Baptism For The Dead In I Cor 15:29

I Corinthians 15:29 reads “Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?” The Mormons take that to mean a live person can be baptized for a never baptized dead person, and that will count for the dead person’s baptism. I could see how one might come to that conclusion from just a surface reading of the text, but the Mormon’s understanding of I Cor 15:29 and “baptism for the dead” is contradicted by many passages such as II Cor 5:10 which tells us each person is going to be judged based solely upon “things done in his body” (his own life), not someone else’s. Our eternal fate is sealed at our physical death – Rev 14:13.

But what exactly does I Cor 15:29 teach then? If you think about it, Paul is not really giving credence to the teaching that people were baptizing for the dead at that time; instead he is just using their (false) practice to make an argument for the resurrection. I like the point Jim Stauffer makes on this – “Paul uses the pronouns we, I and you to identify himself and the Corinthians until he gets to verse 29. Then he uses “they” to address those who are practicing this kind of baptism. Following that logic it seems he is referring to some folks who believe and practice this who may or may not be members of the church.”

Paul’s argument is essentially this – why would people be baptized for the dead if the dead will never be raised to live again? This would be similar to Jesus’ use of the dishonest action of the unjust steward to make a point in Luke 16:1-9, and God’s use of Rahab in James 2:25 to make a point without specifically condemning her unchaste sexual behaviour. Paul is not condoning the practice he is referring to in I Cor 15:29; instead he is just using the existence of the practice to make his overall point in I Corinthians 15 – that the dead will be raised.

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