A querist asks, “One of the arguments used to minimize the importance of baptism is found in 1 Corinthians 1:17 where Paul states: “For Christ sent me not to baptize….” Can you please explain in context what Paul is really emphasizing?”<\/p>\n
The complete text in 1 Corinthians 1:17 NKJV reads:<\/p>\n
\n“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.<\/strong>“<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
In context, Paul addresses the problem that some Corinthian brethren had in attributing the authority of their baptism to some human administrator<\/strong> (1 Corinthians 1:12-13 NKJV) rather than by the authority of Christ (Matthew 28:18-19 NKJV; Acts 4:12 NKJV; Acts 10:43 NKJV).<\/p>\n
Note in 1 Corinthians 1:1 NKJV, Paul asks the question, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” Also, note the similar phrase Paul uses: “in my own name” in 1 Corinthians 1:15 NKJV). The phrase, “in the name of” means “by the authority of.”<\/p>\n
Paul emphasizes the fact that when we are baptized “into Christ” (Gal. 3:27 NKJV), our baptism is by Christ’s authority not<\/strong> by the authority of any man including Paul.<\/p>\n
In 1 Corinthians 1:17 NKJV, Paul’s primary mission was to proclaim the gospel, not<\/strong> to be an administrator of baptism. Only God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are authorized administrators of baptism (Matthew 28:19 NKJV). Thus, it is not the act of baptism that is minimized in this passage, but the human administering the act of baptism<\/strong> (1 Corinthians 1:12-13 NKJV). No special emphasis is to be attached to the individual performing the rite of baptism.<\/p>\n
We are not to wear the name of any human, but only the name of Christ (Acts 4:12 NKJV) . Thus, we are simply to be called a “Christian” or “Christians” (Acts 11:26 NKJV; 1 Peter 4:16 NKJV; cf. Isaiah 65:15). We become “Christians” when we willingly submit to the act of baptism “in the name of Jesus Christ” (or by the authority of Christ – Acts 2:38 NKJV).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A querist asks, “One of the arguments used to minimize the importance of baptism is found in 1 Corinthians 1:17 where Paul states: “For Christ sent me not to baptize….” Can you please explain in context what Paul is really emphasizing?” The complete text in 1 Corinthians 1:17 NKJV reads: “For Christ did not send … Continue reading “1 Corinthians 1:17 \u2014 A Question – Bible study”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46355\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}