“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?”
My Notes
What Does 1 Corinthians 6:5 Mean?
"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 shames the Corinthians for taking legal disputes to secular courts instead of resolving them internally. The question is rhetorical and devastating: in a church that prides itself on wisdom (1:17-2:16), can't you find even one person wise enough to mediate between believers?
The phrase "I speak to your shame" (pros entropen) is deliberate: Paul intends the question to produce shame, not just reflection. The Corinthians who boast in their spiritual gifts can't handle a simple dispute resolution. Their theological sophistication doesn't translate into practical wisdom.
The "not one" (oudeis) amplifies the indictment: not a single wise person in the entire church? The community that claimed to have the mind of Christ (2:16) can't produce one mediator? The gap between their theological claims and their practical capacity is the shame Paul targets.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What disputes in your community are being handled outside the community that should be resolved inside?
- 2.Why does theological knowledge sometimes fail to produce practical wisdom?
- 3.Is there a mediation role you could fill — being the 'one wise person' your community needs?
- 4.What's the gap between your theological claims and your practical capacity for peacemaking?
Devotional
Not one wise person? Among all of you — the community that claims the mind of Christ, that boasts in spiritual gifts, that prides itself on theological sophistication — not a single person can mediate a dispute? Paul speaks to their shame because the gap between what they claim and what they can do is shameful.
The Corinthians were taking each other to secular court — believer suing believer before unbelieving judges. Paul's response: you're exposing your dysfunction to the watching world. And you can't even find a mediator among yourselves? The theological richness of the community should have produced practical wisdom. It didn't.
This is the gap between knowledge and application that plagues every spiritually gifted community. You can have profound theology and dysfunctional relationships. You can quote Romans and sue your brother. You can have the mind of Christ and no wisdom about how to resolve a disagreement. The knowledge doesn't automatically produce the capacity.
The shame Paul invokes isn't destructive — it's corrective. He wants them to feel the gap between their claims and their reality so that the feeling motivates change. You say you're wise? Act like it. You claim spiritual gifts? Use them for practical resolution. You have the mind of Christ? Apply it to the argument next door.
What dispute in your community could be resolved by one wise person — if anyone had the courage and the wisdom to mediate?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
I speak to your shame,.... Not that they did set such persons to judge, but that they did not; and instead of so doing…
I speak to your shame - I declare that which is a reproach to you, that your matters of dispute are carried before pagan…
Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? - Have you none among yourselves that can be arbitrators of the…
Here the apostle reproves them for going to law with one another before heathen judges for little matters; and therein…
I speak to your shame -You are not to suppose me in earnest. I only say this to shame you for the undue value you set on…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture