Avoiding civil lawsuits with brethren 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

In this portion of Holy Scripture; the apostle Paul reminds the Corinthian church that legal disputes between fellow Christians should be resolved internally with the church and not to be paraded before an unbelieving civil court. This does not apply to criminal matters which have to do with state sanctioned criminal courts. (Romans 13:4)

1 Corinthians 6:1 
6 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?

Verse 1-6 It is a dishonour to the name Jesus Christ for professing believers to sue one another in civil court. God expects his saints to have a higher moral excellence (2 Peter 1:5-9) in dispensing justice then an unrighteous civil court. Paul reminds the church that they will be responsible to co-rule over the earthly nations during the millennial reign (verse 2) and even rule over angelic beings (verse 3) and thus should be more productive to resolve trivial matters of justice. God commands and expects his church to work out personal grievances and wrongs within the church internally. It is appropriate to seek mediators within the church (verse 5) when deemed necessary. (Proverbs 15:22) Those least esteemed by the church (verse 4) is the unbelieving world. The world has a perverted perception of justice because it is not under the kingdom rule of Jesus Christ.

Verse 7-8 Being in court against a brother or sister in Christ is an utter defeat. It dishonours Christ’s gospel, displays moral defeat, and defies God’s sovereign purpose for the church as being self governing. God does not encourage vengeance between believers and has a sovereign way to discipline sinning saints apart from worldly courts. (Verse 7) People who sue others likewise sin in similar ways. (Verse 8)

Verse 9-11 True believers are not characterized by an un-broken pattern of sin but rather despise sin and seek to purge themselves of its residue in their life. We were guilty of the same sins as everybody in the world was at one point and time but we are no longer slaves of sin and are awaiting our full redemption when our bodies are perfected. (Romans 8:23)