Homily 40 — First Corinthians 15, verses 29 to 34

“Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for the dead?” [a]

He takes up yet another line of argument. At one point he establishes what he says from what God does; at another, from the very things they themselves practice. And this too is no small support in defending any cause: when a man brings forward his opponents themselves as witnesses, by their own actions, to what he affirms. So what does he mean here?

Or would you like me first to tell you how those infected with the Marcionite heresy twist this saying? I know I will stir up a great deal of laughter. Still, that is the very reason I will mention it most of all, so that you may avoid this disease the more completely. When one of their catechumens dies, they hide a living man under the dead man’s couch. Then they go up to the corpse, talk to him, and ask him whether he wishes to receive baptism. When he makes no answer, the man hidden underneath says in his place that of course he wishes to be baptized. And so they baptize him in place of the one who has died, like men clowning on the stage. That is how great a power the devil has over the souls of careless sinners! Then, when they are called to account, they bring up this saying and claim that even the apostle said, “those who are baptized for the dead.”

Do you see how utterly ridiculous they are? Is it right, then, to answer such things? I think not — unless we were obliged to argue with madmen over what they say in their frenzy. But so that none of the very simple folk may be taken captive, we must stoop to answer even these men. So: if this was Paul’s meaning, why did God threaten the one who is not baptized? Once this device had been invented, it would be impossible for anyone to go unbaptized ever again; and besides, the fault would no longer lie with the dead, but with the living. And to whom did he say, “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in yourselves” (John 6, verse 53)? To the living or to the dead? Tell me. And again, “Unless a man is born again of water and of the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3, verse 5). If this is allowed, and there is no need of the mind of the one receiving baptism, nor of his consent while he is alive, what is to stop both Greeks and Jews from becoming believers in this way, with other men doing these things in their place after they have died?

But we will not drag out this fruitless labor of cutting through their flimsy spiders’ webs. Come, let us open up for you the force of this saying. What, then, is Paul speaking of?

But first I want to remind those of you who are initiated of the response which, on that evening, those who bring you into the mysteries tell you to make. Then I will explain Paul’s saying as well, for it too will be clearer to you this way; for we also, after all the other articles, add the very thing Paul is now speaking of. I would like to say it outright, but I do not dare, because of those not yet initiated. They make my explanation difficult, forcing me either not to speak clearly or to declare to them the mysteries that must not be spoken. Still, as far as I can, I will speak as though through a veil. [c]

It goes like this. After the pronouncing of those fearful words of the mysteries, and of the awe-inspiring rules of the teachings that have come down from heaven, we add this too at the end, when we are about to baptize: we tell them to say, “I believe in the resurrection of the dead.” And it is on this faith that we are baptized. For after we have confessed this along with the rest, then at last we are let down into the fountain of those sacred streams. Paul, then, recalling this to their minds, said, “If there is no resurrection, why are you baptized for the dead?” — that is, for the dead bodies. For this is the very thing you are baptized with a view to: the resurrection of your dead body, believing that it does not remain dead any longer.

And you, in your words, speak of a resurrection of the dead; but the priest, as in a kind of image, shows you by the very act the things you have believed and confessed in words. When you believe without a sign, then he gives you the sign as well; when you have done your own part, then God also gives you full assurance. How, and in what way? By the water. For being baptized and plunged under, and then coming up again, is a symbol of going down into Hades and returning from there. That is why Paul also calls baptism a burial, saying, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death” (Romans 6, verse 4).

By this he makes what is to come believable too — I mean the resurrection of our bodies. For wiping out sins is a far greater thing than raising up a body. Christ declared this when he said, “For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” (Matthew 9, verse 5). “The first is the harder,” he says, “but since you do not believe it, because it is hidden, and you make the easier thing, instead of the harder, the proof of my power, I will not refuse to give you this proof either.” Then he says to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

“And how is this hard,” someone says, “when even kings and rulers can do it? They too pardon adulterers and murderers.” You are joking, my friend, to say such things. To forgive sins is possible for God alone. When rulers and kings pardon adulterers or murderers, they release them from the present punishment, but they do not purge out their sin. Even if they promote the pardoned men to high office, even if they clothe them in the purple itself and set the diadem on their heads, they would only make them kings; they could not free them from their sin. It is God alone who does this, and he will bring it about in the washing of new birth. For his grace touches the very soul and pulls sin up from there by the root.

This is why a man pardoned by the king may be seen still to have a soul that is unclean, while the soul of the baptized is no longer so. It is purer than the very rays of the sun, such as it was when it was first formed — or rather, far better than that. For it is blessed with a Spirit who kindles it on every side and makes its holiness intense. And just as when you recast iron or gold you make it pure and new again, so too the Holy Spirit recasts the soul in baptism as in a furnace, burns up its sins, and makes it shine with more purity than the purest gold.

