Bible Question:
Regarding 1 Corinthiians 15:27-29, I wonder 1)How verses 27-28 square up to the claim that Jesus is God. Not that I refute the claim but just confused. In the same context, somewhere in the N.T also Jesus is referred to as 'the first-born of creation'(the first to be born/ created of all that is created?). 2)What does verse 29 really mean as it talks about baptism and the dead. I mean I have people from a Christian religious group who use this chapter of the Letter to claim that when the living get saved, their dead line of relatives (especially those ancestors who never had somebody witness to them about salvation in Jesus during their lifetime) gets saved along. I am an African in South Africa. Also are there other people who believe likewise around the world. A clear answer will be very important to me as a young-in-faith Christian. Please help. FTM |
Bible Answer: Greetings FTM! Welcome to the forum! It is good to hear from a fellow believer in South Africa! You have asked two very difficult questions my friend! Allow me to attempt to deal with them in reverse order. 1) Baptism for the Dead: There have literally been over 200 ?interpretations? offered for this verse. There seem to be two that are most likely! a) The first is that Paul is speaking of the meaning of baptism. Baptism points to the resurrection of Christ are our future resurrection. The context of this chapter though deals with those who deny the resurrection. So, Paul may simply be saying, "If there is no resurrection from the dead, then why are we baptized?? b) The second seems most likely. This view says that there were some in Corinth were being baptized for those who had died. Paul?s reference to this practice, like the first position above, is done in the context of questions about the reality of resurrection. Like above, he may simply be saying, ?If you don?t believe in the resurrection, then why are you being baptized for those who have died?? In favor of this view is the fact that Paul refers to ?those who are being baptized for the dead? rather than ?we?. Refuting this doctrine was not the point of the passage. Paul simply uses one of their false teachings against them to show that their whole system of teaching was inconsistent and illogical. 2) Christ being ?put under?: This is a very complex question, which I will attempt to address with a relatively short answer! :-) When Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, became man at the incarnation, His relationship with and position in relation to the Father and humanity changed. For a time, He was made a little lower than angels (Heb. 2:7) that He might suffer death. During His incarnation, Jesus was ?subject? to the Father. He prayed to the Father. He never ceased to be fully God, but He did voluntarily limit Himself as man. This seems to be what 1 Cor. 15:27-28 is saying. During the time in which Christ is performing His special purpose (the redemption of all creation), He is subject to the Father. There will come a point however when this purpose is complete and Christ hands over the Kingdom to the Father. At that point though, notice that 1 Cor. 15:28 says that ?God will be all in all?, not that the Father will be ?all in all?. This indicates that the relationship between the Father and the Second Person of the Trinity will be restored to what it was before the incarnation. I hope this helps! Your ?American? Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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Questions and/or Subjects for NT general Archive 1 | Author | ||
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Dev | ||
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confusing | ||
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MR.J.R. | ||
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FTM | ||
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Morant61 | ||
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tremere123@comcast.net | ||
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jheisey | ||
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Grace and Glory | ||
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FytRobert | ||
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justme | ||
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bluecow25 | ||
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cwade |