1 Corinthians 1:13-17
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
I just want to reflect a moment on the purpose of baptism. Paul had an effective ministry in Corinth, possibly 18 months. It is highly likely that he led many people to the Lord. Why would he make a statement here about only baptizing two people? What not baptism important to him? Baptism seems important to him in Romans 6. There are several possibilities. The most obvious is that his practice of evangelism was more on planting seeds and helping people find initial faith. Baptism is a nice thing but not necessary. Another possibility is that he is being more rhetorical here, just trying to make a point about unity and not trying to form a theology of baptism. This suggests to me that sometimes we too may get caught up in ritual and liturgy and forget the bigger picture of saving souls. I’ll have to post sometime my idea about infant baptism, but I don’t see any support for it in the New Testament. Baptism in the New Testament is clearly for those who have come to faith in Christ. It is a confirmation of the faith one has in Christ. Baptism is an aspect of discipleship, something to be done after one has heard and accepted the gospel.
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