Further, he points out to you again, from what follows, that the resurrection of our bodies is believable: since sin brought in death, now that the root has dried up, one must no longer doubt that the fruit is destroyed. That is why, having first spoken of “the forgiveness of sins,” you next confess “the resurrection of the dead” as well; the one leads you by the hand to the other.

And again, because the word “resurrection” is not enough to express the whole — for many who rose again have departed once more, like those in the Old Testament, like Lazarus, like those at the time of the crucifixion — you are told to say, “and the life everlasting,” so that no one may any longer imagine a death after that resurrection.

Paul, then, recalling these words to their minds, says, “What will those do who are baptized for the dead?” “For if there is no resurrection,” he says, “these words are mere stage scenery. If there is no resurrection, how do we persuade them to believe in things we do not give?” It is as if someone told another man to sign a document saying he had received a certain sum, and then never paid him the amount named in it, yet after the signature demanded the stated money from him. What will be left for the man who signed to do, now that he has made himself liable without receiving what he admitted he had received? This, then, is what he is saying here about those who are baptized as well.

“What will those do who are baptized,” he says, “when they have signed their names to the resurrection of dead bodies, and do not receive it, but are cheated? And what need was there at all for this confession, if the fact did not follow?”

Verse 30: “Why do we also stand in danger every hour?” [g]

Verse 31: “I affirm it by the pride in you that I have in Christ Jesus our Lord: I die every day.”

See again where he tries to establish the teaching from: from his own vote — or rather, not from his alone, but from that of the other apostles as well. And this too is no small thing: that the teachers you bring forward were full of strong conviction, and showed it not by words only but by deeds as well. That is why, you see, he does not simply say, “We are convinced”; that alone was not enough to convince them. He also supplies the proof from facts, as if to say: “To confess these things in words perhaps seems nothing remarkable to you. But if we also bring before you the voice that deeds give out, what can you say against that? Will you listen, then, to how we confess these things by our dangers too, day after day?” And he did not say “I,” but “we,” taking all the apostles along with him. In this way he speaks modestly and at the same time makes his words more credible.

For what can you say? That we are deceiving you when we preach these things, and that our teachings come from empty glory? No — our dangers do not let you pass such a verdict. For who would choose to be in constant danger for nothing and to no effect? That is why he also said, “Why do we also stand in danger every hour?” Even if a man chose this out of empty glory, he would choose it once or twice, not all his life long, as we do. For we have given our whole life over to this purpose.

“I affirm it by the pride in you that I have in Christ Jesus our Lord: I die every day.” By “pride” here he means their progress. Since he had hinted that his dangers were many, he did not want to seem to be saying this as a complaint. So he says: “Far from grieving, I even take pride in suffering this for your sake.” And he takes delight in it on two counts, he says: both in being in danger for their sake, and in seeing their progress. Then, doing what he usually does after saying great things, he refers both of these to Christ.

But how does he “die every day”? By his readiness and preparation for death. And why does he say these words? Again, to establish the teaching about the resurrection by these too. “For who would choose,” he says, “to undergo so many deaths if there is no resurrection and no life after this one? If even those who believe in the resurrection would hardly put themselves in danger for it unless they were very noble of heart, much less would the unbeliever choose to undergo so many deaths, and such terrible ones.” That is the sense of his words. See how he climbs higher and higher by degrees. He had said, “We stand in danger”; he added, “every hour”; then, “every day”; then, “I do not only ‘stand in danger,’” he says, “but I even ‘die.’” And he finishes by pointing out what kind of deaths these were, saying, verse 32: “If, humanly speaking, I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what good is it to me?”

What does “humanly speaking” mean? “As far as men were concerned, I fought with wild beasts. For what if God snatched me out of those dangers? So I am the one who ought to care most about these things — I, who endure such great dangers and have not yet received any return. For if no time of reward is at hand, but our reward is shut up in this present world, the greater loss is ours. You have believed without danger, but we are slaughtered every day.”

But he said all these things not because he gained nothing even from the suffering itself, but because of the weakness of the many, and to establish them in the teaching of the resurrection — not because he himself was running for pay, for it was reward enough for him to do what pleased God. So when he adds, “If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people the most to be pitied,” this again is for their sake, so that by the fear of this misery he might overthrow their unbelief about the resurrection. And he speaks this way stooping down to meet their weakness. For in truth the great reward is to please Christ at all times; and apart from any reward, it is a very great repayment in itself to be in danger for his sake.

