What will be our role in the heavenly
places? Which angels will we judge – the
ones who fell or will there be others who will fall?
Paul
only mentions judging angels in one verse, but the reason he mentions it is
very important.
1
Corinthians 6:1-4
Dare any of you, having
a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the
saints? 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? Know ye not that we shall judge angels?
how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of
things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the
church.
So
it is in passing that Paul mentions judging angels, almost as a matter of
fact. Also in verse two he mentions that
the saints shall judge the world.
Obviously he’s talking to the Corinthians who are members of the body of
Christ, so it is evident that there is a judging aspect when it comes to the
world and to angels.
The
body of Christ was created for the heavenly places.
Ephesians
2:6
And hath raised us
up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus:
Angels
are heavenly beings and that is where they reside right now. They are part of God’s heavenly kingdom and
government.
So
what is this judgment? The usual
description is ‘ruling over angels.’ We
will have a ruling authority over the angelic realm, but in context of 1
Corinthians 6…
Dare any of you, having
a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the
saints?
…the issue is a civil matter. Evidently the saints in Corinth, being carnal
and immature, were having disputes and instead of being gracious and not having
these quarrels, or at least going to other saints in the church, they went
outside of the church for judgment.
1 Corinthians
6:5
I speak to your shame.
Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall
be able to judge between his brethren?
Paul
is getting on them for not only having a dispute, but having a lost judge
settle it. That was dumb; instead of
being gracious one to another,
Ephesians
4:32
And be ye kind one to
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake
hath forgiven you.
…they
brought reproach to the Lord and his doctrine.
So
this judgment is not in connection with rulership, but it is in regard to civil
disputes involving contracts or property rights, for example. Go back to the law and you’ll see how this
issue of judgment was used and you’ll understand why Paul brings it up:
Deuteronomy
25:1-2
If there be a
controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges
may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the
wicked.
This is judgment that justifies
the righteous and condemns the wicked. There is punishment involved.
And it shall be, if the
wicked man be worthy to be beaten [
i.e. 40 stripes save one],
that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face,
according to his fault, by a certain number.
There
is fault involved.
1
Corinthians 6:7
Now therefore there is
utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do
ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be
defrauded?
Although we will have some ruling
authority over the angels in heaven, this judgment has to do with reviewing the
works of someone and then condemning them.
The only place the saints in this present dispensation will judge the
world and the angels in the capacity to condemn wickedness, is the Great White Throne
judgment (GWTJ).
Revelation
20:11
And I saw a great
white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the
heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
The devil and his angels and the
world will be judged by the Lord, but we will play a part in that. In our courtrooms today there is a judge, but
also a jury of 12 judges.
Romans
2:16
in the day when God
shall judge
the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
This is Judgment Day, the GWTJ. We are in
Christ. We will help him judge. He will use his body and also the nation of
Israel to judge. This GWTJ is where all
the lost of all the ages will be judged according to their works and given a
proper punishment in the lake of fire.
That will happen after Christ comes back to set up his kingdom on this
earth and the first installment of the 1,000 years of the Kingdom.
I am still working this out. I am a student of the word like you, but no
doubt the body of Christ will be qualified to judge at that time. Not every saint at the time of the rapture
will be qualified; if they don’t have the mind of Christ today, they won’t have
it then either.
During the Millennium while Christ
is on the earth teaching Israel and the gentile nations about his word and
about who he is, those of us who are joint-heirs and who understand the Pauline
grace message, and more importantly, who labor for the Lord in it and suffer
for it, will teach our brethren in the body of Christ the word of God.
Romans
8:17
And if children, then
heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we
suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Hopefully this helps!
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