "him" refers to Adam and the race he sired: humans (Hebrews 2:8).
However, what we do see is Jesus, "crowned" with the "glory and honor" of reigning over the earth due to "the suffering of death" (Hebrews 2:9). Because Jesus became obedient, even to death on a cross, His name was lifted above every name (Philippians 2:8-10). He now has all authority over heaven and earth as a human, having restored what Adam lost (Matthew 28:18).
Those who suffer as Jesus suffered will share in His inheritance. This is readily seen in this passage:
"The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him."
(Romans 8:16-17)
We can see in Romans 8:17 that all believers are "heirs of God" because that clause is unconditional. All who believe in Jesus have God as their Father, and nothing can separate them from His love (Romans 8:38-39). However, in order to be "fellow heirs with Christ" in reigning over the world believers must "suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." This reward is conditional; to reign with Him requires enduring the suffering He endured. The suffering Jesus endured was the rejection of the world (Hebrews 12:2).
The glory that is a reward for suffering with Jesus is the "glory and honor" of reigning over the earth, as spoken of in Hebrews 2:5-9. That Paul indicates here that all saints/believers in Jesus have this destiny indicates that all believers are granted an inheritance to be restored in their design when they are born spiritually into God's family through faith (John 3:3, 14-15). But just as Israel was granted an inheritance then had to walk in faith in order to possess it (Hebrews 3:16-19, Joshua 1:6), so it is with believers in Jesus for those who are to be joint heirs with Christ.
We see in Hebrews 2:10 that it is Jesus's desire to bring many "sons to glory"—again speaking of the "glory and honor" of reigning over the earth. The "many" sons will be those who "suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." The suffering Jesus endured was related to the rejection of men, as we see in Hebrews 12:2; Jesus lived as "despising the shame" from men. He despised—gave no value—to the shame because He contrasted that with the "joy set before Him" which was to sit down "at the right hand of the throne of God."
To sit at the right hand is to take the next-in-command position of authority to that of God, which is what Jesus announced He had inherited after He rose from the grave (Matthew 28:18). Jesus promises to all believers who overcome as He overcame the reward to share His throne with Him, just as He overcame and was given a share of His Father’s throne (Revelation 3:21).
Jesus is in heaven, awaiting the inauguration of His physical reign over His kingdom (Revelation 11:15). Meanwhile, He has given His servants, all believers, the assignment of being stewards of His kingdom before His kingdom becomes the kingdom of this world (Revelation 11:15). As Jesus indicated in His Parable of the Talents, His servants will all be judged for their faithfulness as stewards upon His return. Those who are faithful in small things will be rewarded by being given to rule over many things (Matthew 25:21). Paul spoke of this judgment in Chapter 3, likening the judgment of Christ to a refining fire that tests each person’s deeds (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
Everything in this life is "small" as compared to reigning with Christ in the age to come. But His people are stewards, and all stewardship, great or small, will be judged, regardless of how much responsibility each was given (Luke 12:48). Paul is saying to the Corinthians, "Since you have been given the enormous inheritance to reign in the age to come, don’t you think you ought to be able to settle disputes among yourselves?"
Paul is lifting the eyes of the Corinthians beyond the smallness of the immediate to the eternal. If God has destined His people to share in Christ's administration of His coming kingdom, then the church should not act as though it has no capacity to handle everyday matters. Paul’s point is to awaken responsibility: future destiny should shape present behavior. He presses this point in the phrase if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? (v.2).
The phrase smallest law courts reframes their disputes as minor bumps in the grand story God is writing. In the immediate, conflicts feel enormous. We tend to make them personal, and pride and fear make them seem enormous. But that is a false perspective. Paul asks his Corinthian children in the faith to view their problems in the light of eternity—especially the coming reign of Christ, and their assigned role in it.
In the next letter in scripture written to the Corinthians, Paul will compare all suffering as being "momentary" and "light affliction" as compared to the "eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison" that this suffering is producing in those who are faithful (2 Corinthians 4:17). This "glory" includes the prospective reward of reigning with Christ, and the suffering Paul speaks of is the suffering of being rejected by the world for living for Christ. This is something in which we must share if we are to possess our inheritance of serving in His reign.
Paul continually weaves in the theme that believers' lives and choices matter because they will be evaluated by Christ. He will dispense rewards for those who love Him that will be beyond what we can imagine (1 Corinthians 2:9). Paul reminded believers that their deeds will face Christ's assessment in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. This is also a key motivator in the next recorded letter, as we see in 2 Corinthians 5:10-11.
