Can Believers Sue One Another? (Part 2)

Dear Bethelites,

Can believers sue one another? The answer is no! Paul gave the reason why: (1) the believers have very different standards of judgment (1 Corinthians 6:1), and (2) they must protect their Christian testimonies. Then Paul proceeded to explain the other three reasons.

III. To judge the world

The third reason is that the believers shall judge the world. Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? (1 Corinthians 6:2)

When our Lord Jesus returns to set up His millennial kingdom, believers from throughout all of history will sit with Him on His throne and judge the world for one thousand years (c.f. Revelations 3:21). In other words, Paul was saying, If you are going to sit in God’s supreme court to judge over the world, are you not qualified to judge in these small, everyday matters that you have now?

Paul went on to say in verse 3, Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? (1 Corinthians 6:3) Believers will one day even judge the angels. There are a few difficulties in interpreting this verse.

• The Bible does not tell us clearly which angels we will judge; the good angels or the fallen angels.
• The fallen angels will be judged by the Lord in the final judgment, and we are not told if believers will participate in that judgment.
• Obviously, the good angels have no sin to be condemned, so why should they be judged?

But interestingly, the word judge (krino) can mean to rule or to govern. If Christ was exalted above all the angels, and if we are in Him, and if we are to reign with Him, then somehow, we will share in His authority to judge, which means to rule and to govern over all the good angels. So, whether we will participate in judging the fallen angels on the day of judgment, or we will rule and govern over the good angels together with Christ (we do not know for sure and one should not be too dogmatic about it), the point Paul was trying to stress is this, “If we are to judge and rule over the world and over the angels in the age to come, how much more should we be able to handle matters pertaining to this life!”

This is the problem with many of us. We only focus on the trivial matters of this physical life, and forget the greater blessings and responsibilities that await us in the future. We are going to inherit the heavenly blessings and reign with Christ in the millennial kingdom, and be with Him forever and ever. Why do we have to fight over all these trivial physical things that would soon perish? Why do we have to sue one another in court? As one pastor said, “We are like little children playing with their toys, “I win, you lose, no, I win, you lose!” We must never behave like that!

IV. The believer’s ability to judge

The fourth reason is the believer’s ability to judge. If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church (1 Corinthians 6:4).

In the secular courts, the people would appoint judges to rule over the affairs of this life. Similarly, if two Christian parties cannot agree between themselves, they should ask (or set them which means to appoint them) their fellow Christians to settle the matter for them. Even the least equipped believer in the church, he still has the counsel of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit, and therefore, he is much more able to settle the disagreements between the fellow believers than the most highly trained and experienced unbelieving judge who is void of any biblical truth.

Paul was ashamed of the Corinthians whom he had taught and ministered, and he said, I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? (1 Corinthians 6:5). If you remember, the Corinthians were puffed up; they were inflated with spiritual pride, they were very proud of themselves. Thus, this rebuke was like a slap to the face, “You claimed to be so spiritual, wise and intellectual, but what a shame that there is not even one wise person in the entire church who is able to judge and resolve the issues between yourselves? That is the reason why one brother has to take the issue he has with another brother to court, and present the case before the unbelievers. What shame!” But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers (1 Corinthians 6:6).

V. The willingness to forgive

The fifth and final reason why we cannot sue one another is our willingness to forgive. Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? (1 Corinthians 6:7).

The phrase now therefore there is utterly a fault among you can be translated as “it is already completely and utterly a defeat for you.” In other words, “Because you sue one another to court, it is a spiritual defeat for you.” When a believer takes another believer to court, though he may win the case physically, he will always lose the case spiritually in the sight of God. As far as God is concerned, he is selfish, and he has not trusted in His power, wisdom and work, so he is a loser, defeated and at fault.

The right attitude of a believer is that he would rather be wronged and be cheated, than to sue a fellow believer. It is far better to lose financially than to lose spiritually. If a brother has wronged us, our response should be to forgive him as Jesus has commanded us (c.f. Matthew 18:21-22). We are to leave the outcome of the matter in God’s hands. God may give or take away; He has His sovereign will and purpose in what we gain or lose. We should humbly accept His will and purpose!

We should not retaliate as Jesus had taught us. Matthew 5:39, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. Notice Jesus particularly mentioned the right cheek. One theologian aptly observed, “Most people are right handed and the only way one could slap the right cheek of the other person is to do a backhand slap. To hit someone with the back of the hand is twice as insulting as hitting him with the flat of the hand. It simply means “you are nothing.” It is a most humiliating insult.”

Jesus went on to say, And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also (Matthew 5:40). The coat was a type of undergarment, sort of a tunic or a dress, and the cloke was a heavier outer garment. In those days, a man could have several coats or tunics, but he would have only one cloke. The Mosaic Law recognised that the cloke was necessary for a man’s well-being, and although he could be sued for his coat or tunic, he could not be sued for his cloke which would keep him warm in winter or protect him from the chill of the night if he slept outside on the ground.

Even though the court could not demand the outer garment, it could be willingly given to meet the required debt. The Christian should have an attitude of willingness to surrender even his extremely valuable outer garment rather than cause offence with his adversary. That was precisely what Jesus said the believer should do, even to his worst enemy. If the believer was commanded to do that to his worst enemy, how much more should he forgive his brothers and sisters in Christ?

Tragically, that was not the case with the Corinthians. Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren (1 Corinthians 6:8). Instead of being the ones willing to be treated wrongly and unfairly, they were actually the ones who had mistreated and cheated their brethren. How sad!

Some people may ask, “What if I have been cheated by a non-Christian? What if I worked for a secular company and they refused to pay me? What if they know that I am a Christian, and because of that, they take advantage of me?” Well, in such cases, one can take legal actions, as long as the law of love for our neighbour is not violated, justice is served with integrity, one must not have a vindictive spirit, and the purpose is not to take revenge but to seek after honesty, righteousness and justice. In dealing with the world, one should be wise as serpents, and yet harmless as doves (c.f. Matthew 10:16). The Apostle Paul himself appealed to Caesar when the unbelieving Jews tried to kill him.

In recapitulation, can believers sue one another? No! The reasons are (1) we have very different standards of judgments, (2) we want to protect our Christian testimony, (3) we remember that we shall judge the world and even angels, how can we not be qualified to judge these physical trivial matters, (4) we have the ability to judge amongst ourselves because of the counsel of God’s Word and His Spirit, thus, even the least of the believers is wiser than the most experienced secular judge, and finally, (5) we must be willing to forgive.

In Christ,

Pastor Paul Cheng