📖WEB · 1 Corinthians 1:16
What does 1 Corinthians 1:16 mean?
"(I also baptized the household of Stephanas; besides them, I don’t know whether I baptized any other.)"
— 1 Corinthians 1:16 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?
I thank God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius,
so that no one should say that I had baptized you into my own name.
(I also baptized the household of Stephanas; besides them, I don’t know whether I baptized any other.)
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Good News—not in wisdom of words, so that the cross of Christ wouldn’t be made void.
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are saved it is the power of God.
For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing.”
Explanation
This verse comes in the middle of Paul correcting a serious problem in the Corinthian church: quarreling and division based on which leader had baptized them or which teacher they most admired. Some were saying "I follow Paul," others "I follow Apollos," others "I follow Cephas," as if their spiritual identity were tied to a particular teacher rather than to Christ. In this verse, Paul is almost thinking out loud, adding an afterthought to his earlier statement that he bapt
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