Should We Baptize for the Dead?

For those of you who diligently read the Word of God, you probably have run across verses that stop you in your tracks. These verses grab your attention because they seem incongruent with what you have read in the Scriptures or what you have been taught. One of these passages is 1 Corinthians 15: 29. It states, “Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?” (NASB and used throughout).  You immediately think, “Baptized for the dead? What is Paul talking about?” The purpose of this article is to gain as much understanding as possible about what this verse means. Will we come to a final understanding of this verse as a result of this study? Probably not, because many biblical scholars have gone before me to try to explain this passage. My hope is to eliminate any consternation in your mind over this verse.

     Before we delve into the passage, let’s put some hermeneutical (interpretive) boundaries around this study. The first, and most important boundary is that we allow the clear to dictate our understanding of the unclear. In other words, let Scripture interpret Scripture. Secondly, and related to the first boundary, we don’t let one obscure passage have the same level of importance as multiple passages teaching us something different. Lastly, we must recognize that we might not have enough background information to interpret an obscure passage. In this case, Paul’s audience probably had an understanding of what he was saying and he did not feel the need to further explain about baptizing for the dead. This background understanding was lost to history and leaves us speculating about what he was saying.  

     If we don’t have a solid understanding of the passage we are discussing, it will have little to no impact upon the vast amount of Scripture we do understand about death, the resurrection and baptism. As Bible students, we should try to understand the passage, but it we don’t, we move on in our study of God’s Word. We will gain an understanding of what Paul said in this verse when we meet him in heaven and ask him about it.

     As we begin our investigation of 1 Corinthians 15: 29, we first want to understand the context for this passage. This will help us see how this passage fits into the flow of Paul’s thinking. Chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians deals exclusively with the reality of the resurrection from the dead. In devoting a whole chapter to this topic, it shows us that Paul had to bring clarity to the Corinthian believers about the resurrection. There was some uncertainty about the nature of the resurrection within the church at Corinth. Understanding the reality of the resurrection was critical to their faith. As Paul states in verse 14, “…if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.” Paul goes on to state that if Christ has not been raised, then, “your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (vs. 17) and, “…we are of all men most to be pitied’ (vs. 19).

     Paul also tells the Corinthian believers in chapter 15 that the resurrection of the dead is also critical in our daily walk with Christ. He states in verse 32, “If the dead are not raised, LET US EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE.” In other words, the resurrection should drive godly behavior because we are living for something more than our short existence upon this earth.

     With this broader context in mind, let’s look at the immediate context that leads up to the passage in question. In verses 24-28, Paul describes the final goal of the resurrection. In verse 27, we see it revolves around Jesus placing all things in subjection under his feet. This culminates with the final enemy, death, being abolished (vs. 26). When this final subjection takes place, then Jesus will subject himself to the Father, and God will be the final authority (vs. 28).

     Paul then transitions into discussing how this final shift of authority impacts our lives  (vs. 29-32). He transitions into this section with the word, otherwise. Paul is indicating that if the resurrection does not take place and the subjection of all things under the feet of Christ does not take place, then why should we live our lives serving him. Paul begins this discussion (vs. 29) by asking about the value of baptizing the dead if the resurrection does not happen.

     What do we learn from verse 29 that helps us understand the passage? The most important observation we make from this passage is that Paul does not identify with this group of people who are baptizing the dead. Paul says, they are baptizing the dead, not, we are baptizing the dead. Paul is making a clear distinction between them and himself. This is further clarified in verse 30 when he shifts to the first-person plural to describe his group. He says, “Why are we in danger every hour?”  “They” are baptizing the dead and “we” are in danger.  

     Secondly, Paul is merely making a statement about the group baptizing the dead without stating whether he agrees or disagrees with them. He is directing this statement to those in his audience who are baptizing the dead. Paul is simply making the point that if there is no resurrection, then their practice is in vain. Mare states, “At any rate, Paul simply mentions the superstitious custom without approving it and uses it to fortify his argument that there is a resurrection from the dead” (Mare, WH, 1 Corinthians in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976. p. 288).

     As mentioned earlier, we do not let an obscure passage dictate our understanding of salvation and baptism. Even Paul himself understood that salvation is based upon faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. This is the consistent message he taught throughout his epistles and it is the consistent message of the New Testament. One example of this among many, is Romans 10: 9, “…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;” Baptism does not complete the salvation process, but is an act of obedience to publicly demonstrate that you are identifying with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. If you would die before you are baptized, you will enter into God’s presence and you will be a part of the resurrection, as described in Romans 15.

     It now begs the question, what was this practice of baptizing the dead for that Paul describes in verse 29. Paul doesn’t give us any more detail, but based upon the passage, here is a viable explanation. Quoting from Meyer, he says, “…this verse means that believers already baptized were rebaptized for the benefit of believers who had died unbaptized. This was done on the assumption that it would count for the unbaptized dead and thereby assure their resurrection along with baptized, living believers” (Meyer, HAW, The Epistles to the Corinthians. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1884. p. 364). When I personally examined the passage, I thought Meyer’s thinking aligned well with what I was concluding about the passage.

     There are many explanations and speculations about this passage. I did not want to burden you with those explanations, but you can look them up for yourself if you are interested. You may not agree with the conclusion I came to concerning this passage, but I trust you will follow the guidelines I provided earlier in this article to study the passage and develop your own conclusion. As a final thought, please do not let this one obscure passage create unfounded concerns, when the rest of the Scriptures are clear about salvation, baptism and the resurrection to come.