YOU HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED

^JDV  1 Corinthians 6:1-3

 ¹ When one of you has a problem with another, does he dare ask the unrighteous ones to decide upon it instead of the holy ones?

² Or do you not know that the holy ones will decide the fate of the world? And if the world is to be decided upon by you, are you incompetent to decide on less significant cases?

³ Do you not know that we are going to decide the fate of angels? So, why not questions of normal life? (1 Cor. 6:1-3 JDV)

competent to critique

Paul’s frustration in this section is rooted in a profound theological conviction: God has entrusted his people with a share in the administration of his coming kingdom. Believers are not passive spectators in God’s purposes; they are participants who will one day judge angels and exercise authority in the renewed creation. If that is the destiny of the church, then it makes no sense for Christians to surrender even the smallest matters of daily life to the judgment of unbelievers. To do so is not humility but abdication. It is a failure to recognize the dignity and responsibility Christ has given his people.

This is why Paul reacts so strongly to the situation in Corinth. Members of the church were taking one another to secular courts over ordinary disputes—financial disagreements, property issues, personal grievances. Instead of resolving these matters within the fellowship, guided by the wisdom of the Spirit and the authority of Scripture, they were appealing to judges who did not share their values, their worldview, or their allegiance to Christ. Paul sees this as a tragic reversal. Those who are destined to judge the world are now asking the world to judge them. Those who possess the Spirit are now submitting to those who do not. Those who should be taking the gavel are handing it away.

For Paul, this is not merely a procedural mistake; it is a spiritual insult. When the church refuses to deal with its own internal problems, it dishonors the Holy Spirit who dwells within it. The Spirit equips the church with wisdom, discernment, and authority. To ignore that gift is to treat the Spirit as irrelevant. Corinth had done exactly that, and Paul’s anger reflects the seriousness of the offense. Their actions suggested that the Spirit’s presence was insufficient, that the church lacked the competence to handle its own affairs, and that unbelievers were better equipped to render justice than the people of God.

Paul’s rebuke is therefore a call to recover the church’s identity. Believers are not helpless. They are not spiritually impoverished. They are not dependent on the world to settle their disputes. They are a Spirit‑filled community entrusted with the honor of representing Christ’s kingdom. To live beneath that calling is to forget who they are and whose authority they bear.

LORD, give us wise leaders who dare to decide on practical issues in the church.