Homilies on First Corinthians

⁴ “Dare any one of you, having a matter against his brother, (τὸν ἀδελφὸν, rec. text τὁν ἓτερον.) go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?”

Here also he again makes his complaint upon acknowledged grounds; for in that other place he says, “It is actually reported that there is fornication among you.” And in this place, “Dare any one of you?” From the very first outset giving signs of his anger, and implying that the thing spoken of comes of a daring and lawless spirit.

Now wherefore did he bring in by the way that discourse about covetousness and about the duty of not going to law without the Church? In fulfilment of his own rule. For it is a custom with him to set to right things as they fall in his way; just as when speaking about the tables which they used in common, he launched out into the discourse about the mysteries. So here, you see, since he had made mention of covetous brethren, burning with anxiety to correct those in sin, he brooks not exactly to observe order; but he again corrects the sin which had been introduced out of the regular course, and so returns to the former subject.

Let us hear then what he also says about this. “Dare any of you, having a matter, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?” For a while, he employs those personal terms to expose, discredit, and blame their proceedings: nor does he quite from the beginning subvert the custom of seeking judgment before the believers: but when he had stricken them down by many words, then he even takes away entirely all going to law. “For in the first place,” says he, “if one must go to law it were wrong to do so before the unrighteous. But you ought not to go to law at all.” This however he adds afterwards. For the present he thoroughly sifts the former subject, namely, that they should not submit matters to external arbitration. “For,” says he, “how can it be otherwise than absurd that one who is at variance (μικροψυχοῦτα) with his friend should take his enemy to be a reconciler between them? And how can you avoid feeling shame and blushing when a Greek sits to judge a Christian? And if about private matters it is not right to go to law before Greeks, how shall we submit to their decisions about other things of greater importance?”

Observe, moreover, how he speaks. He says not, “Before the unbelievers,” but, “Before the unrighteous;” using the expression of which he had most particular need for the matter before him, in order to deter and keep them away. For see that his discourse was about going to law, and those who are engaged in suits seek for nothing so much as that the judges should feel great interest about what is just; he takes this as a ground of dissuasion, all but saying, “Where are you going? What are you doing, O man, bringing on yourself the contrary to what you wish, and in order to obtain justice committing yourself to unjust men?” And because it would have been intolerable to be told at once not to go to law, he did not immediately add this, but only changed the judges, bringing the party engaged in the trial from without into the Church.

5. Then, since it seemed easily open to contempt, I mean our being judged by those who were within, and especially at that time, (for they were not perhaps competent to comprehend a point, nor were they such as the heathen judges, well skilled in laws and rhetoric, inasmuch as the greater part of them were uneducated men,) mark how he makes them worthy of credit, first calling them “Saints.”

But seeing that this bore witness to purity of life, and not to accuracy in hearing a case, observe how he orderly handles this part also, saying thus, “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?” How then can you who art in your day to judge them, endure to be judged by them now? They will not indeed judge, taking their seat in person and demanding account, yet they shall condemn. This at least he plainly said; “And if the world is judged in you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?” He says not “by you,” but “in you:” just as when He said, “The queen of the south shall rise up and condemn this generation:” and, “The men of Nineveh shall arise and condemn this generation.” For when beholding the same sun and sharing all the same things, we shall be found believers but they unbelievers, they will not be able to take refuge in ignorance. For we shall accuse them, simply by the things which we have done. And many such ways of judgment one will find there.

Then, that no one should think he speaks about other persons, mark how he generalizes his speech. “And if the world is judged in you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?”

The thing is a disgrace to you, he says, and an unspeakable reproach. For since it was likely that they would be out of countenance at being judged by those that were within; “nay,” says he, “on the contrary, the disgrace is when you are judged by those without: for those are the very small controversies, not these.”