Sunday, August 14, 2016

Judging among the Gods


God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods.
Psalm 82:1

I have said, ‘You are gods,’ and all of you are children of the most High.”
Psalm 82:6

People in the world cannot judge God’s children any more than they can judge the cherubim in heaven.  If there arose a controversy between two cherubim, how foolish would it be for one of them to ask a human judge to decide which cherubim was in the right?  Humans know nothing of cherub life.  But it is even more foolish than that for God’s children to go to the world for judgment because the life they have from God is more foreign to this world than cherubim life is.
Only God can rightly judge among His people, and through the Spirit, His judgments are made known to them.  This is why Paul condemned certain believers in Corinth who had taken other believers to court: “I say this to your shame.  Is it really so, that there is not a single wise man among you, one who is able to judge between his brothers?  Instead, brother goes to court against brother, and that before unbelievers! Therefore, you have already suffered complete defeat because you are filing lawsuits against each other.  Why not rather be wronged?  Why not rather be cheated?” (1Cor. 6:5–7).
It is ungodly for a believer to sue another believer in a human court.  Jesus said the Assembly of believers is the final authority in settling disputes among God’s children (Mt. 18:17).  And the reason some believers despise the judgment of God’s Assembly and go to a court in this world instead is that they know that they are in the wrong, but they want the world to tell them they are right.