1 Corinthians 15:29-34 says,...
Today's verses are 1 Corinthians 15:29-34, which read,
v.29 - 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?
Chapter 15 is about the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of His followers. This gospel has been preached by Paul to the Christians at the church in Corinth. There are some who are following others who were teaching that Christians are not resurrected from the dead. Paul goes through the domino effect to show that if you don't hold that domino up that Jesus taught then other dominoes of the faith fall to end up with us still being in our sins that Christ died for on the cross. Our faith is in vain and the faith of those who have already died is also in that vain faith. Paul takes them back to what Jesus did and what Jesus will do in the future to defeat the one, Satan, who is feeding this idea and teaching and to defeat even Satan himself.
This verse is hard to understand because it sounds like someone could be baptized for someone who is already dead. But in the context of what Paul is talking about, the dead people are people of the faith already and not ones who need to be saved. We all have human influences in our lives that point us to Jesus. The Christians in Corinth had people who pointed them to Jesus who are dead but it was because of some influence of that dead person of the faith that they got baptized because they put their faith in Jesus Christ. The lives of those who are dead but were of the faith made a difference in their lives.
So the point is, if there is no resurrection of the dead, then why give credit to those who have died to an influence of your eventual salvation in Christ? They had a bogus faith that you believed in and that you were baptized in for the sake of the gospel. Why continue this practice if there is no resurrection of the dead?
v.30-32 - Why are we also in danger every hour? I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If from human motives I fought with wild beasts in Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."
Another argument or reality that Paul gives for the resurrection of the dead and the resurrection of Christ is the response of those who hear it. All do not agree and some do not agree with hostile reaction to it. Paul brings up the riot that happened in Ephesus over the preaching of Christ and of the resurrection of the dead. His point is, if the resurrection were not true, why would he keep putting himself in life-threatening situations from town to town if it were not so? If the resurrection were not true then Paul should be eating and drinking and having no care for tomorrow because when you die you just die but he puts himself in harms way at times to continue to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
v.33, 34 - Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
Let us say this another way: "Bad teaching leads to bad actions." If you believe in the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of the dead it leads to being sober-minded and following a path of holiness after Christ. If you don't believe in the resurrection it leads to more sin and a life farther and farther from the knowledge of God. Paul is speaking to the Christians in the church in Corinth who have followed some bad teaching that is leading them to some ungodly living instead of godly living for the One, Jesus, who died so that they could be resurrected in the last day.
We are a little more than half way through the chapter on this subject but I am feeling that this one subject is more important than any of the rest that he has addressed in the whole letter. Maybe this is the domino that they have let fall that lead to all those other issues in the church. When we let go of a tenet of the faith it will not lead us closer to God but farther from Him, His words, and His ways.
"Lord, help us to continue to see Paul's defense of the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of the dead for the sake of the church. Help us to see that our faith really does matter and our faith that we hold together as a church matters on an even grander scale. May we look at the evidences that have been given by Paul and weigh them in light of the teachings and actions of the world. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.29 - 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?
Chapter 15 is about the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of His followers. This gospel has been preached by Paul to the Christians at the church in Corinth. There are some who are following others who were teaching that Christians are not resurrected from the dead. Paul goes through the domino effect to show that if you don't hold that domino up that Jesus taught then other dominoes of the faith fall to end up with us still being in our sins that Christ died for on the cross. Our faith is in vain and the faith of those who have already died is also in that vain faith. Paul takes them back to what Jesus did and what Jesus will do in the future to defeat the one, Satan, who is feeding this idea and teaching and to defeat even Satan himself.
This verse is hard to understand because it sounds like someone could be baptized for someone who is already dead. But in the context of what Paul is talking about, the dead people are people of the faith already and not ones who need to be saved. We all have human influences in our lives that point us to Jesus. The Christians in Corinth had people who pointed them to Jesus who are dead but it was because of some influence of that dead person of the faith that they got baptized because they put their faith in Jesus Christ. The lives of those who are dead but were of the faith made a difference in their lives.
So the point is, if there is no resurrection of the dead, then why give credit to those who have died to an influence of your eventual salvation in Christ? They had a bogus faith that you believed in and that you were baptized in for the sake of the gospel. Why continue this practice if there is no resurrection of the dead?
v.30-32 - Why are we also in danger every hour? I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If from human motives I fought with wild beasts in Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."
Another argument or reality that Paul gives for the resurrection of the dead and the resurrection of Christ is the response of those who hear it. All do not agree and some do not agree with hostile reaction to it. Paul brings up the riot that happened in Ephesus over the preaching of Christ and of the resurrection of the dead. His point is, if the resurrection were not true, why would he keep putting himself in life-threatening situations from town to town if it were not so? If the resurrection were not true then Paul should be eating and drinking and having no care for tomorrow because when you die you just die but he puts himself in harms way at times to continue to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
v.33, 34 - Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
Let us say this another way: "Bad teaching leads to bad actions." If you believe in the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of the dead it leads to being sober-minded and following a path of holiness after Christ. If you don't believe in the resurrection it leads to more sin and a life farther and farther from the knowledge of God. Paul is speaking to the Christians in the church in Corinth who have followed some bad teaching that is leading them to some ungodly living instead of godly living for the One, Jesus, who died so that they could be resurrected in the last day.
We are a little more than half way through the chapter on this subject but I am feeling that this one subject is more important than any of the rest that he has addressed in the whole letter. Maybe this is the domino that they have let fall that lead to all those other issues in the church. When we let go of a tenet of the faith it will not lead us closer to God but farther from Him, His words, and His ways.
"Lord, help us to continue to see Paul's defense of the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of the dead for the sake of the church. Help us to see that our faith really does matter and our faith that we hold together as a church matters on an even grander scale. May we look at the evidences that have been given by Paul and weigh them in light of the teachings and actions of the world. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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