Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you are you incompetent to try trivial cases? (I Cor 6:2 NRSV).
The faithful rule the world
We certainly want to judge the world, for that is what being in the kingdom is all about. We have not been called merely to live in the kingdom, we have been called “to inherit the earth;” “to reign with Christ;” to be “kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth” (Matt. 5:5; II Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10).
While the Lord Jesus Christ is the undisputed king of the kingdom, his generosity is such that he shares his throne of ruler ship with the faithful: “To him that over cometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne” (Rev. 3:21). In fact, the saints of this era (ourselves, if we remain faithful) are so involved in the ruler ship of the kingdom that the Lord says to them, “inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). The wording in Daniel is equally strong: “the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High” (Dan. 7:27 NKJV, and note vv. 18 and 22, where the saints “possess” the kingdom).
“The saints shall judge the world.” What an honor! What a responsibility!
Deciding issues
The apostle makes reference to the saints judging the world in the context of a dispute within the ecclesia. One brother/sister claimed he/she had been defrauded by another, and had taken the issue to the local court for settlement.
The apostle was stunned at their immaturity. If the brothers and sisters were looking forward to judging the world, where great spiritual issues would arise, surely they could judge a money matter between two in the ecclesia. Paul suggested the wronged brother/sister should accept the fraud and drop the case. Those on the spot might feel that would not be a good solution. They might decide simply dropping the matter would encourage the wrong-doer to keep taking advantage of others.
Whatever solution at which they arrived, they needed to “judge” in the matter. If they couldn’t “judge” in this case, then how could they consider themselves fit to “judge” the world?
Note the important implications for ourselves in the kingdom: we will be expected to solve problems and to make decisions. We will be expected to apply the principles of God to issues that arise in the lives of the mortal population whom we will be guiding, judging, ruling.
Angels make decisions now
We are given some interesting insight into the working of the immortal mind by noting how angels are making decisions in this present era. Consider the visit of three angels to Abraham. (The three “men” who visited Abraham in Gen. 18:2 were representing God, v. 1 and are termed “angels” in Gen. 19:1.)
The lead angel thinks over the matter and decides to reveal to Abraham the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children…” (Gen. 18:17-19). What a remarkable insight into the thinking process of an immortal mind. The angel was reasoning through the situation and deciding what to tell Abraham. Here was no robot, mechanically carrying out the will of God. Here was a spiritually-minded, immortal being fulfilling a divinely-appointed mission according to the principles of God and making a decision, on the basis of divine principles, how to handle the details of that mission.
When two of the angels departed for Sodom, Abraham approached the remaining angel and appealed, “Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city…shall not the judge of all the earth do right?” (vv. 23-25).
Abraham assumed the angel was manifesting God and had some discretionary liberty and ability to make adjustments in the mission. And Abraham was right. The angel did not shut him off by telling him that angels are like robots, mechanically following commands. Instead, the angel entered into a dialogue with Abraham, recognizing Abraham had a point, according to the great divine principles of mercy and justice.
This angel, sent with two others to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, clearly had the ability and authority to call off the mission if there were at least 10 righteous in the city. According to what is revealed, the decision was up to the angel. He made the judgment. But “unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come;” that honor belongs to the immortalized saints of this era (Heb. 2:5; 1:14). In the world to come, the mortals who populate the earth will be looking to people of the Most High to be exercising the great divine principles in their lives. Are we fit to do that?
Following the angels who departed for Sodom, we find they also made decisions. Lot was reluctant to leave some family members behind, so the angels took the initiative: “While he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him, and they brought him forth, and set him without the city” (Gen. 19:16).
Lot, his wife and his daughters, should have obeyed and fled. But they were not moving. So the angels exercised the great divine principle of mercy and decided to take them by the hands and get them out. They had the decision to make between using only the persuasion of words or to physically take hold of them. The angels decided, and physically took them out.
That was not the end of it, however, for Lot pleaded to escape to Zoar rather than to the mountains: “Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither…” (vv. 19-20). But that town was appointed to destruction. Yet exercising the mercy of God, the angel decided, “See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken…” (v. 21).
We might wonder what decisions we would have made. Would we have been so rigid and strict about Lot’s obedience that we would never have taken his hand? Would we have been so anxious to destroy that we would have made no concessions about Zoar? What would our balance have been between judgment and mercy?
The Lord makes decisions
We take great comfort in the assurance: “We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). Because the Lord remembers what it was like to struggle against the impulses of the flesh, we are confident he will understand our plight and extend merciful help to us. But this assumes he remembers and acts upon his past experience.
That’s telling us something. That’s telling us the immortal mind remembers what it was like to be mortal and draws upon that experience in making decisions. If we are blessed with being among those who judge the world, we’ll be doing the same. In fact, we’re doing that all the time now as we draw upon our past experiences to help others, seeking to put divine principles into practice.
Based on the present judgments we make, are we fit to judge the world? (To be continued, God willing, as we feel this point needs further development.)
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One