Note 1 at 1Co 6:1: This is a continuation of Paul's thoughts in 1Co 5 about God giving us the authority to judge ourselves (see note 10 at 1Co 5:13). This also provides a transition to the dispute in the Corinthian church that Paul wanted to resolve over legal matters.

The Greek word that was translated "dare" is "TOLMAO," and it means "to venture (objectively or in act...); by implication, to be courageous" (Strong's Concordance). Paul was expressing his shock that these Corinthians would trust the unbelievers to settle their disputes more than the believers.

Paul really believed that salvation was a life-changing encounter where Christ Himself indwelt the believer (Ga 2:20). This gives every Christian the mind of Christ (1Co 2:16) and access to the wisdom of God that no unbeliever has (Jas 1:5). Why would believers turn from someone who had the wisdom of God to someone who was operating in the inferior wisdom of this world to resolve their differences?

Note 2 at 1Co 6:1: It is very clear that Paul believed legal matters should be decided before the church and not in a court of law. He gave two main reasons for this.

First, the wisdom of the saints is infinitely superior to that of the unbelievers. Some might argue with that, but Paul emphasized his point by saying that even the least-esteemed saint is more qualified to judge than an unbeliever (see note 4 at 1Co 6:4). The Lord is going to use the saints to judge the world (see note 3 at 1Co 6:2). Certainly, we can judge these trivial matters.

Second, there is the matter of our witness. Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (Joh 13:35). What are unbelievers going to think when they see Christians fighting each other through the legal system? It will weaken our witness. This is why Paul said in 1Co 6:7 that it would be better to suffer wrongly than to go before the unbelievers and receive justice.

This is not to say that Christians should never use the courts. Paul was saved through the judicial system more than once (Ac 18:12-16, 19:35-41, and 24:1-23). It is true that Paul was not a voluntary participant in these instances, but he did invoke his right to stand before Caesar's judgment seat (Ac 25:10) when dealing with the religious Jews. However, in each of these cases, Paul was dealing with unbelievers. His actions were consistent with what he was preaching here.

Paul wrote in Ro 13 that governmental authorities (which would include the judicial system) were appointed by God and that they were ministers of God to us for good (see note 2 at Ro 13:1). Christians can use the courts in matters not involving other believers.

There could be many complications in individual cases that could make this a hard instruction to follow, yet the intent of Paul's teaching is very clear. Christians shouldn't hang their dirty laundry out for the world to see; they ought to make every effort to settle differences within the church.