The Sentence of Death in Ourselves
2 Corinthians 1:9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
In the first instance, because all people are sinners and sin brings death – we all have the sentence of death in ourselves. We know that those whom God has saved (His elect) have received new born again living souls and the promise of life forevermore.
Yet, these verses in 2 Corinthians 1 are also especially applicable for certain elect individuals who are experiencing severe illnesses or serious diseases (heart conditions, cancers, etc.) in their physical bodies which are seeing corruption even as they physically live.
I've heard from numbers of EBF listeners who have been experiencing these types of physical afflictions. And I think these Scriptures are like a wonderful soothing balm to be applied by God's Spirit to our inner man.
Why would these verses offer comfort to a child of God experiencing severe illness?
Because they reveal God's reason for sending the illness to one of His elect in the first place.
"We had the sentence of death in ourselves-THAT-we should not trust in ourselves".
You see, once a man or a woman hears, you have cancer – or you have lung disease, or you have a serious heart condition – or whatever the major physical ailment might be – then they begin to realize their time is getting short. And soon, the death that comes to all will come to them.
The body is failing and will continue to fail and will soon fail completely in death –therefore, obviously, no trust can be placed in the physical body. It is as untrustworthy as anything could be. You cannot rely on it at all.
Oh, well, who or what can be trusted? And the answer to that question is declared in the end of verse 9 and into verse 10:
"we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:
10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;"
We trust in God! Is your body getting weaker and weaker? Trust in God who raises the dead! Is your body tiring from the battle of combatting a horrible disease? Trust in God who raises the dead!
Yes it is true the body will give way. But hope is not lost even at that point. For there is God who has "delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver". God's people may die in their bodies but they never truly die – for God is not the God of the dead but of the living.
John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
For any friend (of God) who is suffering physically with sickness. Just remember, that this sentence of death is a blessing in disguise. For it has been sent by the all Wise God to teach us a very humbling yet wonderful lesson – which is that we should not trust in ourselves BUT IN HIM WHO RAISES THE DEAD.