Don’t you know that we will judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?
Parallel Translations
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Don’t you know that we will judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?
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knowe ye not how that we shall iudge the angles? How moche more maye we iudge thinges that partayne to the lyfe?
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Knowe ye not that we shall iudge the Angels? howe much more, things that perteine to this life?
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to 1 Corinthians 6:3 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Jude 1:6 Angels 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.
- Matthew 25:41 Then 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 Corinthians 6:4 If 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 8:14 That 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.
- 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 Timothy 2:4 No soldier on duty entangles himself in the affairs of life, that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier.
- 2 Timothy 4:10 for Demas left me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia; and Titus to Dalmatia.
- 2 Peter 2:4 For 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;
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 3. Know ye not that we shall judge angels?…
3. Know ye not that we shall judge angels? This passage is taken in different ways. Chrysostom states that some understood it as referring to priests, but this is exceedingly far-fetched. Others understand it of the angels in heaven, in this sense — that the angels are subject to the judgment of God’s word, and may be judged by us, if need be, by means of that word, as it is said in the Epistle to the Galatians —
If an angel from heaven bring any other gospel, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8.)
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Nor does this exposition appear at first view unsuitable to the thread of Paul’s discourse; for if all whom God has enlightened by his word are endowed with such authority, that through means of that word they judge not only men but angels too, how much more will they be prepared to judge of small and trivial matters? As, however, Paul speaks here in the future tense, as referring to the last day, and as his words convey the idea of an actual judgment, (as the common expression is,) it were preferable, in my opinion, to understand him as speaking of apostate angels. For the argument will be not less conclusive in this way: “Devils, who sprang from so illustrious an origin, and even now, when they have fallen from their high estate, are immortal creatures, and superior to this corruptible world, shall be judged by us. What then? Shall those things that are subservient to the belly be exempted from our judgment?
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels?…
3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
Ver. 3. Things that pertain to this, &c.] That serve to and satisfy the body only, being nec vera, nec vestra, Luk 16:11-12.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain That the saints shall judge angels, is here so…
That the saints shall judge angels, is here so plainly asserted, as a thing within their knowledge, that none can doubt it; but how, or when, or what angels, is not so easily determined. The best interpreters understand it of the evil angels, that is, the devils, whom the saints shall judge at the last day, agreeing with the Judge of the whole earth in the sentence which he shall then give against the evil angels, confining them to the bottomless pit, who, while this world lasteth, have a greater liberty as princes of the air, to rove abroad in the air, and to work mightily in the children of disobedience. Others understand the judging of angels here mentioned, of the spoiling of the devils of the kingdom that they exercise in the world, in the places where the gospel hath not prevailed, by lying oracles, and seducing men to idolatry, and the worshipping of devils: in which sense Christ said: Now shall the prince of this world be cast out, Joh 12:31. From hence the apostle argues the competency of their brethren to judge of and to determine those little matters which were in difference between them, being but things concerning this life, and so of far less consequence than the judging of the world and the evil angels at the last day.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Know ye not that we shall judge angels,.... Meaning…
Know ye not that we shall judge angels,.... Meaning not the ministers of the Gospel, and pastors of churches, called "angels", Rev 1:20 whose doctrines are examined, tried, and judged by the saints, according to the word of God; nor the good angels, who, were it possible that they could, or should publish a Gospel contrary to what has been preached by the apostle, would be contradicted, condemned, and accursed by him, see Gal 1:8 but the evil angels, the devil and his angels: and this is to be understood not of their future final judgment and condemnation at the last day, when saints will subscribe unto, and approve of the sentence pronounced upon them, and will triumph over them in their destruction; but of the judgment of them, and of their ejection out of the Gentile world, out of their oracles, idols, and idol temples, to which Christ refers, Joh 12:31 and calls the judgment of this world, and the casting out of the prince of it by the ministry of his apostles; and which was now already begun, and ere long would be fully accomplished: accordingly the Syriac version renders it, "know ye not , that we are about to judge angels?" and the Arabic, "know ye not that we judge angels?" from whence the apostle infers very justly,
