Did Paul oppose water baptism?

Question

1 Corithians 1:17-
Paul declares that Christ did not send him to baptise...and Jesus commisioned His disciples to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit ( Matt 28:19.) Does Paul contradict Christ?

Tell me your thoughts.

Paul was not opposed to baptsm, but neither did he believe that it was condition of salvation.

Paul himself was baptised by water (Acts 9:18, 22:16 ), and he taught water baptism in his epistles ( Rom 6: 3-4, Col 2:12 ).
He baptised several people , as he did the Philippian sailor after he was saved (Acts 16:31-33 )

While Paul believed water baptism was a symbol to salvation, he did not believe it was part of the Gospel or essential to salvation.

Answer 1

Paul was emphasizing salvation through Christ alone and not the outward, external declaration of faith that is baptism.

Answer 2

The one who voids the covenant of Abraham has no portion in the world to come (Avot 3:16).

This is not the only one case where Paul rejected Jesus' teachings...

Let's see first what Jesus said:
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach [them], the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:19)

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier [matters] of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. (Matthew 23:23)

Here is a small list of what I have found.

Circumcision: Genesis 17:14, Genesis 21:4, Exodus 12:48, Luke 2:21, Acts 15:1.
Rejected by Paul: Galatians 5:6.

Salvation:
Jesus taught salvation is attained by keeping the commandments, physical prayer, fasting, and observing the Law of Moses. Paul neglected these commands and distorted the Path to Salvation preached by Jesus.
Paul said that “salvation comes through faith and grace” which is exactly what the missionaries are saying today. Let us read the words of Jesus.

Fasting: Matthew 17:21, Mark 9:29, Nehemiah 9:1, Esther 4:3, Psalms 35:13, Psalms 69:10, Psalms 109:24, Joel 2:12.

Physical Prayer: Genesis 17:3, Genesis 24:48, Joshua 5:14, Daniel 9:3, Matthew 26:39.

Paul rejects it: Philemon 2:10 which also contradicts to OT: Isaiah 45:23.

Jesus Forbade the Gentiles: Matthew 10:5-6, Matthew 15:24.
Paul contradicts Jesus: Romans 11:13.

Don't be like pagans: Matthew 6:7-8, 20:23.
Tattoos:Leviticus 19:28.
Swine: Leviticus 11:7-8
Christmas tree: Jeremiah 10:3-4

Jesus is a mystery, according to Paul: Ephesians 3:4, Colossians 4:3.

The list goes on but I say for someone who has open mind, these signs are enough.

Answer 3

Paul did not oppose baptism. In the preceding verse, 16, he declares that he did baptize the household of Stephanus. Paul's ministry was to preach the gospel, not baptism. In fact, verses 11-15 of this chapter was about quarrels among the people, some saying they were baptized in the name of Paul, and others, besides the name of Christ.l. It is for this reason that Paul made the statement in 17.

Answer 4

Baptism means "immersion" which doesn't always mean by water. Jesus may not have been speaking of water baptism when He gave the great commission . Paul was water baptized so he was not opposed to it, but he did preach the Gospel and literally "immersed" people in the Father Son and Holy Spirit.

Answer 5

Paul never contradicted Christ Jesus.

Paul was simply stating that as an apostle, Jesus had given him different work to do.

Jesus had given this particular job, baptism to disciples (us).

Paul was following the work that Jesus had given him to do, and was telling us that others were given other work to do.

Much the same as it is today, all of us are doing GODs work, but not all of us are doing the exact same aspect of GODs work.
Hope this helps a bit.

Answer 6

No he is not opposing baptism - the situation had arisen that some were saying they following sew -n-sew and others were following thus-n-sew and so Paul was responding in that we are all to follow Christ and he was glad he didn't baptize anyone lest ones he baptized say they were following Paul instead of Christ.

I hope that clarifies the passage for you.

Answer 7

Paul said a lot that contradicted Jesus. That is why the church throughout the ages has kept some of his worst letters hidden.

Answer 8

No contradiction.

The word baptism translates to immersion (water)

Paul is following with what Jesus says

Answer 9

Paul didn't oppose baptism, he just preferred to preach the word.

Answer 10

You have to understand that Paul was originally named "Saul." He was a Jew who persecuted many people who followed Jesus and even joined others in killing them.

He never met Jesus face to face in his lifetime. The only mention in the Bible, depending on interpretation, where Saul states he met and saw the face of Jesus had been in his dream (some translations of the Bible say it was "God" he saw, rather than "Jesus"). He said Jesus required him to convert, in his dream, and from that day, he changed his name to Paul, where he later taught his version of Christian teachings to others. I say it's his version, because he had never met Jesus to hear his teachings in person. He was merely "inspired" by God, and taught what he knew, much like the rest of the Bible being the word of man, being inspired by God.