Sometimes it is easy to misunderstand passages of scripture and especially so if we are getting all kinds of help doing so. Because of Paul's statement in 1 Cor. 1:17 where he says, "Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel" (NKJV) some have been inclined to believe Paul felt baptism was not essential. A careful reading of the context should make one reconsider. Just four verses earlier Paul had asked the Corinthians to whom he was writing, "were you baptized in the name of Paul?" (1 Cor. 1:13 NKJV) Paul knew they had been baptized, in someone’s name, for if they had not been the question is nonsensical. The Corinthians to whom he wrote were a baptized people.
What is Paul saying in 1 Cor. 1:17?
Is he saying that Christ does not care whether or not disciples are
baptized as some so believe? Is he
saying it is unimportant and makes no difference to one's salvation whether or
not a person is baptized? It is the
purpose of this article to show the folly of taking that kind of stance based
on this scripture.
Let me begin by asking a question that must be answered if one is to
take the position that baptism does not matter and that Paul was teaching that
in this passage. Here is the question--if
it did not matter, if it has nothing to do with salvation, if Christ did not
want Paul to baptize why did Paul baptize?
He says in verses 14 and 16 that he baptized Crispus and Gaius and the
household of Stephanas. In Acts 19:1-7
Paul came to Ephesus and found 12 men there that had not been baptized properly
and he baptized them. Why? Why if Paul felt it was unnecessary? One also finds others who were baptized
either by Paul or by a companion of his as a result of Paul's teaching on the
subject--Lydia and her household (Acts 16:14-15), the Philippian jailer and his
household (Acts 16:29-33).
Why if Paul felt baptism was unnecessary did he teach baptism in Rom.
6:1-7, 1 Cor. 6:11, 1 Cor. 12:13, Gal. 3:26-27, Eph. 5:25-26, Col. 2:11-12,
Titus 3:5, and if Paul wrote Hebrews as many believe he did in Heb. 10:22?
If baptism does not matter and Paul did not care whether people were
baptized or not then why was Paul baptized?
Was more required of Paul than anyone else in becoming a Christian? The command to Paul by Ananias, a man sent
directly by the Lord himself (see Acts 9:10-16) to Paul (at that time called
Saul), was "arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins." (Acts
22:16 NKJV)
Most today, if they were to be consistent in what they teach, would
have to tell you that Ananias was mistaken and could not possibly have meant
what he said about Paul having sins to be washed away for they say a man is
saved from his sins at the point of faith and thus Paul had no sins to be
washed away so they know more about it than the man sent directly by the Lord
himself to Paul. They also would have to
tell you, because they believe man has no part in his own salvation other than
faith, there was nothing Paul could do to help himself contrary to what Ananias
told him.
One also has to ask another question if one is to interpret 1 Cor.
1:17 as teaching that baptism does not matter to Paul or to Christ. Actually, two questions. (1) Why was Paul, an apostle, exempt from the
command Jesus gave to the other apostles just before his ascension to heaven in
Matt. 28:19-20 where the command was, "Go therefore and make disciples of
all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age"? (NKJV) Is he some kind of special apostle who was
exempted from this command to baptize?
Did the disciples made by Peter, John, and the other apostles have to be
baptized but not those made by Paul? I
hope you do not believe that. What
Peter, John, and the other apostles were commanded to do Paul was also
commanded to do or else he was not required to fulfill the Great Commission as
they were and who believes that?
(2) Which disciple was it in Matt. 28:18-20 that Jesus said would not
need to be baptized? I might add the
disciples that were made were to be taught "to observe all things I have
commanded you" which was what--to go make disciples and baptize them. Matthew 28:19-20 settles the matter of
whether baptism is essential to salvation by itself, no other passage is
needed unless, of course, one can deliberately disobey Jesus and still be
saved. But, there are many, many other
passages teaching the same necessity of baptism as essential to salvation.
Paul in 1 Corinthians was writing to the church that he established
there. He says of it "I
planted" (1 Cor. 3:6 NKJV); "I have laid the foundation" (1 Cor.