Reminding believers of our future accountability is meant to motivate faithfulness and courage. The world rejects those who reject its ways. But just as Jesus was rejected, and was greatly rewarded by His Father, we are exhorted to follow in His footsteps (Philippians 2:5-9, Hebrews 12:1-2).
The present-day church's handling of conflict is practice for future stewardship. If believers cannot handle "small" disputes in a way that honors Christ, they are forgetting who they are and what they are being prepared to do. Next, Paul expands the horizon even more: Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? (v.3).
We can deduce what Paul means by judge angels fairly readily by comparing this statement to Hebrews 2:5-10. Hebrews 2:6-8 quotes Psalm 8, which magnifies God because He did an unthinkable thing, which was to put humans in charge of the earth even though they are "lower than the angels" (Hebrews 2:7). Humans fell from their intended design due to sin. But now, through Jesus, their right to reign has been restored. They can be rewarded the status as one of "many sons" who will share the birthright inheritance to reign along with Christ (Hebrews 2:10).
The root of the Greek word translated we will judge is "krino." Words with the root of "krino" appear seventeen times in 1 Corinthians, including in 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3, and 6. It is rendered in each appearance:
By reviewing these contexts, we can gain a picture that "krinos" involves making decisions that carry weight and impact others. Therefore, the term we will judge angels would indicate that those who overcome as Jesus overcame, and are therefore invited to share Jesus's authority (Revelation 3:21), who live in all ways as unto the Lord and thereby receive the reward of the inheritance (Colossians 3:23-24), who are good and faithful servants who steward their gifts well and therefore are appointed to rule over much (Matthew 25:21), will be placed in authority over angels.
Angels are beings of a higher order, as Hebrews 2:7 tells us. And yet, Paul marvels, believers are granted an inheritance to rule over them. Therefore, with this immense authority as part of our inheritance, how much more should we not seek to overcome, suffer with Christ, and be good and faithful servants by settling disputes in this life.
Believers in Christ are not merely forgiven sinners waiting around for heaven; we are being formed into faithful stewards who will share in the reign of Jesus (Revelation 3:21, 2 Timothy 2:12). Paul wants the Corinthians to live in their new identity in Christ as His servant, and as co-heirs with Him. And this includes being servant-leaders who have learned how to resolve internal conflicts.
Paul's argument implicitly calls for spiritual maturity. The church's ability to handle disputes depends on believers walking by the Spirit rather than the flesh. When a community is driven by jealousy, factions, and pride, it will naturally look outside itself for resolution. But when a community is shaped by humility, truth, and love, it can face hard issues without destroying relationships. Paul is inviting the Corinthians into spiritual adulthood—a consistent theme in his earlier admonitions to stop living like "mere men" and learn to live as God’s temple-people (1 Corinthians 3:3-4, 16).
Paul now makes the point that status and authority in the world should be considered of no importance within the functions of the church: So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? (v.4).
Context indicates that the law courts in view are assemblies intended to judge matters of this life for believers in the church. Paul's question is, "If you have a dispute to resolve within the church, does it make sense to appoint someone with no standing or commonality with the church to decide the matter?" A similar question in a modern context might be, "Would you ask someone who had never been out of the city and knew nothing of animals to judge a horse show?"
A judge in a court of law is an important and prestigious position of power within any community. Yet, within the church, such judges should be of no account and should not be sought to decide matters within the church. The Greek word translated are of no account is a verb with the Greek root "exoutheneo." A few other instances of words with this root elsewhere in scripture gives us a broader sense of its meaning, as follows:
The point is that civil authorities should not be given spiritual authority. Their capabilities in civil matters should be respected when a matter is civil (Romans 13:1). But within the church that authority should have no bearing. Elders and deacons within the church should be appointed to decide such matters of this life between believers because of their spiritual maturity (1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9, 1 Peter 5:1-4, Acts 20:28-31).
Civil judges are appointed to civil courts because of legal expertise, or perhaps for political reasons. Paul’s point is "these civil authorities do not live up to the standard for church leadership so their opinion on church matters should have no influence."
Paul supports the legitimacy of civil courts. Governments exist for order and justice and are appointed by God, according to Romans 13:1-4 (which is authored by Paul). While supporting proper authority in the proper venue of civil courts, Paul advocates that believer vs. believer conflicts should be resolved within the church.
