1 Corinthians 15:29-34
I want to review briefly to make sure we understand the flow of Paul's argument. Some in the Corinthian church denied the resurrection—that is, the future resurrection of the Christian. Paul begins by laying out the fact of Christ's resurrection and then argues that you cannot deny the future resurrection without also denying that past resurrection. And with that, he argues that the whole of Christianity collapses without the resurrection of Christ. In the last section, he expands on the importance of Christ's resurrection, picturing it as a triumph over the past, the present, and the future. With this section, he transitions to focusing less on the past and more on the future. Here, he looks to the future resurrection of the Christian and how that doctrine impacts our present life. Before we get to the main themes of this passage, we have to talk specifically about verse 29. Paul casually throws out a reference to people being baptized for the dead. He mentions this as if...
