How can we connect 1 Corinthians 15:29 to the hope of eternal life? Setting the Passage in Its Flow • 1 Corinthians 15 is Paul’s fullest defense of bodily resurrection. • By verse 29 he has shown that if Christ were not raised, “your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (v. 17). • Verse 29: “If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? Why then are they baptized for the dead?”. • Paul seizes on a practice some Corinthians were attempting—vicarious baptism—to prove his point: even they act as though resurrection is real. He is not approving the practice; he is exposing its inconsistency if there is no resurrection. Understanding “Baptized for the Dead” • The phrase likely describes living believers undergoing baptism on behalf of deceased friends who had trusted Christ but died before being baptized. • Paul neither commands nor commends it; he simply uses their custom as leverage: “Why do you do this at all if the dead stay dead?” • The rhetorical force: your own actions testify that you believe in life beyond the grave—so stand firmly on that truth. Paul’s Underlying Point: Resurrection Is Certain • Christ’s resurrection is the firstfruits guaranteeing ours (1 Corinthians 15:20). • The entire chapter rings with confidence that our perishable bodies will be raised imperishable (vv. 42-44). • Therefore the Gospel promise of eternal life rests on a historical, bodily event—Jesus rising from the dead. How the Verse Nourishes Our Hope of Eternal Life • It reminds us that even confused practices sprang from a core conviction: death does not have the final word. • If unbelievers sense a need for post-mortem hope, how much more should we who trust the risen Lord live in settled assurance. • Baptism itself pictures this hope: – Burial with Christ (Romans 6:3-4) – Rising to walk “in newness of life” (Romans 6:4) – Certainty we “will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection” (Romans 6:5). Linking with the Wider New Testament Witness • John 11:25-26—“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies…” • 1 Thessalonians 4:14—God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. • Titus 3:5-7—Salvation’s “washing of new birth” makes us “heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” • These passages echo Paul’s logic: because Christ is alive, believers possess an unshakable future. Living Today in Light of That Hope • Stand firm—“be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). • Face sorrow with confidence: burial is a seed-sowing, not a farewell. • Share the Gospel with urgency; only resurrection life answers humanity’s deepest longing. • Celebrate baptism as a visible pledge that what happened to Jesus will happen to every child of God. |
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