Light in the World - I Corinthians 6:1-11

A Light in the World

I Corinthians 6:1-11

Introduction:  One of the challenges any church faces in any age, is living out our mission to point people to Jesus.  If we exist to “know God and to make Him know,”  if we are to be “a lighthouse of God’s grace and truth,” if we desire to “proclaim the riches of His grace to the world,” our testimony in the community had better be consistent.  This week the students at NEBC looked at the pastoral epistles, and one of the things we highlighted was the list of characteristics required of elders and deacons in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Two of those characteristics are very relevant here with respect to the church, and the testimony of every one of us: we should seek to be “above reproach,” and we should “have a good reputation with those outside…” This week we look again back nearly 2 millennia at the situation in the church in Corinth, and some of their actions which were causing their testimony to suffer. 

Paul is still treating in this part of the letter the matters that had been reported to him about the church. The issue then and there is clear enough, believers were dealing with disputes between themselves before the pagan courts, rather than seeking to resolve these conflicts from within the church. The principle goes much further than going to court, it speaks to the importance of our witness and the testimony of our church in the community. Whether the issue is complaining about our spouse before an unbelieving friend or co-worker, or grumbling about some issue in the church before an unbelieving spouse, we are essentially asking someone who does not know God to judge between believers. If we bring matters or disputes in the church up for discussion at the Y or at the supermarket, what does that say to the unbelievers who may be hearing? In every case that decision will detract from the testimony of the church. Because we are saved by grace and have a part in God’s kingdom both now and in the future, we have what we need to work out our differences and to live in peace with one another. So…

The Big Idea: It is pretty clear: Peace in the body brings glory to God. Make peace!

I. THE WORLD IS WATCHING—If we are Kingdom citizens, we should be able to resolve our problems without involving unbelievers. If we fail to do this our witness as a body is compromised (1-6).  Whether we like it or not, the world is watching. What difference does our faith make in our relationship with fellow believers?

When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?  ² Or 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 not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!  ⁴ So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church?  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, ⁶ but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? (I Corinthians 6:1-6).

       First of all we have to look back at what was happening there and then (1).  What was the situation that Paul heard about in the church in Corinth that was so important that he felt obliged to address it in this letter?  6:1 tells us of “grievances” between believers being brought before the “unrighteous,” i.e. the pagan judges of the city.  Paul expresses shock, “…does he dare go to law…”? It is as though he is says, “What were you thinking? How could you possibly do such a thing?” To Paul it is outrageous that such steps were taken.

I think we must be living in one of the societies most prone to litigation in the world.  A couple of weeks back I saw the story of a JetBlue pilot who apparently had a mental breakdown during a flight and ran down the aisle ranting and frightening the passengers about imminent disaster, he was suing the airline for allowing him to fly! They should have known better!  OK, I don’t know all the facts, but take some personal responsibility for your actions!  That’s a bit like the burglar breaking into your house and then suing you because he gets bit by your dog!  Of course we all know the famous story of the lady who bought a McDonalds coffee, spilled it on herself, and then sued because she got burned!  As a reminder of that one virtually every cup of coffee you buy today will have a warning, “contents very hot!” No kidding, I didn’t buy an ice coffee!  Someone should serve tepid coffee and write on the cup, “contents are lukewarm, so feel free to spill it on yourself!” Well, in Corinth, it was part of the culture for people to resolve issues between them by going before a tribunal at the bema in the center of the market place to resolve their disputes.  Apparently two Christians, probably two well off leaders in the church, brought their case before the pagan judges in Corinth, and news of this got back to Paul.  Paul is expressing outrage, shock that they would do such a thing, “What? How dare you take a family matter before the world!”  Listen, we may not like it but we cannot avoid it: the world is watching! What do they see when they look at the church? What do they hear?  Do they see a family of Christ followers who love and seek to obey God, and who love one another?  Do they see a group of people who are different, who are forgiving because they are forgiven, who are gracious because they have experienced grace, who love because they’ve been loved?

Problems will come up between us, it is nothing new. You remember in Acts 6 when the Hellenistic Jewish believers felt their widows were being overlooked in the distribution of food. What did the church do?  They addressed the problem internally, the apostles directed the Greek speaking Jews to select seven spiritually qualified men from among them to address the problem.  Possibly that was the origin of the office of “deacon” (the verb diakoneo “to serve [tables]” from the same root as the noun [diakonos]“deacon” is used in that context). It would have been disastrous to the witness of the young church for them have turned to the Sanhedrin to resolve the dispute, or worse yet to the Roman authorities!   In First Corinthians, the issue then and there was going to law before unbelievers. I don’t think that happens very much in evangelical churches. Occasionally we see situations when, despite our best efforts, we have to go to court, for example when children have to be protected. Our motive should never be to “get the most we can” out of a situation, and it should never be entered into lightly. And every effort at mediation and “peace making” from within the church should be taken first.  But the principle here goes beyond the idea of formal lawsuits.

Much more common than actually “going to court,” is how easily we put fellow believers “on trial” by bringing our complaints about them to someone outside the church, or someone that does not know the Lord. Listen: anytime we bring our complaints or grumblings about the church before unbelievers, neighbors, co-workers, friends, we violate the same principle. Remember, peace in the body brings glory to God. So make peace!