“If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” This saying, you can be sure, is spoken in mockery. That is why he did not bring it forward on his own, but called in the prophet with the loftiest voice, Isaiah, who used these words when speaking of certain senseless and depraved people: “Who slaughter oxen and kill sheep to eat meat and drink wine; who say, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ These things are revealed in the ears of the Lord of hosts: this wrongdoing will not be forgiven you until you die” (Isaiah 22, verses 13 and 14, in the Greek Old Testament). Now if those who spoke this way were denied pardon then, much more will they be in the time of grace. [j]

Then, so as not to make his words too harsh, he does not dwell long on showing how absurd their position is, but turns his speech back to encouragement, saying, verse 33: “Do not be deceived: bad company corrupts good character.” He said this both to rebuke them as foolish — for here, using a kindly expression, he calls “good” what is easily deceived — and also, as far as he could, to make some allowance for them about the past, so that they might return; to lift the greater part of his charges off them and lay it on others; and in this way too to draw them to repentance. He does the same in the letter to the Galatians, saying, “But the one who troubles you will bear his judgment, whoever he is” (Galatians 5, verse 10).

Verse 34: “Wake up righteously, and do not sin.”

He speaks as if to drunkards and madmen. For suddenly to throw everything out of their hands — no longer seeing what they had seen, nor believing what they had confessed before — was what drunkards and madmen do. But what does “righteously” mean? With a view to what is profitable and useful. For it is possible to wake up unrighteously, when a man is thoroughly roused to the harm of his own soul. And he did well to add “do not sin,” hinting that their unbelief sprang from their sins. In many places he hints at this, that a corrupt life is the parent of evil teachings; as when he says, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil; some, reaching after it, have been led astray from the faith” (First Timothy 6, verse 10). Yes, and many who are aware of their own wickedness, and would like not to pay its penalty, are damaged by this fear in their faith about the resurrection too; just as those who live very virtuously long to see it even every day.

“For some have no knowledge of God; I say this to move you to shame.”

See how again he shifts his accusations onto others. He did not say, “You have no knowledge,” but, “Some have no knowledge.” For disbelieving the resurrection is the frame of mind of someone who does not fully realize that the power of God cannot be resisted and is sufficient for all things. For if he made the things that are out of things that are not, much more will he be able to raise again the things that have been dissolved.

And because he had cut them to the quick and mocked them sharply, accusing them of gluttony, of folly, of madness, he softens those expressions and says, “I say this to move you to shame” — that is, to set you upright, to bring you back, to make you better by this shame of yours. For he was afraid that if he cut too deep, he would make them bolt.

But let us not think these things were said to them alone. They are addressed now as well to all who suffer from the same disease and live a corrupt life. For in truth, not only those who hold corrupt teachings, but also those caught in grievous sins, are drunk and raving. So to them too it may rightly be said, “Wake up” — and especially to those weighed down by the stupor of greed, who rob wickedly. For there is a good robbery, the robbery of heaven, which harms no one. [n]

In the matter of money it is impossible for one person to become rich unless another first becomes poor. But in spiritual things this is not so; it is entirely the reverse. There it is impossible for anyone to become rich without making someone else’s store plentiful. If you help no one, you will not be able to grow wealthy. So while in earthly things sharing brings loss, in spiritual things, on the contrary, sharing brings increase, and not sharing produces great poverty and brings on the severest punishment. The man who buried the talent shows this. Yes, and the one who has a word of wisdom increases his own wealth by sharing it with another, making many wise; but the one who buries it at home robs himself of his wealth by neglecting to win the profit of the many. Again, the one who had other gifts made his own gift greater by healing many; he was not emptied himself by sharing, and he filled many others with his spiritual gift. In all spiritual things this rule stands unshaken.

So too in the kingdom: whoever makes many others sharers in the kingdom with himself will by this very means have its fruits more fully in return; but whoever does not care to have anyone share it will himself be thrown out of those many blessings. For if the wisdom of this world of the senses is not used up, though ten thousand people are seizing it by force, and if the craftsman does not lose his own skill by making many craftsmen, much less does the one who seizes the kingdom make it smaller. No — our riches will grow when we call many to join us in this.

Let us seize, then, the things that cannot be used up, but increase while we seize them. Let us seize the things that no one can cheat us out of by false accusation, and no one can envy us for. Suppose there were one place that had a fountain of gold gushing out in a continual flood, flowing the more as more was drawn from it; and another place that had a treasure buried in the earth. From which would you want to be made rich? Wouldn’t it be from the first? Plainly. But so that this may not be a mere idea in words, think of the air and the sun. Everyone seizes them, and they satisfy everyone. Yet these stay the same, undiminished, whether people enjoy them or not. But what I spoke of is a far greater thing: spiritual wisdom does not stay the same whether it is shared out or not; rather, it grows by being shared.

