WHY THE BLESSED HOPE IS BLESSED - PART THREE Pastor Art Watkins of Coden Bible Church (Coden, Alabama) January 19, 2016 In writing about the coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead and the translation of the living saints Paul said; So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:54-57) The victory in verse 57 is against death and the grave, but it also includes victory over all our enemies that war against our flesh. When Christ comes again he will change these corruptible bodies and when these bodies are changed we will then have total victory over all the enemies that war against us such as, the world, flesh and the devil. They attack us 24 hours a day. It’s a never ending battle. This is especially true of the old nature of sin that dwells in us. We have an old nature of sin that dwells in these bodies that is evil and wicked and capable of any sin that you can imagine. Paul said this about the sin nature in his flesh: Romans 7:18-20: For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin (the sin nature) that dwelleth in me. The old nature of sin troubles us day and night. We struggle with him constantly. Paul also wrote about this struggle in Galatians 5:17: For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Every saved person understands this verse. We all know the fight that goes on inside of us every day. On one side is the new nature who pulls us toward God and Christ and the Bible and on the other side is the old nature pulling us away from God, Christ and the Bible. It’s a never ending battle. This is what makes the blessed hope so blessed for when Christ comes again this war will be over. He will change these vile bodies and give us a new body minus the old nature of sin and then and only then will we gain the absolute victory over sin, death, the flesh, the world, and the devil.