Church governance should be adequate to resolve disputes using biblical principles and spiritual discernment. Appealing to civil authorities should not be necessary. Paul's commentary reflects that the Corinthian church lacks maturity. He stated in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 that the Corinthian believers were immature, in need of meat (adult food) rather than milk (baby food). Paul is seeking to instruct them in order to grow them up in their walk with Christ.
Paul next asserts that it is shameful to think that there is not sufficient wisdom within the church to deal with disputes: I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers (vv. 5-6).
Culture is shaped by what is honored or shamed within a group. Paul seeks to build a culture where it is shameful not to have sufficient wisdom within the church body to settle disputes, and for people to fail to take advantage of that capacity.
It is not just a matter of personal preference that one believer sues another. It is, rather, a matter of shame for the entire congregation that the saints gathered in the Corinthian church do not have sufficient respect for leaders to allow them to mediate their dispute.
Paul's question whether there is not among them even one wise man capable of mediating a dispute can be taken as shaming them either for lacking such wisdom, or for not seeking wisdom available to them. A wise man with godly rather than worldly wisdom ought to be able to decide a dispute between his brethren, his fellow believers within the church, in a better way than an unbeliever in the civil world.
The Greek word translated wise man is "sophos" from which we get the English word "sophisticated." Words with the root of "sophos" occur eleven times in this letter, with ten of the occurrences in chapters 1-3. In Chapter 1, Paul contrasts the wisdom of the world with the wisdom of God. In Chapter 3, Paul speaks of spiritual wisdom to do deeds in this life that bring rewards in heaven, rather than seeking rewards according to the wisdom of the world.
The Corinthians admired impressive rhetoric and philosophical flair, but Paul keeps redirecting them to the "wisdom" found in the cross-shaped life of Jesus. In this case the wise man that should be sought is one with sufficient spiritual maturity to mediate a dispute between two believers. Paul is saying the Corinthian church should be ashamed if they cannot identify and submit to even one mature believer capable of helping mediate a dispute, to decide between his brethren. Whether there is a lack of wisdom or a lack of seeking the wisdom, either is to their shame.
The Greek word translated to decide in the phrase one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren can also be rendered "judge" or "discern." The picture is someone with the wisdom to lead two people in dispute to a resolution.
Verse 6 continues the sentence began in verse 5. Including the full sentence, Paul says Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers (vv. 5b and 6).
Rather than seeking wisdom within the body, believers are seeking to resolve their dispute before unbelievers. The phrase unbelievers refers to those outside the church who have not believed in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins (John 3:14-15). In the early days of Christianity, the vast majority of society was pagan, with pagan values. Paul is shaming the Corinthian believers for seeking to resolve disputes with a judge who has pagan values rather than seeking God’s wisdom through believers equipped with godly wisdom.
Healthy congregations cultivate trustworthy, spiritually mature leaders—not those merely gifted as communicators. And healthy believers are willing to submit to that kind of wise counsel. Paul envisions a church where conflict resolution is part of discipleship: believers care more about honoring Christ and preserving unity than about protecting ego or extracting payment.
When Paul states, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers (v.6), the repetition of brother underlines the tragedy. These are not enemies. They are family—people united by the same Savior, baptized into the same body, indwelt by the same Spirit. When they treat each other like opponents in court, they deny with their actions what they confess with their lips: that Christ has made them one in Him.
The phrase before unbelievers highlights another layer: public witness. The church proclaims reconciliation with God through Christ; it should also embody reconciliation with one another. When Christians air grievances in public court as a first resort, it communicates that the gospel is powerless to shape real relationships. Paul does not want the world to see believers as indistinguishable from the culture at large, seeking advantage over others rather than prioritizing serving others.
This closes the section with a clear invitation: choose the family way of Jesus over the culture's way of status and victory. Paul's underlying aim is not merely that disputes "go away," but that believers learn to live as the people they truly are—saints who possess an inheritance to reign together in Christ's kingdom as servant leaders. Paul exhorts them to a higher way, to live according to their royal calling rather than to sink into the philosophy of the "strong exploit the weak" common to the cultures of this world.
Each believer in Christ is a steward of the ministry they have been granted, the works God has prepared for them to accomplish (Ephesians 2:10). Each of us will be evaluated by Him. The way we treat our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is a part of our stewardship.