how much more things that pertain to this life? this animal life; to the trade and business of life; to pecuniary matters, to estates and possessions in this world, about which differences may arise between one saint and another.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 3. Know ye not that we shall judge…
Verse 3. Know ye not that we shall judge angels?] Dr. Lightfoot observes that "the apostle does not say here, as he said before, the saints shall judge the angels, but WE shall judge them. By angels, all confess that demons are intended; but certainly all saints, according to the latitude with which that word is understood, i.e. all who profess Christianity, shall not judge angels. Nor is this judging of angels to be understood of the last day; but the apostle speaks of the ministers of the Gospel, himself and others, who, by the preaching of the Gospel, through the power of Christ, should spoil the devils of their oracles and their idols, should deprive them of their worship, should drive them out of their seats, and strip them of their dominion. Thus would God subdue the whole world under the Christian power, so that Christian magistrates should judge men, and Christian ministers judge devils."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Shall judge angels - All the angels that shall…
Shall judge angels - All the angels that shall be judged, good or bad. Probably the reference is to fallen angels, as there is no account that holy angels will then undergo a trial. The sense is, “Christians will be qualified to see the justice of even the sentence which is pronounced on fallen angels. They will be able so to embrace and comprehend the nature of law, and the interests of justice, as to see the propriety of their condemnation. And if they can so far enter into these important and eternal relations, assuredly they ought to be regarded as qualified to discern the nature of justice ‘among men,’ and to settle the unimportant differences which may arise in the church.” Or, perhaps, this may mean that the saints shall in the future world be raised to a rank in some respects more elevated than even the angels in heaven. (Prof. Stuart.) In what respects they will be thus elevated, if this is the true interpretation, can be only a matter of conjecture. It may be supposed that it will be because they have been favored by being interested in the plan of salvation - a plan that has done so much to honor God; and that “to have been” thus saved by the “immediate and painful” intervention of the Son of God, will be a higher honor than all the privileges which beings can enjoy who are innocent themselves.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Judge angels? That is, the wicked angels, the devils.…
Judge angels? That is, the wicked angels, the devils. (St. Thomas Aquinas)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain judge angels--namely, bad angels. We who are now "a…
judge angels--namely, bad angels. We who are now "a spectacle to angels" shall then "judge angels." The saints shall join in approving the final sentence of the Judge on them (Jde 1:6). Believers shall, as administrators of the kingdom under Jesus, put down all rule that is hostile to God. Perhaps, too, good angels shall then receive from the Judge, with the approval of the saints, higher honors.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 3. Shall judge angels—Our interpretation dismisses the question so…
3. Shall judge angels—Our interpretation dismisses the question so puzzling to some commentators, whether good or bad angels, or both, are meant. For Christ, truly, is Lord and Judge of both heaven and hell; of men and angels good and bad; and those who suffer and rejoice in union with his mystical body here will reign in him and with him through eternity.
Hence Olshausen well says, “Angels themselves stand lower in the order of beings than those in whose hearts Christ is formed.”
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This symbolism, of which Paul gives us an occasional glimpse, is unfolded in full volume by John in the Apocalypse. The suppression of the cause of Christ on earth is beautifully represented by the symbolical souls of the martyrs under the altar, (Rev_14:4;) and its triumphs by the symbol of these same souls having attained to a first resurrection, and reigning in the spirit-world with Christ, over the evangelized earth. Rev_20:4.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 3. Know ye not that we shall judge angels?]…
3. Know ye not that we shall judge angels?] Cf. 2Pe_2:4, and Judges 6. Some have thought that good angels are here meant. But it is difficult to see how (1) men could pronounce sentence upon their conduct openly, or (2) acquit or censure them by the silent sentence of a consistent life. For in the first case there would be no sentence to pronounce, and in the second it would be they who would judge the holiest man that ever lived, and not he who would judge them. “The interpretation squares well with the argument. We shall judge devils, who not only were so noble in their original condition, but are still even when fallen immortal beings. What then! shall the paltry things which concern the belly be withdrawn from our decision?”—Calvin. “The good angels are not hereafter to be judged, but they will form a part of Christ’s glorious retinue when He comes to judgment.”—Wordsworth.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (3) We shall judge angels.—Many conjectures have been made…
