1 Corinthians 15:29

15:29 Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? ¹  If the dead are not raised at all, then why are they baptized for them?

1 Corinthians 10:30

10:30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I blamed for the food ²  that I give thanks for?

1 Corinthians 4:6

4:6 I have applied these things to myself and Apollos because of you, brothers and sisters, ³  so that through us you may learn “not to go beyond what is written,” so that none of you will be puffed up in favor of the one against the other.

1 Corinthians 1:13

1:13 Is Christ divided? Paul wasn’t crucified for you, was he? ⁴  Or were you in fact baptized in the name of Paul? ⁵ 

1 Corinthians 12:25

12:25 so that there may be no division in the body, but the members may have mutual concern for one another.

1 Corinthians 11:24

11:24 and after he had given thanks he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

1 Corinthians 15:3

15:3 For I passed on to you as of first importance ⁶  what I also received – that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,

1 Corinthians 10:13

10:13 No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. ⁷  And God is faithful: He ⁸  will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, ⁹  but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it.

¹ sn Many suggestions have been offered for the puzzling expression baptized for the dead. There are up to 200 different explanations for the passage; a summary is given by K. C. Thompson, “I Corinthians 15,29 and Baptism for the Dead,” Studia Evangelica 2.1 (TU 87), 647-59. The most likely interpretation is that some Corinthians had undergone baptism to bear witness to the faith of fellow believers who had died without experiencing that rite themselves. Paul’s reference to the practice here is neither a recommendation nor a condemnation. He simply uses it as evidence from the lives of the Corinthians themselves to bolster his larger argument, begun in 15:12, that resurrection from the dead is a present reality in Christ and a future reality for them. Whatever they may have proclaimed, the Corinthians’ actions demonstrated that they had hope for a bodily resurrection.

² tn Grk “about that for which”; the referent (the food) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.

⁴ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “was he?”).

⁵ tn This third question marks a peak in which Paul’s incredulity at the Corinthians’ attitude is in focus. The words “in fact” have been supplied in the translation to make this rhetorical juncture clear.

⁵ tn Grk “among (the) first things.”

⁶ tn Grk “except a human one” or “except one common to humanity.”

⁷ tn Grk “God is faithful who.” The relative pronoun was changed to a personal pronoun in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn The words “to bear” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. They have been supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning.