1 Corinthians 1:17

1 Corinthians 1:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
• New King James Version (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.

Context of 1 Corinthians 1:17

15so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name! 16(I also baptized the household of Stephanus. Otherwise, I do not remember whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel – and not with clever speech, so that the cross of Christ would not become useless. 18For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will thwart the cleverness of the intelligent.”

1 Corinthians 1:17 word by word

οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλέν με Χριστὸς βαπτίζειν ἀλλ᾽ εὐαγγελίζεσθαι· οὐκ ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγου, ἵνα μὴ κενωθῇ ὁ σταυρὸς τοῦ Χριστοῦ.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
• sentἀποστέλλωapostellō · to sendG649
• meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• notοὐou · noG3756
• to baptizeβαπτίζωbaptizō · to baptizeG907
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• to preach the gospelεὐαγγελίζομαιeuaggelizō · to speak good newsG2097
• withἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• wisdomσοφίαsophia · wisdomG4678
• of wordsλόγοςlogos · wordG3056
• lestἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• ·μήmē · notG3361
• the crossὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the crossσταυρόςstauros · crossG4716
• should be made of none effectκενόωkenoō · to emptyG2758

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 1:17

• John 4:2(although Jesus himself was not baptizing, but his disciples were),
• Acts 10:48So he gave orders to have them baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for several days.
• Acts 26:17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you
• 1 Corinthians 2:1When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony of God.
• 2 Corinthians 4:2But we have rejected shameful hidden deeds, not behaving with deceptiveness or distorting the word of God, but by open proclamation of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience before God.
• 2 Corinthians 10:3For though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards,
• 2 Peter 1:16For we did not follow cleverly concocted fables when we made known to you the power and return of our Lord Jesus Christ; no, we were eyewitnesses of his grandeur.
• 1 Corinthians 2:5so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 1:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17For Christ sent me not to baptize - Bp. Pearce translates thus: For Christ sent me, not so much to baptize as to preach the Gospel: and he supports his version thus - "The writers of the Old and New Testaments do, almost every where (agreeably to the Hebrew idiom) express a preference given to one thing beyond another by an affirmation of that which is preferred, and a negation of that which is contrary to it: and so it must be understood here, for if St…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17For 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…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-25Verses 17-25 Paul had been bred up in Jewish learning; but the plain preaching of a crucified Jesus, was more powerful than all the oratory and philosophy of the heathen world. This is the sum and substance of the gospel. Christ crucified is the foundation of all our hopes, the fountain of all our joys. And by his death we live. The preaching of salvation for lost sinners by the sufferings and death of the Son of God, if explained and faithfully applied…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17The important thing is not baptism, but sharing the good news about Jesus. Baptism shows how people respond to the message. not with words of wisdom: This refers to speaking well or appealing to human wisdom. lest the cross be emptied of its power: Focusing too much on eloquence and human reasoning can distract from the simple message that Christ died for people's sins so they could be forgiven (1 Corinthians 2:1–5; 15:1–3).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. Paul says this not to depreciate baptism; for he exalts it most highly (Ro 6:3). He baptized some first converts; and would have baptized more, but that his and the apostles' peculiar work was to preach the Gospel, to found by their autoptic testimony particular churches, and then to superintend the churches in general. sent me--literally, "as an apostle." not to baptize--even in Christ's name, much less in my own. not with wisdom of words--or speech…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 1:17

• Atonement
• Baptism
• Boasting
• Cross
• Jesus, the Christ
• Philosophy
• Preaching
• Suffering
• Wisdom
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• Christ, Messiah
• Confirm
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Cross
• Disputer
• Foolishness
• Household
• Join
• Preach

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings