Can someone help me to get an understanding of
1Co 15:29 Seeing what shall they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? why also are they baptized for the dead?
What does it mean " baptized for the dead" and why are they "baptized for the dead" Is dead spoken of a physical death or some other dead?
Just seems odd to me. And are we to pray for the dead? Thanks
I think it helps understand that verse if you look at the rest of what Paul is saying here and if you consider where he's coming from in the whole passage you can get a much better sense of it. Go back up to verse 12 and you can see he is trying to explain that there is indeed a resurrection of the dead to some of those who must be doubting it.
1Co 15:12 And if Christ is preached, that out of the dead he hath risen, how say certain among you, that there is no rising again of dead persons?
v. 13 and if there be no rising again of dead persons, neither hath Christ risen;
v. 14 and if Christ hath not risen, then void is our preaching, and void also your faith,
v. 15 and we also are found false witnesses of God, because we did testify of God that He raised up the Christ, whom He did not raise if then dead persons do not rise;
v. 16 for if dead persons do not rise, neither hath Christ risen,
v. 17 and if Christ hath not risen, vain is your faith, ye are yet in your sins;
v. 18 then, also, those having fallen asleep in Christ did perish;
v. 19 if in this life we have hope in Christ only, of all men we are most to be pitied.
v. 20 And now, Christ hath risen out of the dead--the first-fruits of those sleeping He became,
v. 21 for since through man is the death, also through man is a rising again of the dead,
v. 22 for even as in Adam all die, so also in the Christ all shall be made alive, (Young's literal)
So Paul is talking to these people that are questioning that there is a resurrection. When he gets down to verse 29 he is still explaining that there certainly was a resurrection or else then believers who were being 'spiritually' baptized into Christ would just be doing it for a dead man (v. 13 "and if there be no rising again of dead persons, neither hath Christ risen"). So he asks them those rhetorical questions.
1Cor 15:29 Seeing what shall they (believers) do who are baptized for the dead (if there is no resurrection, then those that die are just dead), if the dead (Christ) do not rise at all? why also are they (believers) baptized for the dead (because what good is a dead Savior)? (Young's)
Those are Paul's questions to them, if they are doubting in the resurrection... I mean he's saying if they don't believe in the resurrection, well what's the point in struggling to obey what a dead Christ said we should do? As Paul says in verse 32 "if the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."
To believe there will be a resurrection is the whole reason for the hope we have.... Christ rising from the dead IS our hope of glory! Remember Paul explained about our being baptized into Christ's 'death,' but we won't (nor did Christ) stay in that dead condition... baptism is the symbolism of being dead as Christ WAS, BUT Paul continues on to our being "raised up (like Christ was) ... in newness of life."
Rom 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into His death?
v. 4 we were buried together, then, with Him through the baptism to the death, that even as Christ was raised up out of the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we in newness of life might walk.
So Paul continues with those in doubt that it is the very hope of the resurrection from the dead (and not staying dead), that he was willing to risk peril to come to them and teach them this precious truth.
1Cor 15:30 why also do we stand in peril every hour?
v. 31 Every day do I die, by the glorying of you that I have in Christ Jesus our Lord:
Rom 8:36 As it is written, "
For your sake we are being killed all the day long (the peril they faced in teaching this truth); we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."
Hope this is helpful.
mercy, peace and love
Kat