WHY DID PAUL BAPTIZE?

[Doug]

Often asserted to uphold water baptizing the members of the church today, the body of Christ, is the scripture in which Paul baptized.

This issue is not directly explained in scripture, however we can examine scripture, find related passages, and make some valid conclusions without being dogmatic.

[Phl 3:5 KJV] 5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, [of] the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;

Paul was a jew.

[Phl 3:6 KJV] 6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

[Act 22:3 KJV] 3 I am verily a man [which am] a Jew, born in Tarsus, [a city] in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, [and] taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

[Gal 1:14 KJV] 14 And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

Paul knew the law and was zealous in keeping it.

[Heb 9:1, 10 KJV] 1 Then verily the first [covenant] had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. ... 10 [Which stood] only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed [on them] until the time of reformation.

The first covenant obligated Israel to follow all the statutes which included the washings which are baptisms for purification (Leviticus 18:5).

[1Co 7:20 KJV] 20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.

Paul did not tell Jewish converts to stop obeying the law or traditions, therefore after conversion they would be baptized according to the commandment (Acts 21:20-21 John 4:2 Acts 2:38 8:12)

[1Co 10:32 KJV] 32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:

Paul did not want to offend the Jews by not baptizing converts. It was also for this reason of not offending Paul followed the law to accommodate the Jews when he circumcised Timothy (Acts 16:3). Paul also took a vow with the Jews (Acts 21:23-27)

[1Co 9:20 KJV] 20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;

Paul became as under the law to not offend the Jews and to win them to Christ. This could well have been another reason to baptize.

[1Co 1:17 KJV] 17 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.

Paul was not sent as John the Baptist to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Baptism is not part of the gospel of Paul. If baptism was needed for any purpose or commanded, it cannot be found in the epistles of Paul.

[1Co 12:13 KJV] 13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether [we be] Jews or Gentiles, whether [we be] bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

This is the baptism Paul preached.

 

[pepper]

1 Corinthians 1:17
“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.”

 

[Matthias]

I would remind newbies that we know for a fact - which the OP acknowledges - that Paul baptized in water and that we must keep that in mind when we come to 1 Corinthians 1:17.

The OP offers some possible explanations for these water baptisms and then arrives at a conclusion.

What is a newbie to do? My suggestion -> consult additional Commentaries. (The OP offered his own commentary for our consideration. There should be no objection to reading and considering the commentary of others.)

Let’s look at three. (We can always consult additional Commentaries at any time.)

”For Christ sent me not to baptize - That is, not to baptize as my main business. Baptism was not his principal employment, though he had a commission in common with others to administer the ordinance, and occasionally did it. The same thing was true of the Savior, 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 the churches permanently, and not to those who were engaged chiefly in traveling from place to place. The reasons of this may have been:

(1) That which Paul here suggests, that if the apostles had themselves baptized, it might have given occasion to strifes, and the formation of parties, as those who had been baptized by the apostles might claim some superiority over those who were not.

(2) It is probable that the rite of baptism was preceded or followed by a course of instruction adapted to it, and as the apostles were traveling from place to place, this could be better entrusted to those who were to be with them as their ordinary religious teachers. It was an advantage that those who imparted this instruction should also administer this ordinance.

(3) It is not improbable, as Doddridge supposes, that the administration of this ordinance was entrusted to inferiors, because it was commonly practiced by immersion, and was attended with some trouble and inconvenience, while the time of the apostles might be more directly occupied as their main work.”

(Barnes’ Notes on the Bible)

”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.”

(Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Bible Commentary)

”For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel; baptism was not his principal work, not the main business for which Paul was sent; it was his work, otherwise he would not have baptized Crispus, or Gaius, or the household of Stephanas, but preaching was his principal work. It is very probable others (besides the apostles) baptized. It is hard to conceive how three thousand should in a day be added to the church, if Peter had baptized them all, Acts 2:41. The apostle goes on, telling us how he preached the gospel, and thereby instructing all faithful ministers how they ought to preach.”

(Matthew Poole’s Commentary)

Just like all of the other apostles, Paul obeyed Jesus’ command to baptize believers in water. His primary, or principal, work was to preach the gospel - there is only one. Believers are being baptized in water - occasionally by Paul himself, but also, and more commonly, by others.

