Question:
What did Paul mean when he said, “What shall they do which are baptized for the dead?” 1 Corinthians 15:29?
Answer:
In speaking of baptism, Paul uses the following language: “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead [for the resurrection of the dead], if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” (1 Corinthians 15:29). Here the design of baptism, is in part brought to light. It is an exhibition of our faith in the resurrection.
The whole chapter is a defense of the doctrine of the resurrection. The apostle has nothing to say about the condition of man in death, for that is unnecessary; the fact that he is demonstrating the truth of the resurrection shows that he regarded the dead as in unconscious sleep. For if the dead were to be conscious—if they were not really dead—there would be no necessity for a resurrection. Incidentally, however, the apostle shows the deceased’s condition when he says that if there be no resurrection, “Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” (verse 18). That is to say that the promised resurrection is all that stands between the dead in Christ and eternal extinction.
Christian baptism is an act expressive of faith in the death and resurrection of Christ (See Romans 6:3-14, Colossians 2:12). It is also an act representative of faith in the future resurrection, for the resurrection of Christ was a pledge of the general resurrection. He says, “Because I live, ye shall live also.” (See John 14:19). So when a person is baptized, he shows (1) his belief that he is a sinner under sentence of death; (2) his acceptance of that condemnation as just; (3) his belief that Christ “was delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification;” (see Romans 4:25) and (4) that by being thus baptized into Christ’s death, and rising to walk in newness of life, he will finally have a resurrection from the dead, and will live with Christ. Paul’s argument is addressed to those who professed Christianity and believed in baptism but questioned the doctrine of the resurrection. As such, he shows the inconsistency of their position by proving that if there be no resurrection, Christ is not raised, and if Christ be not raised, those who are fallen asleep in Christ are perished; and since if they are baptized, it is only into a dead Christ, their being baptized amounts to nothing, since baptism derives all its force from the resurrection.
Some religious groups practice actual baptism for the dead due to misapplying Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Here is a bit of history about the practice from Wikipedia, “Baptism for the Dead”:
“Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism today commonly refers to the religious practice of baptizing a person on behalf of one who is dead—a living person receiving the rite on behalf of a deceased person.
“Baptism for the dead is best known as a doctrine of the Latter Day Saint movement, which has practiced it since 1840. It is currently practiced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), where it is performed only in dedicated temples, as well as in several other current factions of the movement. Those who practice this rite view baptism as an essential requirement to enter the Kingdom of God, and therefore practice baptism for the dead to offer it by proxy to those who died without the opportunity to receive it. The LDS Church teaches that those who have died may choose to accept or reject the baptisms done on their behalf.
“Baptism for the dead is mentioned in (1 Corinthians 15:29) as proof of a physical resurrection, though the exact meaning of the phrase is an open question among scholars. The plainest reading of the Greek text suggests vicarious baptisms performed by the living on behalf of the deceased, but some scholars dispute whether Paul approved of the practice or whether the verse truly refers to an actual physical practice among early Christians. Early heresiologists Epiphanius of Salamis (Panarion 28) and Chrysostom (Homilies 40) attributed the practice respectively to the Cerinthians and to the Marcionites, whom they identified as heretical “Gnostic” groups, while Ambrosiaster and Tertullian affirmed that the practice was legitimate and found among the New Testament Christians (though Tertullian later recanted his original beliefs in his later life as he became associated with Montanism). The practice was forbidden by the Councils of Carthage in the last decade of the fourth century A.D., and is therefore not practiced in modern mainstream Christianity, whether Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, or any traditional Protestant churches.”
Wikipedia
