“But a believing brother
Goes to court
Against a fellow brother believer,
Before unbelievers at that.”
ἀλλὰ ἀδελφὸς μετὰ ἀδελφοῦ κρίνεται, καὶ τοῦτο ἐπὶ ἀπίστων;
Paul admonished them because a believing brother (ἀλλὰ ἀδελφὸς) went to court against a fellow brother believer (μετὰ ἀδελφοῦ κρίνεται). However, they went before unbelievers at that (καὶ τοῦτο ἐπὶ ἀπίστων). Paul continued with his diatribe against the unbelieving Roman and Greek civil courts. Paul pointed out that there was a double problem here. First, why were two Christian brothers fighting against each other? Second, why did they go to unbelieving Greek and Roman civil judges to get an answer to their problem? Certainly, some of the Christian believers in their community could have solved this matter. Have you ever had a sharp disagreement within your Christian community?
