1 Corinthians 1:17 BSB

1 Corinthians 1:17

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not in wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made void.

KJV

For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

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Commentary

3 voices

Tertullian

On Baptism (220)

But they roll back an objection from that apostle himself, in that he said, "For Christ sent me not to baptize; " , as if by this argument baptism were done away! For if so, why did he baptize Gaius, and Crispus, and the house of Stephanas? However, even if Christ had not sent him to baptize, yet He had given other apostles the precept to baptize.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

Lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect - The whole effect of St. Paul's preaching was owing to the power of God accompanying the plain declaration of that great truth, "Christ bore our sins upon the cross." But this effect might have been imputed to another cause, had he come with that wisdom of speech which they admired.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

For Christ sent me not to baptize - That is, not to baptize as my main business. Baptism was not his principal employment, though be had a commission in common with others to administer the ordinance, and occasionally did it. The same thing was true of the Saviour, that he did not personally baptize, Joh 4:2. It is probable that the business of baptism was entrusted to the ministers of the church of inferior talents, or to those who were connected with the churches permanently, and not to those who were engaged chiefly in traveling from place to place.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

19 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
οὐ	ou	Not	G3756 →
γὰρ	gar	for	G1063 →
ἀπέστειλέν	apesteilen	sent	G649 →
με	me	me	G3165 →
Χριστὸς	Christos	Christ	G5547 →
βαπτίζειν	baptizein	to baptize	G907 →
ἀλλ᾽	all᾽	but	G235 →
εὐαγγελίζεσθαι·	euangelizesthai	to evangelise;	G2097 →
οὐκ	ouk	not	G3756 →
ἐν	en	in	G1722 →
σοφίᾳ	sophia	wisdom	G4678 →
λόγου,	logou	of discourse,	G3056 →
ἵνα	ina	that	G2443 →
μὴ	mē	not	G3361 →
κενωθῇ	kenōthēa	may be emptied of power	G2758 →
ὁ	ho	the	G3588 →
σταυρὸς	stauros	cross	G4716 →
τοῦ	tou	of the	G3588 →
Χριστοῦ.¶	Christou	Christ.	G5547 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
2 Peter 1:16
For we did not follow cleverly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
leads to
- 1 Corinthians 2:4
  My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
  Reached by 3 independent paths from here.
- 1 John 4:14
  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.
- John 1:14
  The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- 1 Timothy 1:4
  or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith.
- 1 John 1:1–3
  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life.
Through
2 Corinthians 10:10
For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but his physical presence is unimpressive, and his speaking is of no account.”
leads to
- Exodus 4:10
  “Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Through
1 Corinthians 2:1
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
leads to
- 1 Corinthians 2:13
  And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
Through
1 Corinthians 2:13
And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
leads to
- 1 Corinthians 2:14
  The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.