Which Corinthians did Paul baptise, just Crispus and Gaius or the household of Stephanus too?
Posted on Nov.14, 2008. Filed in 1 Corinthians. Average rating: 3.0 / 10 (Rate It).
In 1 Corinthians, Paul expresses his relief that very few of the Corinthians can boast that they were baptised by him. However, His statement of precisely which Corinthians he did baptise shows evidence of confusion:
I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanus; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) [1 Corinthians 1:14-16 (NRSV)]
First Paul says that he only baptised two of the Corinthians. Then he says that he also baptised a further household. Finally, he admits that he doesn’t know whether there were still others that he baptised.
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January 8th, 2009 on 6:57 pm
I’m happy with the idea that Paul correctly says that the only current members of the Corinthian church that he baptised are Cripus and Gaius, but that he then mentioned a former member of the church that he also baptised, Stephanus, as a point of clarification.
The only slight concern that I have with this is that Paul also mentions Stephanus’s household. How plausible is it that Stephanus would have taken his household with him when we went to Ephesus?