Friday, September 17, 2021

Johann Gerhard (1582-1637) Answering Objections to Baptismal Regeneration Based on 1 Corinthians 1:17

 

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)