For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don't obey the Gospel of God?
judgment -- beginning with God’s house” alludes to Ezekiel 9:1-6 and Malachi 3:1-4, where the Lord purifies his people. Judgment here is not punitive, however, but purifying and cleansing. The suffering of God’s people refines them (1 Pet. 1:6–7). - ESVSB