1 Corinthians 1:15

Letters to the Faithful - 1 Corinthians 1:15

Berean Standard Bible

so no one can say that you were baptized into my name.

King James Bible

Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.

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To the beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, those sanctified by His blood and sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, I greet you with grace and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. May His truth reign in your hearts and His wisdom guide your steps as we seek to walk worthily of the calling to which we have been called. I write to you now concerning a small but weighty verse in the first chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, where he declares, “so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name.”

Though these words may appear at first to be a passing remark within a broader argument, they are pregnant with apostolic insight and serve as a sharp corrective to many dangers that continue to face the Church today. They issue not only from Paul’s desire to clarify a misunderstanding about his role in baptizing, but from a deep and abiding conviction that Christ alone is the source of our salvation, the head of the Church, and the only name under heaven by which we are to be saved, baptized, and unified.

The apostle is speaking into a context of division—a community fractured by factions. Believers in Corinth had begun to attach themselves to various human leaders: one claiming allegiance to Paul, another to Apollos, another to Cephas, and still others, perhaps more piously, to Christ. Paul, perceiving the danger, immediately corrects this rising spirit of party loyalty. He reminds them that none of these men died for them, none were crucified on their behalf, and none of them—Paul included—are to be exalted above their true place as mere servants of Christ. When he writes that he is thankful he baptized only a few, he is not diminishing the significance of baptism itself, but distancing himself from any association with the idea that baptism creates allegiance to the minister rather than to Christ.

These words are a model for every minister, teacher, and leader in the body of Christ. Paul is painfully aware that people are prone to elevate men. They are prone to anchor their faith in the personalities they admire rather than the Savior they profess. They are tempted to build identity around gifted messengers instead of the message itself. And so Paul, with the humility of one who knows the surpassing worth of Christ, intentionally minimizes his own role in their baptism so that no one could say that they belonged to him or that his name had been invoked as the center of their faith.

O how urgent this word is for us today. We live in an age where Christian celebrity has become common, where churches are sometimes more associated with the charisma of their pastors than the crucified Christ, and where people speak more of their denomination, their favorite preacher, or their theological tribe than of Jesus Himself. The danger is not only in the leaders who may accept such adoration, but also in the hearts of the followers who seek identity through affiliation rather than transformation. And so we must ask: are we building our faith on Christ or on men? Are we drawing others to His name or to our own? Would we, like Paul, gladly step back from the spotlight to ensure that no one is confused about who truly saves?

Let every servant of Christ take heed. Let the preacher examine whether he desires influence for the sake of heaven or the sake of recognition. Let the worship leader, the teacher, the counselor, and the missionary weigh their motives in the balance of eternity. Are we laboring so that Christ may be formed in people—or so that our ministry might be remembered? Paul shows us the heart of a true apostle: one who refuses even the appearance of self-exaltation, who is willing to be forgotten so that Christ might be glorified. He speaks not from false modesty, but from holy fear—that the name of Christ might not be diluted by human rivalry.

Let every believer likewise be on guard against the subtle pull of personality-driven spirituality. Do not attach your faith to those who preach the gospel, but to the gospel itself. Do not become loyal to men at the expense of truth. Love your leaders, honor them, pray for them—but never worship them. Let Christ be the center, the foundation, and the banner over your life. You were not baptized into the name of a man, but into the death and resurrection of the Son of God. Let that be your boast.

There is also a beautiful secondary lesson here: that spiritual maturity is marked by the ability to rejoice in the success of others without needing to possess or control it. Paul did not baptize many in Corinth, but he rejoiced that others had. He did not insist on centralizing influence around himself, but decentralized it for the sake of Christ’s supremacy. This is apostolic humility. This is kingdom-mindedness. Can we rejoice when God uses someone else? Can we celebrate when the Spirit moves through another hand, another voice, another ministry? Paul was not territorial—he was Christ-centered. Let us be the same.

Practically, this means we must continually examine both our speech and our hearts. Do we speak more of our pastors than of our Savior? Do we draw lines around our preferences and subtly suggest that our church or teacher is more correct than others? Are we inadvertently forming modern-day Corinthian factions by exalting human vessels over divine truth? If so, we must repent. We must return to the foundation: Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. His name alone is worthy. His gospel alone saves. His baptism alone unites.

And for those entrusted with spiritual leadership, may this verse compel us to labor in such a way that no one would ever mistake our work as an attempt to make disciples of ourselves. May we preach with clarity that the cross is not a platform for our voices, but a place where all pride dies. May we lead in such a way that people see Jesus more clearly than they see us. May we be forgotten, if only He may be remembered.

