Not long ago, I was asked to explain the phrase “the saints will judge the world.” Paul makes the statement in his letter to Corinth…

Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

(1 Corinthians 6:2)

It’s a remark that has long-baffled Bible students and seems opposite to the way we (Christians) think of ourselves, not to mention the clear edict of Jesus, who told us “judge not…” (Matthew 7:1). So what gives? How will we judge the world? Isn’t that a job reserved for God?

I think the key to understanding Paul’s meaning is found in the context of his statement, as well as a separate remark made by Jesus. First, Paul is talking to Christians who had been taking their brethren to worldly court to settle petty disputes, instead of resolving them like brethren. In doing so, they were giving the kingdom a bad reputation in their communities. Instead of shining like a light and standing out for their righteousness, they were acting like everyone else and giving the impression that Christians are just as petty and prone to disputes over needless things as everyone else in the world.

Put a pin in that idea for a moment and consider what Jesus said to His brethren on one occasion…

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

(Matthew 12:41)

Just setting aside why Jesus is saying this, it’s the same concept Paul mentions, no? In both verses we have examples of people—not God—judging humanity, so Paul’s words are not without precedent (not that he needed it, being inspired of the Holy Spirit). In Jesus’ case, the Lord was shaming His brethren for rejecting His ministry of repentance: They were proving themselves “less” than the people of Nineveh, to whom Jonah preached. Say what you want about those pagans, but when they heard the preaching of the prophet, they turned to the Lord. You can’t say that about most of the ones to whom the Lord preached, despite the fact that they had someone “greater than Jonah” in their midst.

To that, the Lord basically says: “When judgment comes, the men of Nineveh will, by their actions, condemn you people, and show you are without excuse, because they had it harder and yet repented, while you had it easier and did not!” When Judgment comes, God will find those Jews guilty, and the men of Nineveh will be found innocent; Nineveh will condemn those of Jesus’ generation, not because they will sit in the seat of heavenly power, but because they will be in unity with the true Judge who rendered the verdict in the first place.

Paul takes that idea and applies it to his squabbling brethren, reminding them that, just as Nineveh will condemn the unbelieving Jews, so too will the saints of Corinth condemn unbelieving gentiles. In light of that, going before an unbelieving gentile judge, to settle your petty dispute, is a wrongheaded approach.

That, I think, is the meaning behind the text.

~Matthew