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.
Parallel translations
- WEB For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Good News — not in wisdom of words, so that the cross of Christ wouldn’t be made void.
- BSB 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.
- NKJV For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
- NASB For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made of no effect.
- NLT For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul's primary commission was to preach the gospel, not to baptize, and to do so plainly so the cross would not be emptied of power. The message of the cross, not eloquent rhetoric, is central.
Overview
Paul clarifies that his calling centered on proclaiming the Good News, with baptism being secondary, not unimportant. He deliberately avoided 'wisdom of words,' the polished rhetoric prized in Corinth, lest human eloquence overshadow the cross. This launches the letter's great theme: the crucified Christ, not human cleverness, is the power of salvation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 1 Cor 2:1And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
- 1 Cor 2:13Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
- 2 Pet 1:16For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
- 1 Cor 2:4–5And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
- 2 Cor 10:10For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.
- 2 Cor 4:2But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
- John 4:2(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
- 2 Cor 11:6But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things.
- 2 Cor 10:3–4For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
- Acts 26:17–18Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,
- Acts 10:48And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 1:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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