Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Corinthians 15:29

"Else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?" — 1 Corinthians 15:29 (ASV)

Paul now returns to his argument for the resurrection of the dead. There is a special difficulty in understanding v.29 because we do not know the background of the words “baptized for the dead.” There are many interpretations, but it is difficult to find a satisfactory one. The present tense of “baptize” suggests that the practice of baptizing for the dead was current and evidently well known to the Corinthians. Most views center around the idea that Paul is referring to the practice of living believers being baptized for deceased believers who had died unbaptized or perhaps for deceased relatives who had never become believers. At any rate, Paul simply mentions the superstitious custom without approving it and uses it to fortify his argument that there is a resurrection from the dead.