Sent To Preach, Not Baptize

October 15th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

1 Corinthians 1:14-16 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. 16 Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.

In vv. 13-17, Paul speaks of the rite, or sacrament, of Christian baptism (Gr. baptizō). In v. 13, he claims that no Christian was ever baptized in Paul’s name but “in the name of Jesus”— placing oneself under Jesus’ authority and into His possession. Paul’s point was to show the absurdity of following him, or any other apostle or preacher, rather than following Jesus Christ alone in whose name a true believer is baptized. Keeping in mind, the Corinthian Christians were divided, favoring certain preachers over others and perhaps boasting as to which one of those favored human preachers baptized them after their conversion (1:10-11).

To baptize is literally to immerse, indicative of spiritual cleansing (cf. Matt. 3:6). Though several forms of baptism are practiced today in various denominations (e.g., sprinkling, pouring), immersion is the only mode that signifies both death and resurrection along with cleansing. In the end, the symbolism of baptism constitutes an outward act of obedience following a profession of faith in Jesus as the Christ. The rite of baptism then publicly identifies a new believer with Christ’s death and resurrection (Rom. 6:3-4), signifying that the believer is cleansed from his sins by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. From now to eternity!

In dealing with the issue of division within the Corinthian church in vv. 14-16, Paul makes it clear that he was not interested in how many of his converts rallied around him as their favorite preacher. In fact, although Paul had seen many converts to Christ during his 18 months in Corinth, having planted the actual church in that city, he only recalled baptizing Crispus and Gaius along with the household of Stephanus. Who were Crispus, Gaius, and Stephanus? Early converts in Corinth known by all, whom Paul baptized following their conversion—an act that would have stood out dramatically in that community. Yet in spite of how memorable and wonderful the occasions of their baptism were, Paul left the baptizing to others. Who baptized was of little importance to Paul; that they believed in Christ was of utmost importance to him.

Why would Paul bring this up? Was he not a proponent of water baptism? Did he not believe it was useful? The answer is that Paul absolutely believed in baptism. But he knew, even in his early ministry days in Corinth, that converts to Christ might become divided over the issue of baptism—as did indeed occur then and still occurs today. Paul’s ministry was simply to preach the gospel (v. 17), not baptize, “so that no one would say you were baptized in my name” (v. 15).

Baptism is a Christian rite, also called a sacrament, that always follows a conversion to Christ in the NT. In spite of Jesus commissioning His disciples to “make disciples… baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19), the early Church only baptized its converts in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38; 10:48; cf. Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27). For Jesus, being God, is one with the Father and the Spirit. Being united, when speaking of one, one speaks of all. As elsewhere in Scripture, “the name” exemplifies the fullness of a person, joining all that that person is. When one believes in Christ and is made a disciple, he is baptized with the Holy Spirit—the one true baptism (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:5). When he is afterward baptized with water, he is outwardly identified with all that God is, baptized in “the name” of Jesus. Paul thus had no heart for baptism in his name or in any other man’s name. Only the name of Jesus.

Food For Thought
Chuck Swindoll says, “Of all things to brag about—the Corinthians puffed up their chests over who laid their hands on them and spoke the name ‘of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit’ (cf. Matt 28:19). Clearly, they had lost focus. They allowed the act of baptism as their visible response to the gospel message to overshadow the message of the Father who sent His Son to die for their sins, rise from the dead, and give them new life by the Spirit. When conceited, quarrelling cliques erupt into controversy in a local church, pride stops at nothing.”