The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 1:14 Explained

1 Corinthians 1:14

KJV: I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;

YLT: I give thanks to God that no one of you did I baptize, except Crispus and Gaius --

Darby: I thank God that I have baptised none of you, unless Crispus and Gaius,

ASV: I thank God that I baptized none of you, save Crispus and Gaius;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does 1 Corinthians 1:14 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Crispus was the ruler of the synagogue in which Paul preached when he first came to Corinth ( Acts 18:8). Gaius may be the same person as Titius Justus. This man was a Gentile convert who lived next door to the synagogue and opened his home to the church after the Christians could no longer meet in the synagogue ( Acts 18:7; Romans 16:23).
"Gaius Titius Justus would be a complete Roman name (praenomen, nomen gentile, cognomen)." [1]
Some Christians contend that water baptism is essential for salvation. If it Isaiah , it would seem natural that Paul would have emphasized its importance by personally baptizing more than just two new believers in Corinth (cf. John 4:2).

Context Summary

1 Corinthians 1:12-25 - The Cross God's Saving Power
Apollos had gone straight from Ephesus to Corinth, Acts 19:1. A party gathered around him, especially attracted by his eloquence and intellectual brilliance. Cephas was Peter, and around his name the more conservative elements gathered. Christ, stood for the promised glory of the Messianic kingdom. Paul was filled with dismay on hearing that a fourth division of the Church called themselves by his name. He told the Corinthians that whatever any of their human teachers had done for them, they had contributed only different phases or viewpoints of truth, all of which service sank into absolute insignificance as contrasted with the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
The cross here implies not only the doctrine of the Atonement, but the humble bearing of the cross in daily life. There are many who wear a cross as an article of dress, but who evince nothing of its pitying, self-immolating, sacrificial spirit. Everyone needs a Calvary in the heart. Note from 1 Corinthians 1:18, r.v., margin, that being saved is a process, as well as an immediate experience. Oh to have grace to know the Cross, never to be ashamed of it, and to preach a crucified Savior in a humble, crucified spirit! [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Corinthians 1

1  After his salutation and thanksgiving for the Corinthians,
10  Paul exhorts them to unity,
12  and reproves their dissensions
18  God destroys the wisdom of the wise,
21  by the foolishness of preaching;
26  and calls not the wise, mighty, and noble,
28  but the foolish, weak, and men of no account

Greek Commentary for 1 Corinthians 1:14

I thank God [ευχαριστω τωι τεωι]
See 1 Corinthians 1:4, though uncertain if τωι τεωι — tōi theōi is genuine here. [source]
Save Crispus and Gaius [ει μη Κρισπον και Γαιον]
Crispus was the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth before his conversion (Acts 18:8), a Roman cognomen, and Gaius a Roman praenomen, probably the host of Paul and of the whole church in Corinth (Romans 16:23), possibly though not clearly the hospitable Gaius of 3 John 1:5, 3 John 1:6. The prominence and importance of these two may explain why Paul baptized them. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 Corinthians 1:14

Acts 10:48 Commanded [προσεταχεν]
First aorist active indicative. Peter himself abstained from baptizing on this occasion (cf. Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:14). Evidently it was done by the six Jewish brethren. [source]
Acts 18:8 Crispus [Κρισπος]
Though a Jew and ruler of the synagogue (cf. Acts 13:15), he had a Latin name. Paul baptized him (1 Corinthians 1:14) himself, perhaps because of his prominence, apparently letting Silas and Timothy baptize most of the converts (1 Corinthians 1:14-17). Probably he followed Paul to the house of Titus Justus. It looked like ruin for the synagogue. [source]
Romans 16:23 Gaius []
See Acts 19:29; Acts 20:4; 1 Corinthians 1:14. Possibly the same in all three references. [source]
Romans 11:25 In part [ἀπὸ μέρους]
Μέρος partis never used adverbially in the Gospels, Acts, and Revelation. In the Epistles it is rarely used in any other way. The only exceptions are 2 Corinthians 3:10; 2 Corinthians 9:3; Ephesians 4:9, Ephesians 4:16. Paul employs it in several combinations. With ἀπό from(1 Corinthians 1:14; 1 Corinthians 2:5), and ἐκ outof (1 Corinthians 12:27; 1 Corinthians 13:9, 1 Corinthians 13:10, 1 Corinthians 13:12), in which a thing is conceived as looked at from the part, either ( ἀπὸ ) as a simple point of view, or ( ἐκ ) as a standard according to which the whole is estimated. Thus 1 Corinthians 12:27, “members ἐκ μέρους severallyi.e., members from a part of the whole point of view. Also with ἐν inas Colossians 2:16, with respect to, literally, in the matter of. With ἀνά upthe idea being of a series or column of parts reckoned upward, part by part. Μέρος τι withregard to some part, partly, occurs 1 Corinthians 11:18; and κατὰ μέρος , reckoning part by part downward; according to part, particularly, Hebrews 9:5. Construe here with hath happened: has partially befallen. Not partial hardening, but hardening extending over a part. -DIVIDER-
-DIVIDER-
[source]

Romans 16:23 Gaius my host [Γαιος ο χενος μου]
Perhaps the same Gaius of 1 Corinthians 1:14 (Acts 19:29; Acts 20:4), but whether the one of 3 John 1:1 we do not know. Χενος — Xenos was a guest friend, and then either a stranger (Matthew 25:35) or a host of strangers as here. This Gaius was plainly a man of some means as he was the host of all the church. Erastus (2 Timothy 4:20) was “the treasurer of the city” (ο οικονομος της πολεως — ho oikonomos tēs poleōs), one of the outstanding men of Corinth, the “steward” (house-manager) or city manager. See note on Luke 12:42 and note on Luke 16:1. He is probably the administrator of the city‘s property. [source]
1 Corinthians 11:24 When he had given thanks [ευχαριστησας]
First aorist active participle of ευχαριστεω — eucharisteō from which word our word Eucharist comes, common late verb (see note on 1 Corinthians 1:14). [source]
3 John 1:1 Gaius []
The name occurs several times in the New Testament, as Acts 19:29; Acts 20:4; Romans 16:23; 1 Corinthians 1:14. The person addressed here cannot be identified. [source]

What do the individual words in 1 Corinthians 1:14 mean?

I thank - God that no one of you I baptized if not Crispus and Gaius
εὐχαριστῶ [τῷ θεῷ] ὅτι οὐδένα ὑμῶν ἐβάπτισα εἰ μὴ Κρίσπον καὶ Γάϊον

εὐχαριστῶ  I  thank 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: εὐχαριστέω  
Sense: to be grateful, feel thankful.
[τῷ  - 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
θεῷ]  God 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: θεός  
Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.
ὅτι  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
οὐδένα  no  one 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: οὐδείς 
Sense: no one, nothing.
ὑμῶν  of  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 2nd Person Plural
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
ἐβάπτισα  I  baptized 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: βαπτίζω  
Sense: to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk).
Κρίσπον  Crispus 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: Κρίσπος  
Sense: the ruler of the Jewish synagogue in Corinth, baptised by Paul.
Γάϊον  Gaius 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: Γάϊος  
Sense: a Macedonian who accompanied Paul in his travels.