What is the meaning of 1 Corinthians 6:4? So if you need to settle everyday matters Paul is talking about “everyday matters,” not crimes or moral atrocities, but routine disputes—property lines, business agreements, personal debts, and the like. He’s amazed that believers, destined to “judge the world” and even “angels” (1 Corinthians 6:2-3), would drag such trivial concerns before secular courts. • Everyday life often brings friction; Scripture never denies that (Luke 12:13-14). The issue is where believers look for resolution. • Moses was taught to set up godly men to decide lesser cases so that the weightier matters could be handled by him (Exodus 18:21-22). Paul draws on that same logic: use spiritually minded people for everyday issues. • The church in Jerusalem chose “seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom” to handle the distribution complaints in Acts 6:3. That model shows that normal, practical problems belong in the hands of spiritually mature believers. Do you appoint as judges Paul’s words come as a sharp question, calling out a practice that had already become routine in Corinth—handing Christian disagreements to pagan magistrates. • The Old Testament pattern is clear: “You shall appoint judges and officials… and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment” (Deuteronomy 16:18). • Jesus laid groundwork for internal problem-solving: “If your brother sins against you… tell it to the church” (Matthew 18:15-17). • Paul has just reminded them that believers, not outsiders, are responsible to judge members when necessary (1 Corinthians 5:12). So, when he says “do you appoint,” he is challenging them to replace worldly judges with those grounded in the Word. Those of no standing in the church? Here is the sting. Corinthian believers were elevating non-believers—people “of no standing in the church”—over the family of God. Paul’s sarcasm exposes the absurdity. • James rebukes assemblies that honor the rich outsider while shaming their own poor (James 2:6); Paul’s critique is similar. • God often chooses the “lowly and despised” (1 Corinthians 1:26-28), yet the church was doing the reverse: honoring the ungodly in matters that should have remained spiritual family business. • To place ultimate authority in hands not subject to Christ is to be “mismatched” (2 Corinthians 6:14). Paul urges them to recognize and respect spiritual credibility, not worldly credentials. summary 1 Corinthians 6:4 confronts believers who outsource minor disputes to secular courts. Paul reminds the church to keep everyday matters within the fellowship, appointing spiritually mature brothers and sisters—those with recognized standing in Christ—to act as judges. The verse calls Christians to honor the wisdom God supplies through His people, not to rely on a world that neither knows nor submits to the Lord. |
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