 Our position in Christ qualifies us to resolve our problems (2,3). Paul appeals to God’s plan, which includes us in His kingdom program: “Or 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 not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!” If we are going to reign with Christ, and it seems that is what Paul is saying here, should we not be able to work out the problems that come up between us? Isn’t there someone that we can turn to in the church to act as mediator and peacemaker?

       If we are more than qualified to handle “family matters” internally why would we involve others (4-6)? The world is watching! How we handle disputes and disagreements and problems among us will say a lot to them about the reality of what we claim to have in Christ. How we relate to one another in our marriage, how we deal with our children, how we approach disagreements between brothers and sisters in the church, all of that says something to those around us. Remember, peace in the body brings glory to God. Make peace!

II. In terms of importance, OUR WITNESS TRUMPS OUR WANTS: Are your rights more important to you than your mission (7-11)?

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?  ⁸ But you yourselves wrong and defraud- even your own brothers!  ⁹ Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,  ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers 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 by the Spirit of our God (I Corinthians 6:7-11).

     Attitude of Christians (7-8).  This is where it gets difficult. Paul says that “winning” is not the most important thing, even if you are right. It would be better to surrender your “rights” for the sake of your witness. You want to win so badly, but…

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?  ⁸ But you yourselves wrong and defraud- even your own brothers!

Think about it, Jesus voluntarily laid down His rights, the eternal Son took a human nature and came to give His life for us. He was holy, righteous, without sin, yet he was mocked and beaten, scourged, and nailed to a Cross. Innocent, He died for the guilty.  Paul told the Philippians, “Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus… He emptied himself…” Jesus voluntarily surrendered his rights, and humbled himself, so that we could be lifted up!  Shouldn’t we want to think more like Him? Attitudes determine actions. It starts in the heart and mind, and leads to the actions we take, or not. First, is the dispute something you can let go of? If not, then take to the church, or to a trusted, mature Christian, and ask for help in resolving the problem.  When Paul asks here, “…why not rather be wronged…” he is not saying that we should not seek to resolve problems, that we should just let people do whatever they want to us! He is saying, that it would be better to take the loss than to take your problem with a fellow Christian before unbelievers.  Got problems? Is “winning” really that important? God knows the truth and He knows your heart!  Remember, peace in the body brings glory to Him. So be a peacemaker!

     Character of Christians (read 9-11).  Paul sets up a contrast between the unredeemed sinners in the world, and the Corinthians, who now have a new life in Christ,

⁹ Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,  ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

The list here of people who won’t inherit the Kingdom is very parallel to what we see in Galatians 5:19-21, where Paul talks about the “works of the flesh,”

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,  ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,  ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

“…and such were some of you…” Paul is saying to remember where you’ve come from, remember what you’ve been saved from! “B.C.”, “before Christ,” you were dead spiritually, in bondage to sin and to Satan, but you’ve been set free! You are different because you are already part of the “New Creation” (2 Cor 5:17) and you are an heir with Christ and are destined to have a role in the Kingdom!  Why should you bring complaints about a fellow blood bought believer before the world?   You are essentially asking them to “judge” a fellow believer, and to affirm your rights.  You were like them, you were one of them, but now, by God’s grace, you are His! In Christ, we are different.

·        You were washed… We were sinners, depraved, spiritually dead, “unclean” because of our iniquities, and we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, cleansed of the guilt of our sin. The point is not that we don’t sin (you know better!) but because Jesus paid the price we no longer carry the guilt of our sin.

·        You were sanctified… “Set apart” positionally, because we are His. That means that we are in the world, but we belong to God, we are citizens of Heaven, and our names are written in the book of life.  There is also a progressive sense to sanctification, we are being changed, becoming more and more like Him.

·        You were justified… A legal term, this is one of the key doctrines we see in Romans and in Galatians.  By it Paul means that we are declared righteous, by grace through faith.  The righteousness of Jesus is reckoned to our account.

Because we are kingdom citizens, already partakers of the preliminary blessings of the Kingdom, we would be fools to ask unbelievers to resolve our disputes.

What is God saying to me in this passage? Got peace? Peace in the body brings glory to God. So strive to make peace!

What would God have me to do in response to this passage?  There is no doubt that all of us will have disputes at one time or another with other believers. The first thing we should do is appeal to the offender to try to look to the Lord with you to resolve the matter.  If they are unwilling or if that doesn’t move the situation toward resolution, seek someone in the church that has knowledge in that area.  A mediator, a peacemaker. Is there a dispute with your spouse that seems to be spiraling out of control? Seek Christian counselling, there is always hope.  Has a Christian businessman or professional wronged you? If you can’t resolve the matter, ask your pastor or an elder for advice and direction. We are citizens of heaven, children of the king!  We are not only talking about lawsuits and going to court here.  If we bring “complaints” about our believing spouse before our unbelieving friends or relatives, we violate this principle and bring disrepute on the Lord. If we grumble about someone in the church to an unbeliever, we violate this principle. Remember who you are! Remember who’s you are! Remember your calling.  Jesus is the Light of the World. We are called to be conduits of that light as we live out our part in His story.   Think about that,   AMEN.