One of the downsides of seeking a promotion in a union-based environment is that the most qualified candidate might not get the position. The position will often go to the senior candidate (senior as far as union seniority is concerned, not age), who meets the minimum requirements for the job. A junior candidate may have more experience, taken more courses and may be better qualified, but under the rules of union-filled positions, the senior person will be chosen.
When it comes to who is best qualified to judge mankind, we might suppose it would be God the Father. However, we read that the Father committed all judgment to Jesus Christ (John 5:22, 26-27), and for a good reason. There is a saying that you should never judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes. Christ took on human flesh (Hebrews 2:9, 14 ; 1 Peter 4:5). As a human being, He was tempted in all things as we are, which is something the Father never experienced. Of course, God the Father saw the results of sin and human suffering. He does have feelings. Christ, on the other hand, walked on this earth and experienced trials, tests, temptations and human suffering even unto death.
He has been there and knows our weaknesses and strengths. He can relate to humanity in a way that God the Father, or Christ prior to His birth as a human being, could not. Therefore, Christ is in the best position to judge mankind.
It is true that Christ never experienced EVERY kind of trial, test or suffering that one can endure in this life. For example, He never had to deal with a loss of a limb; and He was not born blind; yet, He did heal the blind and crippled, so He knows how they felt; also, how they reacted when they were healed. He experienced enough to know what it is like to live as a human being. Christ never sinned; yet, He saw the horrible consequences of sin. He could have been executed in a swift fashion, but He willingly endured a long, slow, suffering path to taste death. He did it for everyone, so He could be a faithful and merciful high priest (Hebrews 2:17), and convey to the Father human weaknesses which He witnessed and human suffering which He endured.
It is also true that the saints will judge the world (1 Corinthians 6:2). Because of our human past, we will be able to accurately do this; yet, Christ, due to His unique position in the Godhead and having gone through His human experience as He did, is the most qualified.
In addition, we also read that the saints will judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:3). Paul chided the Corinthians for going to the worldly courts over matters that should have been dealt with internally. He asked them why they could not judge things that pertain to this life when they would judge angels. All of us sin and have sinned–we have broken every commandment, either in the letter or in the spirit. You might say, “Wait a minute! I never murdered anyone.” Did or do you hate someone? If so, then you are guilty of murder (1 John 3:15), because murder starts with hate and resentment (compare Matthew 5:21-22). Since we have sinned, but repented of our sins, we can be qualified to rule with Christ over man and to even determine the outcome of angels who have sinned. As members of the God Family, we can evaluate and consider peer pressure, coercion or threats, when we judge to see if there is perhaps any repentance in man, as well as in those angels that decided to follow Satan. Perhaps some rebelled because of “peer pressure,” Satanic “coercion” or wrongly-understood government–thinking they had to follow Lucifer, no matter what–but they did not really sin wholeheartedly. As we suggested in our previous Q&A, some may perhaps be able to reach a repentant state of mind and come under the good graces of God in the future. We may be able to have compassion on them and extend mercy to those who may want to change.
Our God is a merciful God. Consider, for example, what He said to Jonah at the end of the book, in Jonah 4:11: “And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?” If God has compassion on animals, surely He wants to extend every opportunity to sinning angels who might be willing and able to repent.
Unlike what we experience in this world, God will see to it that only the most qualified candidates will be given the opportunity and responsibility to judge others, be it men or angels. God has committed all judgment to Jesus Christ, and Christ is willing to share this opportunity with us. We need to make sure, then, that we qualify in this life for this great potential, so that we can become kings and priests (Revelation 5:10) “to” and “of” God the Father and Jesus Christ, reigning with Christ for a thousand years (Revelation 20:6)–and then, forever and ever (Revelation 22:5).