So let the Church return to simplicity and power. Let us boast not in the baptizer, but in the One into whose death and resurrection we were baptized. Let us find our identity not in our Christian networks, but in the pierced hands of our Redeemer. Let our loyalty not be to personalities, but to the Person of Christ. And may we, like Paul, be content to say, “I baptized few among you”—not because we did little, but because everything we did was unto Him.

To the name above every name be all honor and glory, now and forever. Let every tongue confess and every heart proclaim: Jesus Christ is Lord. Amen.

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Almighty and Everlasting God, the only wise King, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come before You with reverence, with trembling, and yet with deep assurance, because You have called us out of darkness into Your marvelous light. We lift our hearts to You as those redeemed not by the wisdom of men nor by the strength of human flesh, but by the precious blood of the Lamb who was slain from before the foundation of the world. You alone are worthy, and Yours is the only name by which we are saved, by which we are baptized, and by which we now live.

Father, we thank You for the clear instruction of Your Word, for even in what appears to be a simple sentence, You unveil truth for our correction and formation. We consider today the weight of the words that speak of Paul’s refusal to allow any man to say they were baptized in his name. And so we pray, with holy sobriety and sincere humility, that You would search our hearts and purify Your Church in this generation from every form of misplaced loyalty, from every elevation of man above the majesty of Christ.

Lord, we confess that our hearts are prone to exalt human leaders, to gather around personalities, and to build our faith upon those whom You have merely appointed as servants. Forgive us, O God, for every time we have ascribed glory to men that belongs to You alone. Forgive us for when our allegiance has been given to churches, to movements, to ministries, and to preachers rather than to Christ, who is the Head of the Church and the cornerstone of our faith. We repent for every time we have allowed the name of a man to overshadow the name of the Savior. Cleanse us from sectarian pride, from party spirit, and from the carnal mindset that divides the body You came to unite.

Holy Spirit, reveal to us the hidden idols of our affection. Show us if we have tethered our identity to any voice other than Yours. Uproot every attitude that boasts in men rather than in the cross. Guard us from becoming disciples of personalities instead of disciples of Christ. May we not build ministries in our own image, nor gather people unto ourselves, but may we continually point them to the One who was crucified for them. Make us like Paul, content to decrease so that Christ might increase. Let no one ever look to us and say, “I follow you,” but let every soul say, “I follow Jesus, the Son of the living God.”

We pray for pastors, shepherds, and leaders across the nations—those who preach, teach, and labor in Your name. We ask that You would burn away any pride that creeps in unnoticed. Let the fear of the Lord rest upon their hearts. May no one seek a name for themselves but a name for Jesus. May pulpits be altars again, not stages. May the platforms we stand upon be lowered, and may the cross be lifted higher. Let every ministry be founded not on eloquence, not on charisma, not on strategy, but on the power of the gospel and the purity of the Word.

Father, let unity be restored where division has taken root. Let healing flow where comparison has brought strife. Where Your people have said, “I belong to this leader,” or “I was baptized by that minister,” may a spirit of repentance be stirred. Let the Church rise above the fragmentation caused by allegiance to names that are not Yours. Let us be one body, one bride, under one Lord. Let the world see not the fractured opinions of our flesh, but the seamless garment of Christ among us.

O God, make us willing to be forgotten if only Christ may be remembered. Make us content to serve in obscurity if only Jesus is glorified. May we labor for the honor of His name, not for the building of our own. Let every act of service, every sermon preached, every baptism performed be done in the awareness that we are nothing apart from You. May we echo Paul’s heart, that none may say they were baptized in our name. May we be vessels who carry the treasure without drawing attention to ourselves. May we vanish into the background while Christ stands forth in radiant splendor.

We ask that You teach the young in the faith to look to You alone, not to a man or a movement. Strengthen them to discern what is eternal from what is temporary. Raise up a generation who are not impressed by outward charisma but who are hungry for inward truth. Let their loyalty be to the Lamb, not to the messengers. Let them honor leadership, yes—but worship only the King. And for those who have been wounded or disillusioned by misplaced trust in men, restore their hearts. Heal their faith. Lift their eyes again to Jesus, who never fails, never flees, and never falls.

Lord, may the name of Jesus be made great in all the earth. May His name be on every tongue, His banner over every church, His image in every life. Let no man boast in who baptized them, but let every soul rejoice in who saved them. Let no glory be given to those who plant or water, but only to the One who gives the increase. And when we stand before You on that day, may it be clear that we preached not ourselves, but Christ crucified. That we lived not to gather crowds to us, but to gather the nations to You.

So now, Father, with all the fervor of our hearts and all the gratitude of the redeemed, we commit ourselves afresh to Your glory alone. Let no name rival Yours. Let no flesh glory in Your presence. Let the Church rise, not around men, but around the Messiah. And let all things be done in the matchless, holy, all-sufficient name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.