First Corinthians 6 Part 2 Judges, Kings & Priests In The Kingdom Of God

Our future role as judges in God's eternal kingdom.

1 Corinthians 6:1-3  Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? 2)  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? 3)  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? 

We looked at these verses in our last post. Jesus makes it clear that no man is fit to sit in judgment over another because a Christian is still flawed.

Our old man and sin nature is still present after the regenerating work of God's Spirit in our heart. 

This is why the apostles instruct us to "put off" old man behaviors and to "put on" walking in newness of life. 

The role of being a judge looks forward to when the kingdom of God is universally established.

All believers will receive a new, glorified body and our sin nature will be permanently eradicated (See Philippians 3:20-21). 

When God is all in all then we shall be fit to function as judges in that new place (See 1 Corinthians 15:28).

When Paul tells us we will judge the world and angels, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who presides as Judge. We are going to be more like honored guests.

The Father committed all judgment to His Son as we noted in that post (See John 5:22-29).

We will be heavenly priests offering spiritual sacrifices.

1 Peter 2:1-5  Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2)  As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3)  If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 4)  To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5)  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

The apostle Peter begins this section with a "put off" by instructing us to put away certain sins such as malice, guile, hypocrisy. 

He reminds us that each Christian is a living stone put into the body of Christ by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

We are the church and Christ is the Head. We are part of a spiritual house and of a spiritual priesthood and our lives are to be lived as a spiritual sacrifice to our Lord (See also Romans 12:1-2).

We will be part of a holy nation of a redeemed people and priesthood.

1 Peter 2:9-10  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10)  Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 

The apostle mentions this a second time within the same paragraph. We are part of a holy nation and royal priesthood. 

Our privilege is to praise our God for saving us and calling us out of sin's darkness, into the marvelous light of Christ's kingdom. 

This is another aspect of what Paul is teaching us about being judges. The priesthood of believers implies helping in worshipping God aright. 

Jesus Christ will make us kings and priests dedicated to God. 

Revelation 1:5-7  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6)  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 7)  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. 

John begins the book of Revelation by showing that our risen Lord Jesus Christ loved us and washed us clean from our sins through His own blood.

Salvation is the portal into receiving rich blessings from our Father in heaven. Jesus Christ, God's Son makes us kings and priests dedicated to the Father for eternity.

The prospect of judging that Paul speaks of also includes this role of being priests and kings in heaven.

A priest will not be like it was during the Old Testament, for Jesus Christ is our eternal Great High Priest always interceding for us and able to save us to the uttermost. 

Christ is both the High Priest and the Lamb of God, the perfect "once for all" sacrifice for humanities sins. 

This means that though we are going to be priests, we will likely be solely focused upon worship.

Also, the Lord Jesus Christ is King of all kings, Lord of all lords and our role as "kings" will not be like a historical king who leads people into battle, and governs with his power. 

The word translated "kings" means a leader of people or a commander. We will be under the authority of our King, Jesus Christ.

Since there will be no wicked people and nothing sinful in heaven, our role as kings and priests will be different than those roles were on earth.

Again, this connects with Jesus teaching that servants who were productive would be over ten cities. 

The idea of judging is connected with being kings and priests in the kingdom of God. A new heaven and a new earth will not need the same kind of governance as this present sinful world needs.

The heavenly government will be perfectly righteous, holy, just, and marked by the love, grace and mercy of God flowing through all redeemed people.

The reason that Paul brings this truth to light is because the Corinthians were so petty that they brought legal action against other believers in Christ.

Loving one another is a command of Christ that they were violating and such behavior was to be stopped.

A universal body of priests and kings serving God.

Revelation 5:9-14  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10)  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 11)  And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12)  Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13)  And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14)  And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. 

The role of kings and priests seems to be universally applied to all the redeemed children of God.

The worship in heaven that John saw is a universal worship. All the cherubim and seraphim fall down to worship God. All the twenty four elders fall down and worship God. 

All of the unnumerable host of heaven will fall down to worship God. 

We will be praising the glory of God for our salvation. 

Revelation 7:9-12  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10)  And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11)  And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12)  Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. 

John saw a large multitude of redeemed people in heaven standing before the throne and before Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. 

They gave glory to God for His salvation and when they had done so, all the cherubim, seraphim and angels erupted in worship and praise. 

God will wipe our tears away and death, sorrow will be eliminated.

Revelation 21:3-4  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4)  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 

John saw a vision of what eternal life in heaven will be like. God will dwell with us and we will be His people. 

He will wipe any tears away and death, sorrow, crying and pain will not be known in heaven. 

God is the light of New Jerusalem and people of all nations will flow into it. 

Revelation 21:23-24  And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 24)  And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

Peter called this being moved from darkness into the marvelous light of the gospel. New Jerusalem will not need the sun or moon to shine, for God's own glory will illuminate it. 

False religion is utterly removed and worship of the One, True God prevails. 

Psalm 22:27  All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. 

People from all nations where the gospel of Christ was spread, shall walk there without fear. The kings of earth will come there.

A kingdom where war and weapons disappear. 

Isaiah 2:1-5  The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2)  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3)  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4)  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 5)  O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Jehovah's prophets spoke often of the kingdom of God. Isaiah describes it as a time when Jehovah's house shall be present and all nations of the earth will flow into it. 

All the people will come to learn the law of God so that they can walk in His holy ways. 

Isaiah also mentions judgment where the LORD will rebuke many nations and they will recycle their weapons of war into farming implements. 

All wars shall cease and military's will be disbanded. God will create a new heaven and new earth and all mankind will do what God created us to do in the garden of Eden. 

We will till the earth, and commune with God. We will worship our Father in Spirit and in truth. 

A return to the glory of the garden of Eden. 

Isaiah 11:6-9  The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7)  And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8)  And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. 9)  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 

Isaiah saw a kingdom where animal life will be restored to God's original design. A wolf will dwell with a lamb in peace. A leopard will lie down in safety with a calf and young lion.

A little child shall be able to lead the animals about. Carnivorous animals will once again eat plants as God originally intended. 

A child will play with snakes and not be bitten. Spiders will no longer bite people. 

The knowledge of Jehovah will permeate all created things as God brings His creation back to what He intended it to be. 

Isaiah 65:17-25  For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 18)  But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 19)  And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. 20)  There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. 21)  And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22)  They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23)  They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. 24)  And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25) The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD. 

Isaiah also described Jehovah creating a new heaven, new Jerusalem and a new earth. The old fallen creation will not be remembered at all when we are in that new place.

It will be a world marked by people filled with joy and rejoicing over the goodness of God toward us.

The idea of childhood lasting one hundred years is a metaphor that indicates eternal life in heaven. 

People will build homes, plant crops, cultivate orchards and enjoy the fruits of their labors. Peace and safety replace wars and destruction.

Our relationship with Jehovah in heaven will be that when we pray He will hear us before we finish praying and He will answer us swiftly.

Thus, as we think about judging men and angels as Paul tells us we will do, we must remember that this will happen within the context of the Kingdom of God.

This means that the rapture of the church and the marriage supper of the Lamb will have taken place, and final judgment on earth will have been measured out by God. 

A new people in a new heaven and earth,, enjoying new Jerusalem and the presence of God in us and through us. 

What a day that will be for each believer in Christ. This is our blessed hope. 

We will continue looking at Paul's letter to the Corinthians and why they were wrong in rushing to file lawsuits against each other.

It was necessary to look more deeply into this whole idea of being judges, priests and kings within the context of God's kingdom.

May the great hope that God has given us through faith in Christ impact how we live each day.

Bob