Otherwise, what will they do who are being baptized for the dead? IF the dead are not raised, why are they being baptized for the dead?

1. An impossible meaning: being baptized on behalf of dead ones who failed to be baptized, an idea that contradicts Romans 14:12: "Each one of us will give an account of himself to God."

2. A possible meaning: being baptized on behalf of meeting dead ones, an idea that is in harmony with 1 Thessalonians 4:13: "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, concerning those who are sleeping, that you be not grieved as the rest who have no hope."

3. The probable meaning: being baptized on behalf of dead ones [being raised], a faith in a resurrection, which idea is favored by the whole context of 1 Corinthians 15:29, namely verses 12, 13, 15, 16, 21, 29, 32, 35, 42.