Who’s Gonna Judge?

It has been said, “Only God can judge me,” and such sentiment seems to have been especially popular in the mid-1990s when Tupac came out with his song Only God Can Judge Me. In 1999, Master P released an album by the same name. Regardless of where the sentiment came from or when it originated or who espouses it, on the face of it, it seems to be a truism that no one can deny. In fact, Jesus himself states that we ought not to judge, lest we be judged (Matthew 7:1-2; Luke 6:37). And there are many verses in the Bible that tell of God being the only Judge of all: James 4:12; Psalm 7:11; 75:7; Romans 2:16; 2 Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 10:30; Deuteronomy 32:35; Matthew 10:28; Luke 12:5.

However, as I read Scripture, it seems that the judgment of God is not something that he keeps to himself, but shares with the saints, his beloved holy ones. The reason I think this is because of an almost off-handed remark that the Apostle Paul makes about the judgment of angels by the saints–and by “saints,” I do not mean those venerated by the church; I mean, all Christians. For Paul was writing to a very carnal and wicked congregation about the fact that they would judge angels, let alone the whole world.

The remark can be found in 1 Corinthians 6:2-3, where Paul says, “Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world?…Do you not know that we will judge angels?” Now, where Paul got this idea from is anyone’s guess, as it appears nowhere else in Scripture (though it may be a rewording or interpretation of Matthew 19:28). And the context of these two verses is a larger passage on the necessity of judging cases between believers within the body of the church and not before the body of unbelieving judges or courts, lest the gospel be tainted in its message of love because Christians can’t seem to get along or get their act together and love one another with long-suffering patience.

The truth that Paul states here, indeed, is startling for numerous reasons, largely because it seems to me that many Christians are quite unqualified to do the judging that requires God’s judgment. Even Paul himself states that God did not choose us because we are wise or mighty (1 Corinthians 1:26-30). Yet, as Paul states earlier in 1 Corinthians, we Christians have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Now, if we have the mind of Christ, then we are imbued in some way, mysterious as it may be, with the wisdom of Christ, even if not with his knowledge; that is to say, that we might think like Christ, even if we do not have exactly the same content of thoughts in our mind that he has. This is much like learning to do something another does or think like somebody else: we do not do it exactly as they do or think exactly as they do, but we learn to anticipate and preempt them, so that we can act in their stead or think like them.

Saints will judge the world and the angels

The fact that saints will judge the world and the angels simply astonishes me. I do not have much confidence in myself, much less my fellow believers, to be able to execute such an exacting, momentous task. I know of very few people, indeed, I would entrust with such a task. And just how does God go about disseminating this responsibility? And who’s in charge? And who gets to call the shots? And how can the saints, who are so easily divided over anything and everything, ever come to an agreement to make a final judgment on anything or anyone? I don’t understand it very much at all, especially how it will all play out logistically.

I take it for granted, though, that the saints will judge the world and the angels, mainly because Paul wrote it and Paul was inspired, or so I believe, as I have been taught. Indeed, if it were not the case, why would he write it or use it to make a point? I suppose, he could have been merely writing to write it, to make a point to keep things in the church, rather than letting the church air its dirty laundry before the world. But that seems rather hypocritical and unnecessary. I mean, the world already knows we’re hypocritical and fallen, foolish and broken, so why hide it?

The greatest are the least

Another conundrum of all this is the statement that Jesus makes quite a few times: the greatest are to be the least (Matthew 20:26; 23:11; Mark 9:35; 10:43; Luke 22:26). He does not say that the least are to be the greatest, which I have often thought myself, but that the greatest are to be the least–and to be the least in this way: as the least, without necessarily actually being the least. The meaning is this: if we aspire to be great in the Kingdom of God, Jesus doesn’t dissuade us from such ambitions, but rightly directs those ambitions, stating that in order to be great, we must have the attitude of one who is the least, namely, the attitude of humility and dependence.

There is something, which I have heard dubbed the “poor man’s greed,” which is the greed or entitlement of the poor or underprivileged, the idea that something is owed to one, regardless of effort or work put forth. That is not to say that there are not right reparations to be made for those who have been oppressed and are presently underprivileged or poor; it is to say that as no one is rightly owed anything and no one can really work their way by effort out of their situation without the aid of some grace or mercy, then we all, wherever we find ourselves, need to put forth the effort to assist one another as best we can with whatever skills or resources we have.

There is much to be said on this, but I wish to only draw this out at the present moment: there are many who have been oppressed and are now underprivileged due to whatever systemic or specific inequalities that have been perpetrated against those individuals and groups; it is these who are largely, if not wholly, among the least. Indeed, as Jesus states in Matthew 25, the least, with whom Jesus identifies as a brother, are the ones who are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, homeless or strangers or immigrants, imprisoned. These are largely and wholly the least. It is like these Jesus calls us to be in order that we might be great in his great and glorious Kingdom. And it is how we treat these that indicates whether we are in the Kingdom at all even.

