1 Corinthians 1:12-17

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:10-13

Here the apostle enters on his subject. I. He extorts them to unity and brotherly love, and reproves them for their divisions. He had received an account from some that wished them well of some unhappy differences among them. It was neither ill-will to the church, nor to their ministers, that prompted them to give this account; but a kind and prudent concern to have these heats qualified by Paul's interposition. He writes to them in a very engaging way: ?I beseech you, brethren, by the name of... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:14-16

Here the apostle gives an account of his ministry among them. He thanks God he had baptized but a few among them, Crispus, who had been a ruler of a synagogue at Corinth (Acts 18:8), Gaius, and the household of Stephanas, besides whom, he says, he did not remember that he had baptized any. But how was this a proper matter for thankfulness? Was it not a part of the apostolical commission to baptize all nations? And could Paul give thanks to God for his own neglect of duty? He is not to be... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:17-31

We have here, I. The manner in which Paul preached the gospel, and the cross of Christ: Not with the wisdom of words (1 Cor. 1:17), the enticing words of man's wisdom (1 Cor. 2:4), the flourish of oratory, or the accuracies of philosophical language, upon which the Greeks so much prided themselves, and which seem to have been the peculiar recommendations of some of the heads of the faction in this church that most opposed this apostle. He did not preach the gospel in this manner, lest the... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

1:10-17 Brothers, I urge you through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you should make up your differences and that you should see to it that there may be no divisions among you, but that you should be knit together in the same mind and the same opinion. Brothers, it has become all too clear to me, from information that I have received from members of Chloe's household, that there are outbreaks of strife amongst you. What I mean is this--each of you is saying, "I belong to Paul; I belong... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:12

Now this I say that everyone of you saith ,.... This the apostle affirms not upon his own personal knowledge, but upon the credit of the report the house of Chloe had made unto him; and his meaning is not that every individual member of this church, but that many of them, and the far greater number of them, were in the following factions, some being for one minister, and some for another: one part of them said, I am of Paul ; he had been instrumental in their conversion: he had baptized... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:13

Is Christ divided ?.... Some read the words as an assertion, "Christ is divided"; that is, his body, the church, is divided by such factions and parties; though in some copies μη , the note of interrogation, is put before the clause, and so to be rendered, "is Christ divided?" no; his human body was not to be divided; a bone of him was not to be broken, John 19:36 ; the seamless garment he wore was not to be rent asunder, John 19:23 ; nor is his mystical body, the church, to be torn in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:14

I thank God that I baptized none of you ,.... The Alexandrian copy and the Syriac version read, "I thank my God"; not that the apostle disliked the ordinance of baptism, or the administration of it; and much less that he thought it criminal, or an evil in him to perform it; nor was he at any time displeased at the numbers of persons who desired it of him; but on the contrary rejoiced where proper subjects of it were brought to a submission to it; but inasmuch as some persons in the church at... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:15

Lest any should say that I had baptized in my own name. The Alexandrian copy, and some others, and the Vulgate Latin version, read, "lest anyone should say that ye were baptized in my name"; and the Ethiopic version renders it, "that ye might not say we have been baptized in his name". This gives the true reason why the apostle was so thankful he had baptized no more of the members of this church, lest either some should reproach him, as having done it in his own name, and as seeking his own... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:16

And I also baptized the household of Stephanas ,.... The same name with "Stephanios", or "Stephanio" in Pliny F5 Nat. Hist. l. 7. c. 48. . Before he says he had baptized none but Crispus and Gaius; but recollecting things, he corrects himself, and observes, that he had also baptized the household of Stephanas, who by the Greek writers is thought to be the same with the jailer baptized by the apostle at Philippi, but was now removed from thence to Corinth, and was become a famous and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 1:17

For Christ sent me not to baptize ,.... Some think the apostle refers to his particular mission from Christ, Acts 26:16 in which no mention is made of his administering the ordinance of baptism; but no doubt he had the same mission the rest of the apostles had, which was to baptize as well as preach; and indeed, if he had not been sent at all to baptize, it would have been unlawful for him to have administered baptism to any person whatever; but his sense is, that baptism was not the chief... read more

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