In one of the more obscure passages in Paul’s epistles, the apostle asks, “Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?” (I Corinthians 15:29) It looks like a kind of baptism by proxy. The more conservative ideas don’t like to speculate. It must be an undefined early church practice that Paul neither condemned nor endorsed. The Corinthians knew what he was talking about even if we don’t. I am unsatisfied with this lack of an explanation. For one thing, I don’t see Paul using something so indifferent upon which to base an argument of such importance as the resurrection. It is far more likely that Paul is talking about nothing else than the Christian sacrament of baptism and is using it as an argument in favor of the resurrection. I believe that this can be demonstrated by noting the parallels between this verse and Romans 6:3-5. The passage is not only chosen simply because it too talks about baptism but also because both hold a similar place in their respective arguments (I Corinthians 15 and Romans 5-8).
I Corinthians 15 is a treatise on the doctrine of the resurrection. But it isn’t about just any kind of resurrection. Other resurrections had occurred before that of Christ and, in each case, they were the same: the one restored to life would die again. And no wonder, the natural state of humanity is not life but death. Just watch the usual progression. This is a result of the arena, or the temporal age, in which we live. In his discourse with the Corinthians, Paul answers a stupid question: “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” Paul’s reaction- calling his interrogator ‘foolish’- indicates the motive behind the question. It isn’t a quest for information but the ploy of a cynic. It comes from someone who has no clue of the power of the Spirit of God. The question lurking behind this one is, “What good is it to bring a body back to life since it will only die again?” Paul’s answer is to draw an analogy to a seed. When it is planted, it first dies and then something new and alive comes out of the ground. The most important factor is that “God gives it a body as he has chosen.” Paul goes on to point out different kinds of bodies on the earth: human, animal, birds, fish. Then he moves to heavenly bodies and includes the sun, moon, and stars. The same point applies to all of these: God gives whatever body he chooses. Just as there is both continuity and discontinuity between a seed and a plant, so it is with the resurrection body. God does not put us back the way we were, but he transforms our bodies into something everlasting. What was once perishable is now imperishable. What was a natural body is now a Spiritual body. It still has material substance, but it derives its life from the Spirit of God and will continue to live as long as it remains in eternal union with Christ.
If any question remains about the kind of resurrection we can look forward to, this is resolved in Romans 8:11: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” In verse 23, Paul refers to this resurrection as “the redemption of our bodies.” He places it in the context of the transformation of creation. The resurrection is only a part of it. When the eschaton comes, the curse will be lifted and everything will be made new. “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as Sons, the redemption of our bodies.” This comprehensive renewal of the creation also affects those who have not yet died by the time it occurs. Back in I Corinthians, Paul tells us a mystery. Not everyone will sleep, that is, die, but all of us will be changed. Each mortal body will put on immortality.
In back of Paul’s argument is the contrast between two ages- between this present evil age and the age to come; between the flesh and the Spirit; between the old man and the new man; between the two Federal heads-Adam and Christ. This is a theme that permeates Paul’s writings. No less is this true of his doctrine of the resurrection, in which Christ is the firstfruits and the translation of the body into the realm of the Spirit is, by necessary consequence, into the realm of eternal life.
The occasion for Paul’s argument in I Corinthians was the claim by some who had professed belief in Christ’s resurrection that there was no resurrection from the dead (presumably for anybody else). This could not be, for, as Paul declares, if the dead are not raised, then neither has Christ been raised from the dead. His argument doesn’t seem to follow. Why not just say that Jesus is in a class by himself? Because then there would be no union with Christ. If the Corinthians did not believe in the resurrection, then the most that they could believe about Christ is that he came back to life in much the same way as the son of the widow of Zarephath. This kind of resurrection, however, is hardly a sufficient basis for the gospel. The eschatological resurrection is not piecemeal; it is corporate. Either the entire body of Christ raises to new life or the entire body remains dead. “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (vs. 22).
