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Here is an excerpt from this First Corinthians commentary regarding "baptism for the dead" in 1 Cor. 15:

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?

At least 40 explanations have been given for this verse. The Bible Knowledge Commentary (p. 544) claims there have been up to 200 explanations, but most of the ideas put forth by commentators fall into one of four categories. (1) The baptism described in this verse may be a metonymy (it represents something else); (2) baptism for the dead was a dipping in water, but its purpose was not the forgiveness of sins; (3) Paul described vicarious baptism; (4) this verse refers to water baptism for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38).

Common explanaitons for "baptism for the dead" include:

- Penance for the dead. According to this explanation, people pay money or do good works for (on behalf of) the dead. This view is part of Catholic theology and it has no basis in Scripture.

- Sadness for the dead. People are certainly sad when they lose a loved one (1 Thess. 4:13), but there is no evidence that this is what Paul had in mind here.

- Persecution. Some think a certain number of persecutions must occur before Jesus can or will return, so the baptism in 1 Cor. 15:29 refers to Christians who face persecution. The greater the persecution, the sooner Jesus will return. These ideas are also interesting but they have no Biblical support.

- Dying a martyr's death. This explanation says Christians were willing to be persecuted to the point of death because of their belief in a future resurrection (compare verse 30).

While some have adopted a figurative explanation of verse 29, others believe Paul had in mind a literal baptism. Some of the literal explanations for verse 29 are these:

- Washing the dead. Because Christians believed in a coming resurrection, they washed dead bodies to ensure the deceased would be ready for the future resurrection.

- Baptism on behalf of the dead. There was a ceremonial washing similar to what the Jews used.

- Purify deceased Jews who had died in an unclean state. According to this explanation, baptism was used to remove any uncleanness from deceased Jews.

The last mainstream approach to understanding 1 Cor. 15:29 is found in one or more of the following categories:

- An ancient Corinthian custom. Some believe baptism for the dead was an ancient custom that Paul knew about but did not endorse. Unlike most of the preceding explanations, this is a very good possibility.

- New Testament baptism (Mk. 16:16). This interpretation says people were being baptized for the forgiveness of their own sins (Acts 2:38), but this view cannot be right. The baptism in 1 Cor. 15:29 was done for the benefit of others (the dead).

- Those who were close to death. Some think the Corinthians were baptizing those who were seriously ill (they immersed people like the terminally ill). As with the preceding view, this explanation does not agree with the text. Paul spoke of baptizing "for the dead" instead of "baptizing the sick."

- Took the place of deceased saints. According to this idea, people were baptized so they could "fill someone else's spot" (i.e. a newly baptized person replaced a Christian who had died). If the Corinthians did not believe in a future resurrection, why did they try to keep "filing the ranks"? This is another fascinating idea, but it has no Biblical support.

- Christians were baptized in ancient burial tombs. This interpretation says Christians used the privacy of tombs to avoid persecution when they wanted to worship or baptize people. There is some evidence for some Christians worshipping in tombs because of persecution, but there are no indications known to this author of the Corinthians having to resort to such desperate measures.

- Baptism for the dead one (Jesus). This explanation cannot be right because the word "dead" is plural.

- A plague. Some believe a plague had broken out and many of the Corinthians were dying. Because of the plague's effect ("the dead"), people decided to be immersed.

Paul's point is very difficult, but in the mind of this author, it seems one of the following four explanations offers the best understanding of this verse.

- The Greek text of the New Testament does not have punctuation so some think Paul's point should be punctuated in this way: "Otherwise what shall they do who are baptized? For the dead? That is, are they baptized to belong to and be numbered among the dead who will never be raised?"
If the thought is expressed in this way, Paul meant: "If the dead will never be raised, why are people baptized?" Baptism "would lose its meaning if Christ had not been raised from the dead in the past or if the dead will not be raised in the future" (Gromacki, p. 190). One argument in favor of this view is that Paul often used this teaching style in this letter (notice his rhetorical questions in 3:37-31; 4:10; 6:15; 7:7; 8:31-35; 9:14, 19-22; 10:6-8, 14-19).

- Jesus said the "sons" of the Pharisees were also casting out demons. Jesus knew these men were not literally casting out demons, but He made this statement to form an argument. Paul may have done a similar thing; he may have used an unscriptural practice to further illustrate the need for these Christians to believe in a future resurrection.

- Some think people were baptized because of dead people. Just as Abel died but "continued to speak" (Heb. 11:4), so some were baptized because they were greatly influenced by wonderful Christians who had died.

- The pronouns may suggest that false teachers were baptizing people on behalf of the dead. In 1 Cor. 15:1 Paul described himself and the Corinthians ("I" and "you"). Verse 19 refers to Paul and the Corinthians ("we"). Verse 25 refers to Christ ("He"). In verse 29 there is a definite switch in the pronouns ("they"). This change in pronouns indicates people (presumably false teachers) were involved with a baptism that God did not institute or authorize.

If some were teaching baptism for (on behalf of) the dead, Paul did not endorse this activity anymore than he endorsed eating in an idol temple (1 Cor. 8:10). Sometimes Bible authors used evil practices to make a positive point (compare Lk. 16:1-7). Here it seems that Paul used an unscriptural baptism to build on what he had previously said. In the previous verses Paul showed how preaching and faith are vain (verse 14), the apostles were false witnesses (verse 15), all the dead will be condemned (verse 18), and Christians are of all men most pitiable (verse 19) if Jesus has not been raised from the dead. Verse 29 is another argument for the resurrection and it helps introduce the information in verses 30-34.
The CBL (First Corinthians, p. 469) said the "fact that Paul only parenthetically referred to this practice suggests that it held no importance for him at all. He was merely using it as an example to show that the Corinthians were being inconsistent in their view of the afterlife." We might compare verse 29 to a point made by an old pioneer preacher who said: "The Indians bury a dog and a spear with the fallen warrior. Why should they do that, if there is no resurrection?" Paul apparently used this same type of argument with the Corinthians. If the dead will be not raised, why would anyone teach baptism, submit to baptism, or baptize people on behalf of the dead? If there is no resurrection each person should eat, drink, and live life to the fullest (verse 32).
There is information about New Testament baptism in the commentary on 1 Cor. 12:13, the commentary on 15:3-4, and "An overview of New Testament Christianity" located at the end of this commentary, but here we may briefly summarize this topic. Baptism is for those who are old enough to believe (Mk. 16:16). It is also for people who have "repented" of (turned from) sin, Acts 2:38. Before being baptized a person must confess Christ (Rom. 10:9-10). Proper baptism requires a "burial" (immersion), Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12. In fact, a person must go "into" (Acts 8:38) and then "come up out of" water (Acts 8:39). Sinners must experience a "new birth" (Jn. 3:3) and part of this new birth includes baptism ("water," Jn. 3:5). There is only "one baptism" that now has God's approval (Eph. 4:5) and this baptism places a person "into Christ" (Gal. 3:27) and entitles him to every "spiritual blessing" (Eph. 1:3), one of which is "salvation" (2 Tim. 2:10).