How to Handle Conflict God’s Way
What if your past didn’t get the final word, and neither did your hurt? This blog from 1 Corinthians 6 calls believers to a higher, healing way: to forgive boldly, confront wisely, and live like those who’ve been washed clean.
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1 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? 5 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers![a]
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous[b] will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,[c] 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
What This Passage Doesn’t Mean
When we read the Scriptures, we discover that the Bible itself addresses a myriad of topics that deal with the fallenness of the human condition. That’s why it’s paramount to study the Bible and what is said in its context.
1 Corinthians 6 shares God’s wisdom for the church in this context, where believers are having disputes in business and suing one another, going to secular courts rather than working things out between themselves.
Before we explore what this passage means, let’s clarify what it doesn’t mean. This doesn’t mean that believers in Jesus Christ are prohibited from pressing criminal charges against another believer. In verse eight, the fact that the Apostle Paul wrote “why not rather be cheated” implies that he was dealing with civil cases, not criminal cases, when it comes to matters before the church.
We must always distinguish between sins and crimes. Sins in this context are handled by the church. Crimes are handled by the state, and we know that too is of God because Romans 13 tells us that God has ordained the governing authorities (Romans 13:1-7).
When a crime has been committed, a Christian may at times be obligated to turn another Christian in if they’ve committed a crime and even testify against them in court. The church does not have jurisdiction over criminal justice; that belongs to the state.
The Wisdom for Reconciliation
“When any of you has a grievance against another, do you dare to take it to court before the unrighteous, instead of taking it before the saints?” 1 Corinthians 6:1
The Apostle Paul asked this question because believers were instructed that when they had a problem with one another, there was a biblical pattern for working that out. This is found in Matthew 18:15-20, where Jesus taught that if you have a dispute, disagreement, or your brother or sister is in some type of sin, the Scripture instructs:
Go privately first: Go to your brother or sister privately, one-on-one. What the Scripture doesn’t teach us to do is go to other people, gossip about other people, or spread slander. Go to them privately.
Take witnesses: If you’re not able to reconcile, Jesus said to take a brother or sister, take two witnesses with you, and sit with that individual to try to work things out.
Bring it before church leadership: If you can’t reach a God-honoring solution, then Jesus taught that it goes to a third level, which is to bring it before the church. I don’t believe Jesus was teaching us to bring those matters before the church on a Sunday morning in the middle of worship. What I believe is that it goes before the leadership of the church, and the leadership seeks to bring collective wisdom to the table, prayerfully, scripturally, tenderly, but truthfully.
If that cannot be worked out and there is sin involved, the Scripture teaches that if an individual is not repentant by the time it’s gone to the third level, they’re to be removed from the church. As we covered last week, that’s not vindictive or punitive, but rooted in the love of God so that our sister or brother senses the conviction of the Holy Spirit and is drawn back into relationship with God in Jesus Christ.
When the Apostle Paul addressed believers suing one another, he was shocked because he knew the Corinthian church wasn’t going through any of this process.
The Wisdom of Who and Whose You Really Are
“Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life?” 1 Corinthians 6:2-3
Five times in this chapter, the Apostle Paul asked the Corinthians, “Do you not know?” Why? Because he had spent a lot of time with them and taught them these things. The Apostle Paul was laboring to remind them of who they are.
Also, this question struck a blow at the pride of the Corinthians. They were operating independently of God, going their own way. They thought they were so wise in how they handled matters and thought the Apostle Paul was naive and provincial in his thinking.
Thus, Paul said, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” in a way that communicated, “You most certainly should know this. You know down in your knower that you do know this.”
Biblical Support for Future Judgment
This isn’t an isolated teaching. Look at supporting passages:
“I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.” Daniel 7:21-22
“Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One.” Daniel 7:27
JESUS: “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Matthew 19:28
“Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them… and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4
Everything quoted in those passages had been taught by the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian church. They had been instructed that one day they would reign with Christ, participate in the judgment of lost humanity with Jesus, and judge angels. The Apostle Paul assumed they knew it, but their actions were entirely contradictory to their theology.
If the saints are going to reign with Christ and participate in the judgment of the world, how could the Corinthians turn to the unsaved for judgment? If the righteous are going to judge the unrighteous at the second coming, how could the Corinthian church look to godless people to judge the righteous?
