Here again there
appears to be a contradiction, in that St. Paul says in 1 Cor. 1:17 – Christ
did not send me to baptize, rather to preach the Gospel, as if the Apostle
Paul was sent only to teach and not to baptize at the same time. This it
appears that the performance of Baptism does not intrinsically and in an
orderly manner belong to the office of the ministry.
ANSWER: This is not to
be understood in the sense that St. Paul did not actually hold the office of an
apostle to administer holy Baptism, for then he would have done an injustice in
that he baptized Crispus, Gaius and the household of Stephanus in 1 Cor. 1:14,
16. Rather, it has to be understood in a comparative manner: Paul was primarily
sent to preach the Gospel of Christ in all the world, which requires higher
gifts of the Spirit than to baptize. For the Sacraments can also be performed
through such persons who are not affected with such high gifts of the Spirit.
The power and the efficaciousness of the Sacraments do not derive from the
worthiness of the servant; rather, singularly and alone from God the Lord. He
is the Baptizer who gives power to holy Baptism as it is administered to His
name. (Johann Gerhard, A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and the
Lord’s Supper [1860; repr., Malone, Tex.: Repristination Press, 2014], 37-38)
Further Reading
"Born of Water and of the Spirit": The Biblical Evidence for Baptismal Regeneration (2021) (if anyone wants a free PDF copy, drop me an email at ScripturalMormonismATgmailDOTcom)