1 Cor 1:17
Paul is not saying that baptism was
unimportant, but only that it was fortuitous that he personally had baptized so
few given the existence of a party there devoted to him (since more extensive
baptisms on his part could then have been misconstrued). Baptism is into
Christ, not for the benefit or favor of a particular teacher or missionary. (Kevin
L. Barney, “The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians,” in Footnotes
to the New Testament for Latter-day Saints, ed. Kevin L. Barney, 2 vols.
[2007], 2:58 n. m)
1 Cor 4:6
GK “not to go beyond what is
written,” a question from an unknown source. It is similar to Rev. 22:19, but
may have been a since-lost proto-Talmudic saying (that is, a rabbinical saying
which did not get included in the Talmud). Before his conversion, Paul had been
educated in a rabbinical school). “To go” is added in translation to make sense
of the awkward GK (another clue that this might have been an attempt by Paul to
translate something tinto GR from HEB or ARAM), but in any case, the plain
sense of the admonition seems to be not to speculate, but to stick with what
has been revealed through the prophets. (Kevin L. Barney, “The First Epistle of
Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians,” in Footnotes to the New Testament for
Latter-day Saints, ed. Kevin L. Barney, 2 vols. [2007], 2:65 n. i)
1 Cor 15:29
. . . Some have argued that this
practice was simply a local peculiarity the existence of which Paul happens to
use as part of his battery of arguments. However, this ignores the fact that
every argument Paul makes is one which is core to Christianity. Hence, this singular
reference remains an obstacle for biblicist Christians who seek to construct a
self-consistent system of belief out of creedal, post-Biblical interpretations of
what has come down to us in the Bible, and who reject the principle of continuing
revelation as the fundament of the Gospel. (Kevin L. Barney, “The First Epistle
of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians,” in Footnotes to the New Testament
for Latter-day Saints, ed. Kevin L. Barney, 2 vols. [2007], 2:101 n. k)
