16th February 2025

Have you ever had an attack of the ‘What-ifs’? You know the kind of thing: what if I can’t pay the mortgage this month? What if my plane is delayed and I miss my ongoing connection? What if I die on the operating table during my upcoming surgery appointment? ‘What-if’ thinking, if left unchecked, can spiral out of control and what starts out as a genuine concern can end up causing major anxiety. Thankfully, psychologists have developed techniques for breaking such negative thought patterns and helping sufferers to develop healthy new habits.

In our header scripture this week the apostle Paul uses ‘What-if’ thinking, not because he is the victim of high anxiety, but in order to make a strong case for the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and what that means for all of us. He does this because some Corinthians, just like the Sadducees before them, were teaching that there is no resurrection. Let’s take a closer look at Paul’s argument:

– What if there is no resurrection from the dead? (1 Cor. 15:13) – If that was true, says Paul, then not even Christ has been resurrected.  

– What if Christ has not been raised? (v.14) – If that’s what you believe, counters Paul, I am a liar, my preaching is in vain and your faith is useless. Not only that, but you are all still guilty in your sins (vv.17-18). 

– And what if we only have hope in Christ for this life? (v.19) – If that’s the case, Paul argues, then we are a sorry bunch and deserve nothing but pity, for we have no hope at all after we die. 

But, Paul concludes there are no ‘What-ifs’ in this matter, because ‘…Christ has indeed been raised from the dead…’ (v.20)! What’s more, Paul continues, Jesus is, as the Bible tells us in many places, the firstfruits of those have already died. In other words, because Christ has risen, all humans, both those who have already died and those who will eventually die, can look forward to being raised back to life.  

As Tom Wright puts it, ‘With Jesus’ resurrection, Paul insists, a new world has opened up. In which the all-embracing power of sin and death no longer holds sway. The world we know – the world whose loveliness, majesty, fragrance and teeming life are mocked by death, decay, corruption and sheer entropy – has heard the news that there is after all a way forward, a way into a life yet greater, more beautiful, more powerful, than this one.’ ¹

What if the whole world could believe in the resurrection of Jesus? What a wonderful world that would be!

 ¹ Tom Wright Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians

Local congregation:
Grace Communion International Central Glasgow 
Garnethill Room
Conference Suite
St Andrews West
260 Bath Street
Glasgow
G2 4JP

Meeting time:
Sunday 11:15 am

Local congregational contact:   
Peter Mill
Email: edinburgh@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church