Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t you know that we will judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?
- KJV Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
- BSB Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!
- NKJV Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?
- NASB Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Believers will even judge angels, so everyday matters are well within their competence. It matters because our exalted future in Christ equips us to handle ordinary disputes wisely.
Overview
Paul presses the argument further: if the saints will judge angels, how much more are they fit to decide 'things that pertain to this life.' This astonishing future authority, granted through union with the reigning Christ, exposes the absurdity of seeking pagan arbitration. Christians should value the wisdom and dignity God has given His redeemed people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Jude 1:6Angels who didn’t keep their first domain, but deserted their own dwelling place, he has kept in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.
- Matt 25:41Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
- 1 Cor 6:4If then, you have to judge things pertaining to this life, do you set them to judge who are of no account in the assembly?
- Luke 8:14That which fell among the thorns, these are those who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
- 2 Tim 2:4No soldier on duty entangles himself in the affairs of life, that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier.
- Luke 21:34“So be careful, or your hearts will be loaded down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day will come on you suddenly.
- 2 Pet 2:4For if God didn’t spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
- 2 Tim 4:10for Demas left me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.
- Ps 17:14from men by your hand, Yahweh, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life. You fill the belly of your cherished ones. Your sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 6:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.