For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.
Another way God uses the trials and tribulations in the life of a believer is so we can effectively affirm the weakness and death of the flesh and the power and life of the Spirit of God. As we examine the verses above, we note the physical perils that the apostle Paul was in; but we specifically notice the spiritual conflict that he was experiencing.
When we read that he and his fellowlaborers were pressed out of measure, we immediately think of Paul’s words later in this epistle where he recounts the measure of the rule of God which he was given. This measure of the rule of God was the specific scope or amount of people that Paul would effectively minister the Word of God to. This measure has still not ended as more people each day in this age of grace are coming to know the gospel of the grace of God, which our Lord committed to Paul, to give to us. This being said, when we contrast this with his statement of being pressed out of measure we can translate this to mean his message, at this time in Asia, was falling on deaf ears that would not hear of God and His grace through our Lord Jesus Christ. This brief season of ministry that was not bearing visible fruit, was also pressing Paul above strength or weakening him so that he despaired even of life. With the physical tribulations Paul and his fellowlaborers were experiencing, plus the perceived lack of success in the ministration of the Word of God, they were in a very scary place, spiritually speaking.
It is at this point in verse 9 that we read, But we had the sentence of death in ourselves. A sentence is a judicial decree, and the verdict was death. Here now we are viewing the process of sanctification in the life of a believer, the continual reckoning of ourselves as dead pertaining to the flesh, but alive to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Reading all of verse 9: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead. Here we see the reason for the tribulation that Paul and his fellowlaborers endured. It was to recalibrate, so to speak; to reaffirm the unprofitability of the flesh and the power of the Spirit of God; to ensure the focus is on God, who raises the dead, and not on self or circumstances; to ensure that the focus is not on just the doctrine or instruction in itself, but on the Lord Jesus Christ who gave the doctrine and who works the doctrine inside us.
When we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work, we were saved and delivered from death for eternity. During this life, God uses tribulations and trials by which we are saved through our Lord Jesus Christ experientially. This process of sanctification involves continual death to ourselves and trusting in God which raises the dead. Seeing these things we can more fully understand how the apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians, makes the statement: I die daily. When we read the verse that follows the introductory verses above, we see that we are saved or delivered three ways.
2 Corinthians 1:10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.
1. We were eternally saved by our Lord Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection, when we believed in Him.
2. We are continually saved as He sanctifies us during this life.
3. He will yet save or deliver us when we He catches us up to be with Him in the air and we receive our new, glorified bodies. Then death will be swallowed up in victory!
So as we conduct our various ministries the Lord gave us (and every one of us has a ministry of some sort, and to someone), we will encounter tribulations both physical and spiritual. At times it will seem as if our ministry does not exist and is totally unfruitful by our perception. We may hit the wall so to speak, and question whether we ever had the ministry we thought we had. We may have fears inside. We may question whether we have been ministering by the Lord’s working, or whether our flesh has tricked us and been faking things. On top of all these things there may be (physically speaking) tribulations as well. At this point we must quit—not quit our ministry, but quit ourselves and trust in our God, who raises the dead. We must also ask our brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ to pray for us, as we read in closing, in verse 11.
Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.
In the Lord Jesus Christ,
Derrick
A study of the Sword 