Paul
the apostle told the church in Corinth, “them
that are without God judges”,
and they were to “put away from
among”
themselves “that wicked person”
which referred to the “fornicator”
within the church. In chapter six and
verse one of First Corinthians, Paul told the church members in
Corinth not to “go to law before the unjust”
where we read:
Dare
any of you, having a matter against another,
go to
law before the unjust, and not before the saints?
The
verse begins, “Dare
any of you, having a matter against another, ...”
Paul began
with the word, “Dare” which
means “to not dread or shun through fear, bear, endure or be bold”
“any of you”
or “a certain one of the church members in Corinth”, “having
a matter”
which means “holding, owning and possessing a question, affair,
business, deed or accomplished fact” “against”
or “towards and with regard to” “another”
which refers
to “an other person”. Paul began his question by referring to
when one person has a “matter”
or “business matter” against another person within the church.
The
verse continues, “... go
to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?”
Paul added
the words, “go to law” which
means “separate, put asunder, select, choose, approve, esteem,
prefer, deem, think or be of opinion”“before”
or “on,
at, by or in front of” “the unjust”
which refers to “those who are unrighteous, sinful and deceitful”,
“and not before”
which means “and not on, at, by or in front of” “the
saints”
which refers to “the most holy ones”? Paul desired to know why
people would go “before”
“unrighteous” or “ungodly” people to judge matters between
themselves.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we understand he is sharing about
“lawsuits”. People within the church of Corinth were “suing”
one another over different “business matters”, and they
were going to the “worldly judges” to seek evaluation and
“justice”. Paul wanted to know why they didn't “judge”
these “matters” themselves. When a church is functioning
in a manner according to the “righteousness” of Jesus Christ,
they should be solving these issues between themselves or at least
bringing them to the leadership of the church. As we study Paul's
direction to the church of Corinth, let us pay particular attention
to what he has to say to the church concerning “lawsuits” and how
Christians should be handling them.
Next
time Paul asks the church members, “Do
you not know that the saints shall judge the world?”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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