But if anyone cannot bear what I have said, and still clings to the poverty of worldly things, grabbing at things that are subject to loss, then even with respect to those, let him remember the food of manna (Exodus 16, verse 20) and tremble at the example of that punishment. For what happened then, one can see happening now too with greedy men. And what happened then? Worms were bred from their greed. This happens in their case now as well. For the measure of food is the same for all; we have only one stomach to fill. Only, you who feed in luxury have more to get rid of. And just as in that case those who gathered more than the permitted amount into their houses gathered not manna but more worms and rot, so too, in luxury and in greed alike, the gluttons and the drunkards gather not more delicacies but more corruption.

And yet the people of our time are so much worse than they were. Those people experienced this once and were corrected; but these bring into their own houses every day this worm, far more grievous than that one, and neither notice it nor have their fill. That these things are like those in the uselessness of the labor we spend on them — for in the matter of punishment these are much worse — here is the proof for you to consider. [q]

Tell me, how does the rich man differ from the poor? Doesn’t he have one body to clothe, one belly to feed? In what, then, does he have the advantage? In worries, in wearing himself out, in disobeying God, in corrupting the flesh, in wasting the soul. Yes, these are the things in which he has the advantage over the poor. If he had many stomachs to fill, perhaps he might have something to say — that his need was greater and his necessary expenses larger. “But even now,” someone says, “they can reply that they fill many bellies: those of their household servants and their maidservants.” But this is done not from need, nor out of kindness to others, but from sheer pride. So their excuse cannot be accepted.

For why do you have many servants? Just as in our clothing we ought to follow our need alone, and at our table, so also with our servants. What need is there, then? None at all. In fact one master needs to employ only one servant — or rather, two or three masters one servant. But if this seems hard, think of those who have none and are served more promptly. For God has made people able to serve themselves — or rather, their neighbor too. And if you do not believe it, listen to Paul saying, “These hands served my needs, and those who were with me” (Acts 20, verse 34).

That man, the teacher of the world, worthy of heaven, did not disdain to serve countless others; and after that, do you think it a disgrace unless you parade around whole herds of slaves? Don’t you know that this is really what brings shame on you most of all? For this is why God gave us both hands and feet: so that we would not need servants. It was not at all for need’s sake that the class of slaves was brought in; otherwise a slave would have been formed along with Adam. No, it is the penalty of sin and the punishment of disobedience. But when Christ came, he put an end to this too. “For in Christ Jesus there is neither slave nor free” (Galatians 3, verse 28). So it is not necessary to have a slave; or if it is necessary at all, let it be one only, or at most two. What is the meaning of these swarms of servants? For our rich men go their rounds in the baths and in the public square like sheep sellers and slave dealers.

However, I will not be too strict. We will let you keep a second servant. But if you gather many, you do it not out of kindness to others but out of self-indulgence. For if you do it out of care for them, I tell you: do not employ any of them in serving yourself. Buy them, teach them trades so they can support themselves, and let them go free. But when you whip them, when you put them in chains, it is no longer an act of kindness.

I know I am annoying my hearers. But what am I to do? This is what I have been appointed for, and I will not stop saying these things, whether anything comes of them or not. For what is the meaning of your clearing the way ahead of you in the marketplace? Are you walking among wild beasts, that you drive away those who meet you? Do not be afraid; none of these people who come near you and walk close to you bite. Or do you consider it an insult to walk alongside other people? What madness is this, what monstrous folly! When a horse follows close behind you, you do not think of it as insulting you; but if it is a man, you think he disgraces you unless he is driven a hundred miles off. And why do you also have servants carrying the fasces, using free men as slaves — or rather, living yourself more shamefully than any slave? For in truth, the man who carries so much pride around with him is lower than any servant.

That is why those who have enslaved themselves to this grievous passion will not so much as catch sight of true freedom. No — if you must drive something off and clear it away, let it not be those who come near you, but your own pride. Drive it off not by your servant but by yourself, not with this whip but with the spiritual one. As it is, your servant drives away those who walk beside you, but you yourself are driven down from your high place by your own self-will more shamefully than any servant can drive off your neighbor.

But if you get down from your horse and drive away pride by humility, you will sit higher and set yourself in greater honor, needing no servant to do it. I mean that when you have become modest and walk on the ground, you will be seated on the chariot of humility, which carries you up to the very heavens, the chariot with winged horses. But if you fall from it and pass into the chariot of arrogance, you will be no better off than the beggars who are dragged along the ground — or rather, much more wretched and pitiable than they. For the defects of their bodies force them to be dragged along like that, but you are forced by the disease of your own arrogance. “For everyone who exalts himself,” he says, “will be humbled” (Matthew 23, verse 12).

So that we may not be humbled but exalted, then, let us move toward that exaltation. For so we will also “find rest for our souls,” as the divine word says, and will gain the true and most exalted honor. May we all gain it, through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom, to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, and honor, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.