3:10 NKJV); "For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ,
yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you
through the gospel" (1 Cor. 4:15 NKJV).
The record of the establishment of the church at Corinth is found in
Acts chapter 18. As a result of Paul's
preaching the text says, "And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed
and were baptized." (Acts 18:8 NKJV)
Were the converts Paul made left unbaptized because Paul thought it was
unimportant and did not teach it? Not
according to this text. He said in his
letter to the church at Corinth he was not sent to baptize but it is certain he
taught it or else how did the Corinthians learn about it and why were they
baptized? If Paul did not do the actual
baptizing (and he did not do it according to 1 Cor. 1:17) then it is certain
some of his helpers or assistants did on his behalf.
According to the Acts 18 account the Lord spoke to Paul telling him he
had many people in Corinth (verse 10) and directing Paul to not hold his peace
but to speak up in preaching the gospel (verse 9). Paul spent 18 months in Corinth preaching
(verse 11).
In 1 Cor. 6:11, after speaking of sins that will prohibit one from
inheriting the kingdom of God (verses 9 and 10), Paul says to the Corinthians,
"And such were some of you. But you
were washed … ." (NKJV) Now what
kind of washing would it be that would make a difference in one's salvation (as
this one clearly did)--that would cleanse one?
Might it not well be the same washing Paul had when he was
baptized? "Now why are you
waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash
away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." (Acts 22:16 NKJV) Yes, washing (baptism) makes a difference in
that it spiritually speaking washes away sins in obedience to the command of
God.
But, that is not all Paul has to say to the Corinthians on the subject
of baptism. In 1 Cor. 12:13 he says to
them, "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body." (1 Cor.
12:13 NKJV) That body, the only body
that matters with regards to one's salvation, is the body of Christ of which he
(Christ) is the Savior (Eph. 5:23). Now
read Paul's words carefully here. He
says "we were all baptized into one body." The word "all" means every one of
us, no exceptions. How many disciples
did Jesus say should be baptized back in Matt. 28:19? None were to be exempted, not a single
one. In New Testament times there was no
such thing as a Christian who had not been baptized. That has not changed with time despite the
howls and protests of many if not most.
Did Paul personally do a lot of baptizing in Corinth? No!
Did he preach it and see that it was done? Yes!
Why did he not do a lot of the baptizing himself? The answer is he had those working with him
who could and would do the work.
Just as Jesus is said to have made and baptized more disciples than
John (John 4:1) and we then read in the next verse, "though Jesus himself
did not baptize, but his disciples" (John 4:2 NKJV) just, in the same manner, we can surmise that in Corinth though Paul himself actually baptized very few
personally (1 Cor. 1:14-16) yet the work was done through helpers of his and
through other preachers and teachers. "And
many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized." (Acts
18:8 ESV)
Paul's primary mission was to preach the gospel as an inspired
man. An uninspired man can baptize
another but in the days before they had a written New Testament it took
inspiration to preach the gospel and thus it is easy to understand why an
inspired man's first duty would be to preach.
Such a man could always, or nearly always, find help to do the
baptizing. As already shown 1 Cor. 12:13
and Matt. 28:19 proves that every Christian at Corinth was baptized (see also
again 1 Cor. 6:11).
Paul most certainly did not mean that Christ sent him out into the world to preach that baptism was a non-essential and that none need to be baptized for it was Jesus himself who said, "he who believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16 NKJV) and that "unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5 NKJV) and it was Paul who was commanded to "arise and be baptized" to have his sins washed away (Acts 22:16 NKJV). One can also read the passages Paul wrote on the subject of baptism listed but not discussed earlier in this article (Rom. 6:1-7, Gal. 3:26-27, Eph. 5:25-26, Col. 2:11-12, Titus 3:5) to see Paul's teaching on the subject and the importance he placed on it.
(Originally written in 2011, revised in 2022 – Denny Smith)
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