There are a number of puzzling passages in the New Testament Book of 1 Corinthians that I have written about in other posts – things like judging angels, head coverings, and the gifts of prophecy and tongues. But the one that I think may be most confusing in the Bible – and one of the most confusing to me in the Bible – is 1 Corinthians 15:29: “Otherwise what will they do who are being baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, then why are people baptized for them?” (CSB).
If reading that causes you to ask, “What in the world is he talking about?” know that you are definitely not alone. Scholars whom I would consider much smarter than me have looked at this verse and said things like “the sense of the text escapes me” and the verse “remains a mystery” (Simon Kistemaker, 1 Corinthians [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993], 560). However, in light of the way some have used this verse, I think it is good to dig a bit deeper to help us understand what it doesn’t mean and also to think about the point that Paul is making here.
One Problematic Interpretation and Practice
This verse has been used by the Mormon church as the basis for their practice of “proxy baptism,” which is a baptism performed on “a living person who is acting on behalf of someone who is dead” (see https://www.lds.org/topics/proxy-baptism?lang=eng). The Mormons perform this rite at their temples, and they practice it because they believe that in order for someone to enter the kingdom of God, they must be baptized. Mormons do not believe that proxy baptism guarantees salvation of the deceased, as they believe a deceased person can accept or reject this baptism in the afterlife, but this would be a needed step for the deceased and can be taken by a living person in place of the deceased.
There are multiple problems with this practice from a biblical perspective. First of all, while baptism is the natural (and normal) step for a Christian to take to receive the sign and seal of God’s covenant with him or her, it is not a requirement to be saved; the thief on the cross was saved without being baptized and God’s people in the Old Testament were saved by grace through faith without being baptized. Perhaps more important is that the Bible teaches “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27, ESV); there is no suggestion that one gets a second chance to receive salvation after death. The choices and decisions we make while on earth are the ones we will be held responsible for. Finally, a problem with the practice of proxy baptism is that it also goes against what we see in Scripture, which says that we are responsible for our actions and decisions and cannot rely on the good works or actions of another human. We can’t rely on the faith of our parents or on the baptism that someone else has received for us.
Other Possible Views
Scholars have given no shortage of other explanations – an academic article on this passage from the 1950s noted 40 different interpretations and more have appeared in the 75 years since its publication. We won’t walk through all of them but rather a few of them as they show there are different possible understandings of words in the text like “for” and “the dead.”
One example is that this could be referring to Christians who were baptized in honor of friends who were believers but who had died (or were killed) before they were baptized. (There was often a long period of instruction before one was baptized.) There do appear to be some groups in the early centuries that had members baptized for those who had died but had not been baptized (see Tertullian, Against Marcion 5.10; Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 40.1). The church leaders who described this practice, however, did not endorse it and criticized the groups that practiced it (in part because it is not clear what value such a baptism would have for a person if they are already in the presence of God). While a number of commentators today think this is what Paul is referring to here, I find it odd that Paul would simply reference a potentially problematic practice without offering any sort of evaluation. However, Paul’s saying “they” do it could be a way to distance himself from the practice and indicate he himself has not practiced it or advocated for it.
Some writers (such as Martin Luther) have noted the possibility that “for” should be rendered “above” as the Greek word could also mean that, so people were baptized on top of the graves of those who had already died. However, this does not seem the best translation of the Greek word, and we would still have to figure out the reason for such a practice. I’ve not seen this interpretation commonly advocated for by more contemporary scholars.
Another proposed view is that the idea of being baptized for the dead refers not to the death of others but rather being baptized in light of our own mortality (we are “as good as dead”!) and in hope of the future resurrection. This is how the early church leaders Tertullian and Chrysostom explained the verse and how many commentators do today.
Yet another view is that when someone was baptized, they were being connected with people who were now dead but had been baptized and whom they would be looking forward to reunification with.
Another view of the phrase “baptized for the dead” is that it refers to people being baptized because of the witness they saw in Christians who were put to death for their faith.
I find any of these last three viewpoints possible though it is not certain if any are probable. Overall, I agree with New Testament scholar Craig Blomberg in stating, “Given the plethora of suggestions for interpreting verse 29, we are not to be dogmatic in upholding any one of them.” (1 Corinthians [NIV Application Commentary; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994], 304). Since it does not seem to be referenced anywhere else in the Bible and Paul is not directly endorsing the practice in his words here, it seems okay not to know for sure what is going on and to practice it ourselves.
The Purpose of This Remark
While we would love to know what exactly Paul is talking about here, we should recognize that Paul does not mention it in order to teach us about it or tell us to do it. Rather, Paul makes reference to something that the Corinthians knew (the use of 3rd person – “some” – rather than 2nd person – “you” – makes it unclear if it is something that the Corinthians themselves did) and points out that it does not make any sense if there is no hope of the resurrection.
We might not know the reason Paul thinks this practice doesn’t make sense if there is no resurrection, but the argument Paul makes points to the fact that the resurrection of Jesus impacts what we should or should not be doing. The words that follow indicate that the reality of Christ’s bodily resurrection give us hope for the resurrection of our own bodies and confidence in the face of suffering and should affect the daily choices that we make:
“Why are we in danger every hour? I face death every day, as surely as I may boast about you, brothers and sisters, in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus as a mere man, what good did that do me? If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” Come to your senses and stop sinning; for some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 15:30-34, CSB).
If Christ did not rise from the dead, we have no hope in life or death and could just do whatever feels good. But as Christ did indeed die and rose for us, we should live in hope of death and the resurrection, knowing that we can physically die in hopes of being raised. We can die to our own desires and pleasures because there is a moral order of right and wrong.
The Bottom Line: What This Clearly Does Teach Us
This verse is a good reminder that at times we may be confused about certain things in the Bible, but that is okay – we don’t have to have all the answers, but we do need to look to the One who does and the hope that we have. While we might not know exactly what the Corinthians seem to be doing here, we can know for sure that Jesus Christ has been risen from the dead and that changes everything in our lives and ultimately in our world!
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