1 Corinthians Chapter 6, Verse 7
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7: ηδη μεν ουν ολως ηττημα εν υμιν εστιν οτι κριματα εχετε μεθ εαυτων διατι ουχι μαλλον αδικεισθε διατι ουχι μαλλον αποστερεισθε
7: Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye
go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong?
why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
7: Already indeed there is plainly a fault among you, that you have
law suits one with another. Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you
not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
There is utterly a fault. There is altogether a fault; or, you are entirely wrong in this thing.
Because ye go to law, etc. That is, in the sense under discussion, or before heathen magistrates. This was the point under discussion, and the interpretation should be limited to this. Whatever may be the propriety or impropriety of going to law before Christian magistrates, yet the point which the apostle refers to was that of going to law before heathens. The passage, therefore, should not be interpreted as referring to all litigation, but only of that which was the subject of discussion. The apostle says that that was wholly wrong; that they ought by no means to go with their causes against their fellow Christians before heathen magistrates; that whoever had the right side of the question, and whatever might be the decision, the thing itself was unchristian and wrong; and that rather than dishonour religion by a trial or suit of this kind, they ought to be willing to take wrong, and to suffer any personal and private injustice. The argument is, that greater evil would be done to the cause of Christ by the fact of Christians appearing before a heathen tribunal with their disputes, than could result to either party from the injury done by the other. And this is probably always the case; so that although the apostle refers here to heathen tribunals, the same reasoning, on the principle, would apply to Christians carrying their causes into the courts at all.
Why do ye not rather take wrong? Why do you not suffer yourself to be injured, rather than to dishonour the cause of religion by your litigations?
To be defrauded? Receive injury; or suffer a loss of property. Grotius thinks that the word "take wrong" refers to personal insult; and the word "defrauded" refers to injury in property. Together, they are probably designed to refer to all kinds of injury and injustice. And the apostle means to say, that they had better submit to any kind of injustice than carry the cause against a Christian brother before a heathen tribunal. The doctrine here taught is, that Christians ought by no means to go to law with each other before a heathen tribunal; that they ought to be willing to suffer any injury from a Christian brother rather than do it. And by implication the same thing is taught in regard to the duty of all Christians, that they ought to suffer any injury to their persons and property rather than dishonour religion by litigations before civil magistrates. It may be asked, then, whether lawsuits are never proper; or whether courts of justice are never to be resorted to by Christians to secure their rights? To this question we may reply, that the discussion of Paul relates only to Christians, when both parties are Christians, and that it is designed to prohibit such an appeal to courts by them.
