Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 Corinthians 1:9

"yea, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raiseth the dead:" — 2 Corinthians 1:9 (ASV)

In his estimation Paul had received a death sentence (the word used can refer to an official verdict) from which there was no reprieve. But in the wake of this trying experience there followed a further experience that, by God’s intervention, was tantamount to resurrection. All this undermined Paul’s selfconfidence (see 1 Corinthians 15:31; 2 Corinthians 12:9–10) and compelled his utter dependence on a God who raises the dead (cf. Romans 4:17) and therefore can rescue the dying from the grip of death (cf. Php 2:27, 30).