{"id":10393,"date":"2012-03-08T13:10:11","date_gmt":"2012-03-08T18:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/?p=10393"},"modified":"2012-03-08T13:26:34","modified_gmt":"2012-03-08T18:26:34","slug":"baptized-for-the-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/baptized-for-the-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"Baptized for the Dead"},"content":{"rendered":"

A reader named Chuck McKnight recently sent in an email asking about 1 Corinthians 15:29 and Paul’s statement about being “baptized for the dead.” Here is what he wrote:<\/p>\n

I wanted to see if you plan on touching on a particular verse regarding baptism? It’s one of the more confusing verses in the Bible, regardless of one’s view of baptism, but I’m particularly interested in what someone from your perspective would make of it.<\/p>\n

I’m referring to 1 Corinthians 15:29 and the “baptism for the dead.” This is one I’ve done a good deal of study on, as I did a brief article for it as part of our going through 1 Corinthians 15 in AiG’s biblical authority devotional series. If you’re interested, you can see my perspective on it at the following link: Baptism for the Dead<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mine is basically a shorter explanation of the same conclusion Albert Barnes<\/a> came to\u00a0(Just skip down to verse 29).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I actually had not planned on addressing this Scripture passage, but I suppose that it light of my series on baptism<\/a>, it would be wise to at least consider this difficult Scripture.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In my forthcoming commentary on 1 Corinthians, here is some of what I wrote about 1 Corinthians 15:29:<\/p>\n

It is not known what practice Paul is referring to \u00a0when he writes about being baptized for the dead. <\/strong>The most popular option is that the Corinthian believers were undergoing water baptism for believers who had already died but whom had not been baptized<\/em>. If this is the case, Paul does not affirm or condemn this practice, but is only stating that what the Corinthians were doing was pointless if there is no resurrection from the dead (as some of them were teaching).<\/p>\n

\"BaptismAnother possibility is that the word baptized <\/em>should be understood as ritualistic washings of dead bodies to prepare them for burial. In this case, Paul would be asking why a body is washed and prepared for burial if the body will not be raised in the future. The problem with this view is that Paul asks, Why are they baptized for the dead? <\/strong>indicating that someone who is alive would be baptized,<\/em> or washed, vicariously for someone else who is dead. If the baptism here refers to ritualistic washings, Paul\u2019s question makes little sense.<\/p>\n

In light of the following context, it might be preferable to understand Paul\u2019s reference to baptisms not as water baptism or ritualistic washings for the dead, but as identification with the dead (cf. 10:2). Symbolically, a baptism is a public identification with what (or whom) the person is being baptized into. In this case, the Corinthian believers would be identifying themselves spiritually with those who had gone before. This seems to be the point Paul develops further in vv 30-32.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

My explanation needs a lot more work and research. I wrote this section about four years ago, and to be honest, I am not thoroughly convinced of my conclusion any longer. I need to study it further.<\/p>\n

In reading Chuck McKnight’s conclusion in his article,\u00a0Baptism for the Dead<\/a>, I think he might be on to something. It is possible that “the dead” refers not to other <\/em>dead people, but to the person who is baptized. We are, after all, dead in our trespasses and sins <\/em>(Eph 2:5; Col 2:13). In this case, “baptism for the dead” would be our own baptism, representing our passage from being dead in sin to alive in Christ through our full identification with the death and resurrection of Jesus.<\/p>\n

Chuck’s conclusion is this:<\/p>\n

Given this understanding of baptism, when Paul spoke of those \u201cwho are baptized for the dead,\u201d it seems very possible that he is referring to all believers when they are baptized. Believers\u2019 baptism is \u201cfor the dead\u201d or \u201cconcerning the dead [who will rise].\u201d That is what gives it meaning. Paul may have been saying that \u201cif the dead do not rise at all,\u201d baptism would be pointless.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thank you, Chuck, for sending in the question, and for providing a link to your own research on this difficult Scripture!<\/p>\n

What do the rest of you think? What is Paul talking about in 1 Corinthians 15:29 when he writes about being “baptized for the dead”?<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is Paul talking about in 1 Corinthians 15:29 when he writes about being baptized for the dead? Could it refer to the person being baptized? We are, after all, dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph 2:5; Col 2:13). In this case, baptism for the dead would be our own baptism, representing our passage from being dead in sin to alive in Christ through our full identification with the death and resurrection of Jesus. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10396,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[12],"class_list":{"0":"post-10393","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"tag-bible-study","8":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nBaptized for the Dead<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is Paul talking about in 1 Corinthians 15:29 when he writes about being baptized for the dead? 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