1 Corinthians 6:1

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:1-8

Here the apostle reproves them for going to law with one another before heathen judges for little matters; and therein blames all vexatious law-suits. In the previous chapter he had directed them to punish heinous sins among themselves by church-censures. Here he directs them to determine controversies with one another by church-counsel and advice, concerning which observe, I. The fault he blames them for: it was going to law. Not but that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully. But, 1.... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 Corinthians 6:1-8

6:1-8 When any of you has a ground of complaint against his fellow, does he dare to go to law before unrighteous men, and not before God's dedicated people? Are you not aware that God's dedicated people will one day judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you unfit to deal with the smallest matters of judgment? Are you not aware that we will judge angels--let alone things which have to do with ordinary everyday life? If then you have questions of judgment which have to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:1

Dare any of you, having a matter against another ,...., Any thing in difference, an action, cause, or suit. The apostle having dispatched the affair of the incestuous person, and blamed this church for their conduct therein: and having given them instructions what they should do, proceeds to lay before them another evil among them he had to complain of; which was, when any difference arose among them about their worldly concerns, they would go to law before the unjust , and not before... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 6:1

Dare any of you, etc. - From the many things that are here reprehended by the apostle, we learn that the Christian Church at Corinth was in a state of great imperfection, notwithstanding there were very many eminent characters among them. Divided as they were among themselves, there was no one person who possessed any public authority to settle differences between man and man; therefore, as one party would not submit to the decisions of another, they were obliged to carry their contentions... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 6:1

Verse 1 Here, he begins to reprove another fault among the Corinthians — an excessive fondness for litigation, which took its rise from avarice. Now, this reproof consists of two parts. The first is, that by bringing their disputes before the tribunals of the wicked, they by this means made the gospel contemptible, and exposed it to derision. The second is, that while Christians ought to endure injuries with patience, they inflicted injury on others, rather than allow themselves to be subjected... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:1

Dare any of you? rather, Dare any one of you? It is in St. Paul's view an audacious defiance of Christian duties to seek from the heathen the justice due from brother to brother. A matter; some ground of civil dispute. Against another; i.e. against another Christian. When one of the litigants was a heathen, Christians were allowed to go before heathen law courts, because no other remedy was possible. Go to law before the unjust. The "unjust" is here used for "Gentiles," because... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:1-8

The ideal Church a tribunal. "Dare any of you, having a matter against another," etc.? In our sketch on the preceding verses we looked on the true Church as a feast. Here we have to look on it as a tribunal, a court of judicature, where disputes are to be settled and grievances redressed. It would appear that questions arose among the Corinthian Christians that required settlement—questions of wrong done to persons or to property, and that too the litigious spirit was so rife in their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:1-8

Litigation; or, How shall Christians settle their differences and disputes? Remarkable is the insight which this Epistle affords us into the interior life of a Church of the first age. We seem to be brought into the presence of remarkable virtues and of remarkable faults, and are impressed with the incongruity of the picture. One thing is certain, that human nature was then what it is now, and that Christianity offers the one Divine remedy for individual and for social ills. I. IT ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:1-8

Christians and the law courts. How far are Paul's exhortations applicable to believers in the present day? Amongst the ancients, laws were often unjust, judges venal, and frequently certain objectionable formalities, such as adjuration by false deities, had to be observed. In our own land and time these things happily are not as of old. Yet even amongst us there are laws tainted with injustice, and there is not a little in our modes of legal procedure which is objectionable. Legal... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:1-8

On going to law. Among other evils at Corinth calling for correction, a litigious spirit had begun to show itself, fostered doubtless by the unpleasant friction of parties. Brother went to law with brother before the heathen tribunals, and the Christian name was thereby brought into ill repute. For this the apostle rebukes them, and assigns weighty reasons why they should settle their disputes otherwise. I. THE JUDICIAL FUNCTION OF THE SAINTS . All judgment has been... read more

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