1 Corinthians 15:29-34 - Come back to your senses

15:29

Now this is a verse that has caused some controversy, and if we are honest is probably one we wish was not there! “What will those do who are baptized for the dead?” The most likely explanation is that Paul is referring to a practice that some went in for in Corinth, and he is pointing out the inconsistency of their thinking. He is definitely not endorsing the practice.

15:30

Moving on! Paul now gets us back on more solid ground. Why did the apostles endanger their lives if there is no resurrection? The blunt fact is that if there is no resurrection then we might as well live for ourselves and live for today. There is ultimately no point in anything, so why make life difficult for ourselves? In particular, why risk your life, which is what the apostles did, and what many have done and still do. One might argue that we live the good of humanity, but in the end the earth will die in the heat-death of the universe. No resurrection, no point.

15:31,32

Paul then recounts some of the things he goes through. He, and his colleagues, faced death and danger on an almost daily basis. If there is no resurrection why would he do all this? He had a comfortable life as a Pharisee before Jesus got a hold of him. Paul then quotes from Isaiah 22:13. “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die”. That is the logic of life if this life is all that there is. Indeed the self-sacrifice of the apostles, and the suffering of the early church in general, is incontrovertible evidence that they believed in the resurrection. We are in an age where in the West there is no advantage in being a Christian, and an increasing disadvantage. We need to be motivated by our eternal hope so that we live life properly today.

15:33,34

The quote in v33 is from the Greek poet Menander. This shows that the New Testament writers were prepared to quote from non-Biblical sources (just as modern day preachers are), and that quoting from someone, or some source, does not necessarily imply that it has authority. When they quote from the Bible, they often (but not always) say something like “it is written”. Apparently the Corinthians were mixing with the wrong sort. Paul tells them to get their act together. To come to their senses and stop sinning. Paul is quite direct in his criticism.