1 Corinthians 1:17

New International Reader's Version

Christ did not send me to baptize. He sent me to preach the good news. He commanded me not to preach with wisdom and fancy words. That would take all the power away from the cross of Christ.

Cross References

John 4:1

Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard about him. They had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John.

John 4:2

But in fact Jesus was not baptizing. His disciples were.

Acts 10:48

So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

1 Corinthians 2:1

And this was the way it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I didn’t come with fancy words or human wisdom. I preached to you the truth about God’s love.

1 Corinthians 2:13

That is what we speak about. We don’t use words taught to us by people. We use words taught to us by the Holy Spirit. We use the words taught by the Spirit to explain spiritual truths.

2 Corinthians 1:12

Here is what we take pride in. Our sense of what is right and wrong tells us how we have acted. We have lived with honor and godly honesty. We have depended on God’s grace and not on the world’s wisdom. We lived that way most of all when we were dealing with you.

2 Corinthians 10:10

Some say, “His letters sound important. They are powerful. But in person he doesn’t seem like much. And what he says doesn’t amount to anything.”

2 Corinthians 11:6

It’s true that I haven’t been trained as a speaker. But I do have knowledge. I’ve made that very clear to you in every way.

2 Corinthians 4:2

Instead, we have given up doing secret and shameful things. We don’t twist God’s word. In fact, we do just the opposite. We present the truth plainly. In the sight of God, we make our appeal to everyone’s sense of what is right and wrong.

2 Peter 1:16

We told you about the time our Lord Jesus Christ came with power. But we didn’t make up clever stories when we told you about it. With our own eyes we saw him in all his majesty.