en_tn/1co/01/17.md

Christ did not send me to baptize

This means that baptism was not the primary goal of Paul's ministry.

the cross of Christ would not be emptied of its power

Paul speaks of the cross as a container and of power as a physical thing that Jesus can put in that container. This can be stated in active form. Alternate translation: "such words would not empty the cross of Christ of its power" or "people should not stop believing the message about Jesus and start thinking I am more important than Jesus" (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-activepassive and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)