God calls judges “gods”

As if that weren’t enough of a conundrum for us to handle, Scripture indicates that the judges of Israel, whom God appointed to serve as rulers over the nation of his people, God calls “gods” (Psalm 82:6). As if this weren’t enough, Jesus cites this verse in John 10:34 to make a point about his own divinity. Additionally, humanity in general is elevated to a position just below the angels, or gods, or even God himself, depending on how you translate Psalm 8:5, let alone Genesis 1:26-27, where God creates humanity in his own image.

If judges behaved like gods, then it might not seem so unseemly that God calls the judges of Israel “gods.” Then again, perhaps, the ancient Israelite judges were like gods–the pagan GrecoRoman gods, who were, at best, moody and cunning, conniving and petty, and the like. The judges of ancient Israel, as described in the the Book of Judges seem to have been no better, for the most part, indeed, being gluttonous, violent, volatile, and carnal. Take one, Samson, for instance: how he was a judge of Israel with the blessing of God’s Spirit upon him is anyone’s guess. Still, all this shows that God uses wicked people unto his own ends; and, not only that, it also shows that the divine title given to unworthy judges only goes to show how God shares his power with his servants and people.

The one who judges is greater than the one being judged

The fact that the one who judges is greater than the one being judged is a statement that ought not need any defense, but still I shall provide one, especially in light of the fact that so many of the judgments we humans make are without truth or understanding or knowledge: we judge by mere appearances and not with the truth or knowledge of the heart, as God judges (1 Samuel 16:7). The main reason, it seems, that Jesus tells us not to judge others is because of our propensity toward hypocrisy and the ignorance shared therewith.

Still, the fact remains that in order to judge one, or even presume as a judge of another, the judge must be greater than the other in some way or another, which is why so many people have a hard time with being judged–because many, if not, most of us, are not in a position to rightly judge. That a judge is greater can be seen in the courtroom, where the judge presides over the whole hearing and makes the final decision, even if a jury is present, about what the verdict will be. The accused stands before the judge and awaits judgment: whatever sentence is pronounced by the judge, the accused must receive.

A Great Deduction

Now, I hope it has been clearly laid out that:

1. Saints will judge the world and angels.
2. The greatest are the least.
3. The fact that God calls his judges “gods” indicates that God shares his power to rule and judge with others.
4. The one who judges is greater than the one being judged.

All this comes together in this way:

1. If we, who are the last and least of all those of this life and this world, will judge not only angels but also the world,
2. and if God is the ultimate Judge of all,
3. and if we shall share in the power of judgment with God,
4. and if wicked judges were named “gods,”
5. then, it seems to stand that the following are also true:
   • the veneration of the saints to their station as judges of all with God.
   • the veneration of the least and last to a station of judgeship with God.
   • the diminishment of the first and greatest to a station of judged, at best, and damned, at worst.

I derive from these points and also from the fact that God calls the least in this life to be a part of his great and glorious Kingdom that the least in this life will judge the greatest in this life–in the next life to come.

Leap of a Conclusion

Here, I jump to my conclusion, specifically, that the least, of whom in this life are namely those who are oppressed, will be venerated by the Lord as judges to not only judge the greatest of this life, but also to rule over them.

Very practically, I can see it working out in this way, for example: the ancient Israelite slave of Egypt will judge the rulers and masters of Egypt. The African slave of the United States will judge his or her earthly master in the life to come. Or, for example, those beaten and killed unjustly by police in contemporary America will judge those very police who beat and killed them. Justice will come for those to whom it is due–and that means everybody; it’s just a matter of which side of justice you’re on: are you on the great side of justice, where you receive your just and due reward of life? Or are you on the great side of justice, where you receive your just and due reward of condemnation and death?

Now, it is true, as James states, that mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13); and it is true that the great and terrible Day of the Lord foretold by Malachi (Malachi 4) was fulfilled in the coming and dying of Christ Jesus, especially on the cross, when he bore upon himself all the wrath of God against the wickedness in humanity. But it is also true that all who do not submit to the salvation and lordship of Jesus as the Christ of God will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15). The Day of Judgment is still at hand.

While mercy triumphs over judgment, we are called by James to live as those who will be judged by the law that gives freedom ( James 2:12), precisely because, as he puts it, “judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful” (James 2:13), which gives rise to his grand conclusion: “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” It is not that mercy itself overcomes judgment or justice, but that if we treat one another with mercy, so God will judge us with mercy. But if we are merciless in our interactions with others, well, again, so God will judge us.

This, too, applies to those with whom God shares his power of judgment: those whom we treat ill in this life may judge us ill in the life to come; and those we treat well in this life may surely judge us well in the life to come.

Jesus states in Luke 16:9 that we ought to use everything we’ve got–all our resources and monies–to “make friends,” so that we will be accepted into “eternal dwellings.” This verse comes from a passage that is very complicated and convoluted and difficult to understand, but the base of it is this: if God can trust us to do well with the treasures of earth, then he might just be able to entrust us with the treasures of heaven; and we would do well to use our earthly treasures to build up heavenly wealth. And what are heavenly treasures or what is heavenly wealth: presumably, good character, right motives and motivations, righteousness, justice, mercy, people, and how we enact all these things toward people, toward one another, how we treat and love one another–or whether we do at all.

For judgment is coming…but will we rise or fall on that day?