Ministry of Grace Church

I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,

Truth to Learn

Baptism should promote unity in the church, not division.

Behind the Words

The words “I thank” are translated from the Greek verb eucharisteō, which is composed of eu, meaning “good” or “well” and a form of charidzomai, meaning “to grant” or “to give.” Thus, eucharisteo means “to express gratitude” or “to give thanks.”

“Baptized” is transliterated (a word from one language brought directly over into another language) from the Greek verb baptidzō. It literally means “to dip, to submerge, or to saturate.”

Oudeis is the word translated “none.” It is made up of the particle of absolute negation, ou, and heis, which is the number one. Therefore, oudeis literally means “not one” or “not even one.”

“Except” is translated from the words ei mē. Ei is a conditional particle (usually translated as “if” or “whether”) and mē is the particle of conditional negation. Therefore, when combined together they literally express the condition “if not.” The common English translation of these two words is “except.”

Meaning Explained

Paul is in the midst of addressing a serious problem within the church at Corinth: the divisions and in-fighting that had developed in the church because people were devoting themselves to various leaders instead of to Christ. At the end of yesterday’s verse, Paul asked the question, “Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” Now he answers his own question.

There may be two reasons why Paul thanks God that he only baptized a few people in Corinth. The first is that God’s calling on his life was not to baptize but to preach the Gospel (see verse seventeen). The second is that by having baptized so few in the church it does not present a reason for the divisions within the church.

He did baptize Crispus and Gaius, however. Crispus was the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth (see Acts 18:8). Gaius was Paul’s host in Corinth when he wrote his letter to the Christians in Rome, and he apparently hosted the church meetings in his home (see Romans 16:23a). This is very likely the same person to whom the Apostle John wrote his third letter, where John praises Gaius for his faithfulness toward the brethren and strangers alike.

Paul did not want people to be “followers of Paul,” but followers of Christ. And, he is clearly saying that we are not to have special allegiance to the person who baptized us. It is also clear that Paul did not consider baptism to be a necessary part of salvation. If he had, he would have baptized all the converts under his ministry, for he called himself the spiritual “father” of all those in Corinth (see 1 Corinthians 4:15).

Application

Baptism is an outward declaration of the inward change that occurs when we are saved. Like communion, baptism is an ordinance of the church. Neither is necessary for salvation; both are testimonies of what has already taken place in the believer’s heart. They are both to be a source of unity within the church, not a cause for division.