This contrast between Adam and Christ is a significant part of Paul’s argument in both passages. Whereas he ties it to the resurrection in I Corinthians, in Romans he is concerned with the doctrine of justification. The two, resurrection and justification, are intimately connected. Romans 5:17 states, “If, because of one mans’ trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” Paul goes on to say that many are made righteous through one man’s obedience. To be made righteous is the guaranteed end result of God’s declaration that we are righteous. This declaration is what it means to be justified. Justification is, for us, a free gift received by faith alone. It was, for Christ, the deserved reward for his obedience. By way of contrast, it was Adam’s disobedience that led to death. It wasn’t disobedience in general, though. No one, except for Adam and Christ, has ever carried such a responsibility for the life or death of so many. Paul calls Adam a “type of the one who was to come.” Both are Federal heads, both preside over the same covenant. What Adam loses by disobeying the terms of this covenant, Christ wins back both by obeying the original terms and by taking the punishment prescribed in the covenant. Salvation is not just an ad hoc plan B that God puts in place after the fall. Its foundation was already built into the Covenant of Works given to Adam. Had Adam obeyed, he would have merited eternal life for all those whom he represented. Put another way, eschatology precedes soteriology. In the act of obedience, Adam would have been declared righteous; that is, he would have been justified. The promised reward of this justification was eternal life. Christ did keep the terms of the Covenant of Works. He was justified; that is, he was declared righteous because he acted righteously. Consequently, he had to receive the promised reward both for himself and for all those in union with him. He must live and so the grave cannot hold him. Not only has death failed to conquer Christ, but Christ will destroy death.
Following the sections on Adam and Christ in both passages are Paul’s comments on baptism. We’ve already seen the passage in I Corinthians, the one that talks about people being baptized on behalf of the dead. Now consider Romans 6:3-5:
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
There are two themes here: life and death. Because baptism unites us with Christ in his death, we are also united with him in his resurrection. This is both a present and a future event. Our spirits are given new life when the Spirit regenerates us. Our bodies are promised new life in the resurrection. But there is also death. One by one, the members of Christ’s church are each baptized into his death and, one by one, each of them dies. Not just in his death, but literally and physically. But, while we continue in this life, we are also called to die every day. Right after mentioning baptism on behalf of the dead, Paul professes this of himself in I Corinthians, “Why am I in danger every hour? I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!” Obviously, Paul is not talking about physical death. This death is based on the redemptive historic act of which he speaks in Galatians 2:19, “I have been crucified with Christ.” Paul sees the Corinthians denying the resurrection and he writes back, “I protest!” What does it mean for him, for any believer to be baptized into Christ’s death if there is no resurrection? “I have been crucified with Christ,” the apostle declares, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Watch how Paul continues his point in Romans by saying that we know our old self was crucified with Christ. Keep this in context. It is not primarily individual; rather, it refers back to our corporate identity with Adam. The old self is that which fell into sin. Christ embraces this old self, unites himself with it, and then crucifies it. Christ alone is resurrected as the new self and he imparts this new life to all whose corporate identity is in him.
The old self and new self are corporate realities of redemptive history; nevertheless, the battle between these two is also reenacted in the life of each believer. Paul uses himself as an example of this in chapter 7. “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep doing” (vs. 18,19). He paints a rather bleak picture, but it is a portrait of life in the flesh. Chapter 8 turns things around. Here Paul brings out the contrast between the flesh and the Spirit. “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (vs. 13). The old self will be forever vanquished when Christ returns on the Day of Judgment. Until then, the historic crucifixion of the old self must be reenacted on a daily basis- “I die every day.”
When we are baptized into Christ, we are also brought into union with one another. We are united together in his death. In baptism, we cast our lot, both with the crucified Christ and with all believers. Not only those who, yet living, die every day, but also with those who are dead and buried. And so it is that the grave continues to accept the bodies of believers while more of us keep getting baptized. We believe that he who brought Christ back from the dead will do the same for us. This mutual baptism into the death of Christ is what it means to be baptized on behalf of the dead. If we deny the fullness of the resurrection, we mock both Christ and the members of his body. Baptism with no resurrection is not the promise of everlasting life, but a deathtrap for fools. Having identified with Christ in his death, our only hope is found in the resurrection of Christ.
There is a decided irony here. Go back to Romans 8:13, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Jesus said something similar in Luke 17:33, “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.” Life, eternal life, is the possession of those who have been baptized into Christ’s death. It belongs only to those who have been bound together into this dangerous alliance. Perhaps this explains why Paul is so passionate about his participation in the death of Christ. Consider Philippians 3: 8-11:
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Paul’s desire to know Christ at the expense of everything else is the result of the life that he has received. Everyone who has been captured by Christ glories in being crucified with him, both as an historical reality and as a daily experience. This is what living people do. By virtue of the indwelling Spirit of God and our union with the resurrected Christ, we already possess a foretaste of this life. We already desire the things of the Spirit. If not, if, forsaking all else, anyone will not seize upon the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, then he is no true participant in the fellowship of death. That person has no part in the resurrection unto eternal life but is already and irrevocably dead.