1 Corinthians 1:17

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:17

Sent me not to baptize, but; that is, according to Semitic idiom, "not so much to baptize, as" ( Matthew 28:19 ). The word "sent" ( apesteilen ) involves the meaning "made me an apostle" ( apostolos ) . The primary function of the apostles was "to bear witness" ( Mark 16:15 ; Acts 1:8 , etc.). To preach the gospel. St. Paul again "goes off" at this word, and dwells for eight verses on the character of his preaching. Not in wisdom of words; not, that is, in a philosophic and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:17

The world's greatest blessing and its greatest evil. "Lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect." Here we have - I. The greatest BLESSING in the world. "The cross of Christ." By "the cross of Christ" the apostle did not mean, of course, the timber on which Christ was crucified, or any imitation of that in wood, brass, marble, gold, silver, or paint. He uses the word as a symbol, as we use the words "crown," "court," "bench," etc. He meant the eternal principles of which... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:17

The mission to preach. No man did so much as Paul to prevent Christianity degenerating into form. He had himself been galled by the bondage of the old dispensation, and he the more rejoiced in the liberty of the new. He upheld the spirit against the letter, the life against the ceremony. He did not depreciate baptism, for it would not have been easy to depreciate the ordinance and at the same time to honour the spiritual reality it symbolized. But others could and might administer the rite... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:17-25

The preaching of the cross. I. THE CROSS IS TO BE PREACHED . The gospel cannot be preached unless the cross is. The cross is the central fact. The con, verging point of the Scriptures is found in "Christ crucified." Without the cross Christianity becomes meaningless and powerless. Salvation and the cross are indissolubly linked: the cross speaks of the shedding of blood, "and without shedding of blood is no remission" ( Hebrews 9:22 ). II. THE CROSS IS TO BE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:17-25

Man's wisdom and God's. The mention of baptism leads the apostle to speak of his preaching at Corinth. His mission was "not to baptize, but to preach the gospel," and he proceeds to vindicate his discharge of that mission as against those who preferred the "wisdom of this world." I. THE THEME OF EVANGELICAL PREACHING . He calls it "the word of the cross;" "Christ crucified". Here at Corinth, even more than elsewhere, Paul felt the necessity of adhering to the simplicity of... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Corinthians 1:17

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, John 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... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Corinthians 1:17

1 Corinthians 1:17. For Christ sent me not to baptize Not chiefly: this was not the principal end of my mission. He did not call me in so wonderful a way, and endue me with extraordinary powers, chiefly in order to my doing that which might be done as well by an ordinary minister: (all the apostles, however, were also sent to baptize, Matthew 28:19:) but to preach the gospel Or to plant churches by preaching the gospel to those that never heard it before, Acts 26:17-18. “The apostles,... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

1:10-4:21 DIVISIONS IN THE CHURCHNo blame upon Paul (1:10-17)Paul urges the Corinthian Christians to stop their quarrelling and be united (10). He has heard from people from Chloe’s household that the Christians have divided themselves into factions. Some called themselves Paul’s party. Others, who were impressed with the preaching of Apollos (cf. Acts 18:24-28), formed the Apollos party. Perhaps it was the Jewish group who claimed to be followers of Peter; while a fourth group claimed even... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Corinthians 1:17

sent . App-174 . preach the gospel = evangelize. App-121 . with = in. App-104 . words . App-121 . This means either "eloquent language", or "clever reasoning". Perhaps both ideas were in the apostle's mind. made of none effect . Greek. kenoo. See Romans 4:14 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 1:17

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.Christ sent me not to baptize ... Some have been diligent to make this passage an excuse for denying the necessity of the believer's baptism into Christ, as for example, Metz, who said, "The gospel of grace and faith that he proclaimed was as free from outer ritual and ceremony as it was devoid of legal observances."[18] If such a view is tenable, how can Paul's... read more

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