John Calvin Commentary 1 Corinthians 6:2

"Or know ye not that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world is judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?" — 1 Corinthians 6:2 (ASV)

Here, he begins to reprove another fault among the Corinthians—an excessive fondness for litigation, which arose from avarice. Now, this reproof consists of two parts. The first is, that by bringing their disputes before the tribunals of the wicked, they thereby made the gospel contemptible and exposed it to ridicule. The second is, that while Christians should endure injuries with patience, they inflicted injury on others, rather than allow themselves to be subjected to any inconvenience. Thus, the first part is particular; the other is general.

Dare any of you (1 Corinthians 6:1). This is the first statement: that if anyone has a controversy with a brother, it should be decided before godly judges, and it should not be before those who are ungodly. If the reason is asked, I have already said that it is because disgrace is brought upon the gospel, and the name of Christ is held up, so to speak, to the scoffings of the ungodly. For the ungodly, at the instigation of Satan, are always eagerly on the watch for opportunities to find occasion for slander against the doctrine of godliness. Now believers, when they make the ungodly parties in their disputes, seem as though they intentionally furnish them with a pretext for reviling. A second reason may be added: that we treat our brothers disdainfully when we, of our own accord, subject them to the decisions of unbelievers.

But here it may be objected: “As it belongs to the office of the magistrate, and as it is particularly his responsibility to administer justice to all and to decide upon matters in dispute, why should not even unbelievers, who are in the office of magistrate, have this authority? And, if they have it, why are we prevented from maintaining our rights before their tribunals?” I answer that Paul does not here condemn those who, out of necessity, have a case before unbelieving judges, such as when a person is summoned to court; but he condemns those who, of their own accord, bring their brothers into this situation and harass them, so to speak, by means of unbelievers, when it is in their power to use another remedy. It is wrong, therefore, to initiate a lawsuit of one’s own accord against brothers before unbelieving judges. If, on the other hand, you are summoned to court, there is no harm in appearing there and defending your case.

Know you not that the saints... (1 Corinthians 6:2). Here we have an argument from the lesser to the greater. For Paul, desiring to show that injury is done to the Church of God when judgments on disputes connected with earthly things are brought before unbelievers—as if there were no one in the society of the godly who was qualified to judge—reasons in this way: “Since God has considered the saints worthy of such honor as to have appointed them judges of the whole world, it is unreasonable that they should be excluded from judging small matters, as if they were not qualified for it.” Hence it follows that the Corinthians inflict injury upon themselves by resigning into the hands of unbelievers the honor that God has conferred upon them.

What is said here about judging the world should be understood as referring to Christ's declarations, such as:

When the Son of Man shall come, you shall sit, etc. (Matthew 19:28).

And, For all power of judgment has been committed to the Son (John 5:22).

Through these, He will receive His saints to participate with Him in this honor, as assessors. Apart from this, they will judge the world—as indeed they already begin to do—because their piety, faith, fear of the Lord, good conscience, and integrity of life will make unbelievers altogether inexcusable, as it is said of Noah, that by his faith he condemned all the men of his age (Hebrews 11:7). But the former meaning agrees better with the Apostle’s design, for unless you understand the judging spoken of here in its proper sense, the reasoning will not hold.

But even in this sense, it may seem not to have much weight, for it is as if one should say: “The saints are endowed with heavenly wisdom, which immeasurably transcends all human doctrines; therefore, they can judge better regarding the stars than astrologers.” Now, no one will allow this, and the reason for objection is obvious: piety and spiritual doctrine do not confer a knowledge of human arts.

My answer here is this: between expertise in judging and other arts, there is this difference—while the latter are acquired by acuteness of intellect and by study, and are learned from masters, the former depends more on equity and conscientiousness.

But some may object: “Lawyers will judge better and more confidently than an illiterate Christian; otherwise, the knowledge of law is of no advantage.” I answer that their advice is not excluded here, for if the determination of any obscure question requires knowledge of the laws, the Apostle does not prevent Christians from consulting lawyers.

What he finds fault with in the Corinthians is simply this: that they bring their disputes before unbelieving judges, as if they had no one in the Church qualified to pass judgment. Furthermore, he shows how much superior is the judgment that God has assigned to His believing people.

The words translated in you mean here, in my opinion, among you. For whenever believers meet in one place under the auspices of Christ, there is already in their assembly a sort of image of the future judgment, which will be fully revealed on the last day. Accordingly, Paul says that the world is judged in the Church, because there Christ’s tribunal is erected, from which He exercises His authority.