1 Corinthians 6:4-7

Scripture: 1 Cor. 6:4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church?

1 Cor. 6:5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers,

1 Cor. 6:6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers?

1 Cor. 6:7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?

Teaching: In chapter 6, Paul admonishes the Corinthians for their habit of bringing lawsuits into the Greek courts, rather than handling their disputes within the church. His rationale is essentially that the Greek courts do not share the same faith, nor worldview, nor eternal outlook that believers do, and thus, should not be relied upon to bring Christ-like righteousness in their decisions. He echoes this point in verses 4-6 here, but he adds a note of disappointment in the Corinthians seeming belief that none in their church was wise enough to make righteous judgements. The principle Paul is expressing here is this: the church should seek to handle its disputes internally because doing so properly will shine the light of Christ and His Word upon the dispute, rather than simply the letter of the secular law.

He builds upon this idea in verse 7, saying, “To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?” Having lawsuits, disputes that could not be settled relationally but have devolved to needing outside judgement, is not a good thing, and thus, Paul says it is a “defeat” for them. Why? Because Christians should not be so intransigent and obstinate in their dealings. As Scripture says, they should let their yes be yes and no be no, and in all things, seek to love the Lord their God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength and love their neighbors as themselves. So when both parties cannot live in this way, it is a “defeat.” But then Paul poses the question, “Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?” What he means here is that sometimes, when we seek settlement in court, especially secular courts, we can win the case but lose in eternity. We might have a judge favor our side, but in doing so, did we represent Christ? There are implications for the Christian in eternity that holds no bearing on unbelievers nor secular judges who do not share the same belief.

Takeaway: Christians have been assured of eternal life in Christ by faith in His death and resurrection; by believing Christ is who He says He is and has done what He has said He’s done. In light of this truth, our actions take on more gravity in this world, as what we do holds weight in eternity with Christ. In His goodness, Christ offers us rewards in the Kingdom for things done in this life. When we lose sight of eternity, and the unseen yet believed future we have with Christ, and instead focus our attention on getting what we desire in the present, we put ourselves at risk of losing where it matters to gain where it doesn’t. The life of a believer is radically different than that of an unbeliever because what one values and seeks is radically different. So, in making decisions believers should always consider the eternal implications. The world says that losing a dispute is always bad; but Christ lost his dispute with the Pharisees and went to cross for it – bringing an even greater eternal win. The perspective of a Christian should not be to win at all costs, but rather, to consider what is eternally beneficial to Christ and the Kingdom. To lay up treasure in heaven, rather than earth.