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. (1 Cor 1:17 NASB)
1 Cor 1:17
is a common proof-text against the salvific efficacy of water baptism. I have
written a lengthy exegesis of this text at:
In the Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, we
read the following under the entry for “Baptism” which is also pertinent:
Paul’s
alleged indifference to baptism in 1 Cor. 1:14-17 refers only to the person of the administrator: Whether one is baptized by
Paul, Peter, or Apollos means nothing; one is to be centered on Christ into
whom he or she is baptized. This
sometimes distorted passage must be interpreted in light of Paul’s clear
affirmation of baptism as incorporation into the death and resurrection of
Christ (Rom. 6:1-11) and as the putting on of Christ like a garment, thereby
receiving a new identity beside which all of the usual distinctions dissolve
(Gal. 3:27-29). Paul’s more puzzling comment about Israel being “baptized
into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Cor. 10:2) actually is quite
illuminating once one resists the temptation to suppose the apostle is referring
to some literal rite. Paul is suggesting that as a fragmented band of refugees
found a new identity in the Exodus and its aftermath in the covenant at Sinai,
so those who are baptized into Christ thereby find a new identity through their
covenant with God.
So also with
Peter’s comparison of baptism to salvation on the ark: both events bespeak a newness
given by the grace of God by which humanity is rescued from destruction. In
Heb. 6:2-4; 10:32 “enlightenment” alludes to baptism; and the ancient Church
when instructing catechumens liberally used John 9, , Jesus’ healing of the man
blind from birth. (Laurence Hull Stookey, "Baptism" in David Noel
Freedman, ed. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans,
2000], emphasis added)