Three Greek Words for Forgiveness
Let me share three Greek words on forgiveness and why they’re relevant for us all:
1) Aphiemi (ἀφίημι)
This is the Greek word used for forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12). Aphiemi is like cutting across the heart. This is like when your heart doesn’t want to do something, but you step into the pattern of saying it anyway. It cuts across the grain of the heart, training the heart to move in a Godward direction.
2) Apoluo (ἀπολύω)
This is the word Christ used on the cross. When Jesus had been betrayed, lied about, maligned, physically and verbally persecuted, and mischaracterized, yet even as He faced death, He said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). Apoluo is to forgive in the way that Jesus forgave, and this sets you free.
3) Charizomai (χαρίζομαι)
The root word is charis, where we get the word grace, the very power of God working in us. When I begin to practice cutting across the heart in the ritual of saying “I forgive,” even though my heart isn’t feeling it, God begins to meet me with charizomai, or the grace to bring me over the threshold, so it becomes apoluo, forgiving others the way Jesus forgives.
As farmers’ saying goes, “What’s down in the well will come up in the bucket.” If you don’t get free, the toxicity of the past pain will come up. The pathway, according to Christ, is to forgive.
The Wisdom of a Godly Perspective
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
The Apostle Paul warned that persons committed to living in these patterns of sin will not inherit the kingdom of God. This includes:
Sexual immorality between anyone outside of marriage, between one man and one woman
Idolatry: serving other or various kinds of gods
Adultery: sexual sins against one’s marriage partner
Active homosexuality: committing to that lifestyle
Thieves
Greedy: those who lust for what other people possess
Drunkards: those who abuse alcohol regularly
Revilers: those who speak words against other people, gossip, slander
Swindlers: con artists who deceive others
This is a sample of the people whom the Apostle Paul gave as examples of those who will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Heaven is to be in the full presence of God, who is holy. Consequently, persons not under the blood of Christ and seeking to live for Jesus, who are committed to living an unholy life, will not enter His presence.
Such Were Some of You
“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:11
Why did the Apostle Paul say this? Because this behavior characterized the Corinthians before they came to know Christ. But now they’d abandoned those lifestyles as they came to know Jesus. Therefore, if God’s strong enough in you for you to abandon those lifestyles, then surely you’re strong enough in Christ to stop suing one another.
We should find great comfort in this passage because it tells us no sinner is too far from God. What was in the past in the lives of the Corinthians didn’t determine who they were today, because the cross of Jesus Christ separated them from their sins and their past. These things made up what you were, not who you are.
You Are Not What You Were
When I was pastoring in Birmingham, every Sunday about 25 or 30 human trafficking victims were part of our church family. A few years ago, I was preaching on this passage. When I got to “such were some of you, but you were washed, sanctified, justified,” one of the young ladies among the human trafficking victims began to shout in a way that felt holy.
She began to say out loud, “I am not what I was. I am not what I was. Glory to God. I am not what I was.” As she said those words, I saw a housewife with tears coming down her cheeks, a Stanford University professor with her hand over her heart and lifted to the Lord, a banker shaking his head; they realized and were rejoicing in what Jesus Christ had done.
Many battle the voice of the enemy, who loves to bring up their past. The enemy knows your name, but he calls you by your sin. But God, in the person of Jesus Christ, knows your sin but dignifies you by calling you by name. When your life is in Christ, there is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus (Romans 8:1). Your struggles and your past are not your identity. You are not what you were.
You have been liberated into a new reality because the ultimate reality bled and died for you on a cross and redeemed you. You are not what you were. Such were some of you, but you are not any longer. You have been set free by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 29:18 shares, “Without a revelation of God, my people perish.” That was the problem at Corinth, they had lost their sense of a revelation of God, and began to do things their own way. If it can happen to them, it can happen to any of us.
Let God rekindle His way, a vision of His revelation, our vision of God and His revelation over your life and the way we live into our life together, our practice of following Jesus.
TL;DR
Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for taking their disputes into secular courts rather than resolving them with spiritual wisdom and accountability.
1 Corinthians 6 clarifies the difference between civil disagreements and criminal actions.
This passage points believers to Christ’s model of reconciliation (Matthew 18), and explores three Greek words for forgiveness, showing how true freedom comes through grace-driven restoration.
The message culminates in Paul’s triumphant declaration: “You are not what you were.”
The gospel transforms identity, empowers godly conflict resolution, and frees us from the shame of the past to live in the power of Christ’s redemption.
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