 

[pepper]

New arrivals to this forum doesn't mean new arrivals to Scripture.
Paul was quite clear about Baptism.
He identified two detractors from the message of the cross. One was Baptism.

What Paul Said About Baptizing

According to the Bible, there is one and only one baptism for the church. It has nothing to do with water. It has everything to do with the Holy Spirit baptizing us into the body of Christ.

myredeemer.org

What Paul Said About Baptizing​

Paul Was the Apostle to the Gentiles​

The apostle Paul was sent to the Gentiles while Peter and the others went to the Jews.

But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. (Galatians 2:7-9)

Baptism Was Not Part of the Gospel for the Gentiles​

However, Paul’s message, which was for the Gentiles, did not include baptism. The Jews who had been practicing the law with its ceremonial washings for hundreds of years (with the purpose of pointing them to the coming Messiah) needed one last washing for closure. But the Gentiles didn’t. They needed a relationship with God without all the religious trappings.

I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other.

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 Corinthians 1:14-17)

But Paul Did Baptize Gentiles in Corinth Didn’t He?​

Maybe, but not necessarily. The account of his being in Corinth is found in Acts 18. It starts out stating that Paul went there to visit some Jewish friends that had escaped from Rome.

After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. (Acts 18:1-3)

In the book of Romans, Paul stated that his heart’s desire was for his fellow countrymen to be saved. According to this account in Acts 18, Paul had been ministering to those who were in the synagogue –no doubt to reach the Jews; but there were also Gentiles present. And it was at this point in time (Acts 18:6) that he became frustrated and his focus was moved from the Jews to the Gentiles.

Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. (Acts 18:4-7)

One of the names of the people that Paul baptized (noted in 1 Corinthians 1:14-16) was Crispus. He must have been a Jew since he was the synagogue ruler!

Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. (Acts 18:8)

Here, it says that many of the Corinthians were believing and being baptized. Since Paul said that he only baptized Crispus, Gaius and the household of Stephanas, then others must also have performed the ceremony. Perhaps Gaius and Stephanas were Gentiles –we don’t know. But what we do know for certain is that Paul’s gospel was for the Gentiles and it did not include baptism (1 Corinthians 1:17).

Paul’s Resolution on Baptism​

In 1 Corinthians 1:17, Paul identified two detractors from the cross of Christ. The first is cleverness of speech. It elevates the speaker above the Savior. He wanted his words to remain simple so that everyone could understand –and that their salvation would rest solely on the power of God (2 Corinthians 2:1-5).

The other detractor is baptism. He saw that it caused divisions in the church (1 Corinthians 1:10-17). Believers were becoming disciples (students) of Apollos and Peter and Christ. Paul’s mission was to bring people to a united faith in Christ.

 

[Matthias]

I would also remind newbies that Paul himself was baptized (Acts 9:18; Acts 22:16).

”and arose, and was baptized] In the fuller account (Acts 22:16) we learn that the exhortation to be baptized was part of the message with which Ananias was charged, and so was divinely commissioned to receive Saul into the Christian Church.”

(Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)

”And was baptized - In this he followed the example of all the early converts to Christianity. They were baptized immediately. See Acts 2:41; Acts 8:12; Acts 8:36-39.”

(Barnes’ Notes on the Bible)

”Arose, and was baptized. - It is clear that both Saul and Ananias looked on this as the indispensable condition for admission into the visible society of the kingdom of God. No visions and revelations of the Lord, no intensity of personal conversion, exempted him from it. For him, too, that was the ‘washing of regeneration’ (Titus 3:5), the moment of the new birth, of being buried with Christ (Romans 6:3-4). It may be inferred almost as a matter of certainty that it was at the hands of Ananias that he received baptism. The baptism would probably be administered in one or other of the rivers which the history of Naaman had made famous, and so the waters of ‘Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus’ (2 Kings 5:12) were now sanctified no less than those of Jordan for the ‘mystical washing away of sin.’”

(Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers)

Paul wasn’t anti-baptism. What was done for him was routinely done for all converts to the new sect of Judaism, Christianity. Naturally, Paul doesn’t instruct his listeners not to be baptized.