(3) We shall judge angels.—Many conjectures have been made as to the exact significance of the word “angels” here. Some suggest that it must signify bad angels; but this would be an unusual use of the word without any qualifying adjective. It is better, perhaps, to regard the passage as a climax arising out of the Apostle’s intense realisation of the unity of Christ and His Church triumphant—a point which seems ever present to the mind of St. Paul when he speaks of the dignity of Christianity. In this sense, redeemed humanity will be superior to, and judges of, the spiritual world. That the words have some such large significance, and are not the expression of a hard and literal fact regarding some members of the angelic host, is, I think, borne out by the subsequent words, where the contrast to “angels” is not “men,” but “things” relating to this life.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain That we shall judge angels. Angels, i.e. some who…
That we shall judge angels. Angels, i.e. some who belong, or once did belong, to that class. The statement furnishes no data for further speculation. It can hardly mean "evil spirits," for where the word is entirely unqualified it always means good angels; otherwise we might refer it to the "angels which kept not their first estate". (Jud_1:6) It is impossible, and not straightforward, to explain away the word "angels" as meaning Church officials, etc., or to make the word "judge" mean "involve a condemnation of them by comparison with ourselves." All that we can say is that "God chargeth even his angels with folly, and in his sight the very heavens are not clean"; (Job_4:18) and that "to angels hath he not subjected the world to come". (Heb_2:5) We must take the plain meaning of the apostle"s words, whether we can throw any light on his conceptions or not. The only alternative is to suppose that the word means "those who once were good angels," but are now fallen spirits. It was so understood by Tertullian, Chrysostom, etc. How much more; rather, to say nothing of. The accurate rendering of these verses is a matter of some difficulty, but not to an extent which affects the material sense, or which can be explained without a minute knowledge of Greek.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 3. Know ye not that we shall judge angels?…
3. Know ye not that we shall judge angels? Evidently the bad angels, who shall be judged when the world is judged.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 3. “Know ye not that we shall rule angels?…
3. “Know ye not that we shall rule angels? And not simply things of this life?” In this verse the apostolic eye of Paul sweeps away down the coming ages, overlooking the Millennium, in which the saints will rule the world, peering beyond the general resurrection and final judgment (Rev 20:11-15), and the simultaneous cremation of the earth (2Pe 3:10), and its fiery expurgation from all the pollutions of Satan’s reign, the glorious Creative intervention renewing and transforming it into a bright and beautiful, pure and holy celestial sphere (Rev 21:1) to be reinhabited by the glorified saints (Mat 5:4), who will receive it as an everlasting inheritance to enjoy with other celestial worlds through the flight of eternal ages, the glorified earth ever recognized as our peculiar inheritance, having been created for humanity in the beginning, and also conferred on us as a soldier’s bounty, eternally commemorative of our heroic fidelity during the Lord’s war against sin and Satan. Of course, when this world shall have been sanctified by the purgatorial fires, recreated, beautified, glorified and added back to Heaven, where it belonged before the devil broke it loose in view of adding it to Hell, it will become an angelic resort of universal notoriety, to which multiplied millions of unfallen angels will come that they may visit and enjoy the society of restored and glorified humanity, and especially that they may see the old battle-field of God’s Empire, where His expatriated Son met the hosts of Hell on bloody Calvary, heroically bleeding and dying, but sealing His conquest of this world with His blood. While we will all be delighted with the angelic millions, who will compliment us by their visits and sojourn among us, of course the government of this world will be the peculiar prerogative of humanity, the angels, like the European nobility now visiting the United States, appreciated and honored by all the people, but having no disposition to take part in the government.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how…
Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more, things that pertain to this life? [They were permitting themselves to be judged by those whom they were appointed to judge. To prove that the saints will participate with Christ in the final judgment, the following passages are often cited ( Psa_49:14 ; Dan_7:22-27 ; Mat_19:28 ; Mat_20:23 ; Jud_1:6 ; Rev_2:26 ; Rev_3:21 ; Rev_20:4 ). It is doubtful if any of these are applicable; the manner of our participation is nowhere explained. Barrow suggested that in the order of the judgments the saints would be justified first ( Mat_25:41 ), after which they would sit with Christ as assessors, or associate judges, in the condemnation of the wicked and the evil angels, and his view is pretty generally received. But it is more probable that the saints will only participate as mystically united with Christ the judge, just as, by mystical union, they are kings and priests, though in no sense exercising these offices literally. The church shall judge the world in Christ her head. But the point made by Paul is that those whom God honors by association in so important a judicature may well be entrusted to judge trivial matters; for the weightiest matter of earth is light compared with the questions of eternal destiny decided on that day.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain (See Scofield "Heb 1:4").
angels
(See Scofield "Heb 1:4").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.