Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
My sons know this verse. Not because I’m an minister and taught it to them but because it was on their shoes as kids and a mantra of heir favorite player Steph Curry. I’m sure many of us could share a time this verse has been an encouragement or a help, or another time where we've used it to admonish others to try something new.
Often this verse is used to encourage people to do something in their own strength, like overcoming fear and doing the tight ropes course, running that 5k or something to that affect. But Is that what this verse means? That we can push ourselves to physical feats or worldly accomplishments? Can I really shoot the ball like Steph? Can it really mean that? Then how do people who don't know Christ navigate theses same ropes and run the same races? Did I really need Jesus in order to climb those trees and zoom down that zip line or put one foot in front of the other? Furthermore, I’ve always wondered, what does "do" refer to in this verse anyway? It's a bit of a vague verb if you think about it.
Dictionary.com lists several possible meanings for "do" that kind of fall into two different groups – groups that come close to echoing two different ways of understanding this oft-quoted (and sometimes mis-quoted?) verse:
Group A) To: perform, execute, accomplish, render, bring into being
Group B) To: serve, suffice, endure, approve, give
Now, let’s work backwards and take a fresh look at Phil. 4:13 in context. If we begin reading in Philippians 4:10-14…
“I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. “ (NIV)
So… Paul's word "do," in context, lends itself much more to Column B of definitions above. In fact, the Commentary Critical says the literal Greek meaning here is "I have strength for all things;" so we can add words like "survive, deal with, handle, be content in, etc.," to Column B.
Consider Gil's Exposition of the Bible on the phrase "I can do all things:"
[It] must not be understood in the greatest latitude, and without any limitation; for the apostle was not omnipotent, either in himself, or by the power of Christ; nor could he do all things that Christ could do; but it must be restrained to the subject matter treated of: the sense is, that he could be content in every state, and could know how to behave himself in adversity and prosperity, amidst both poverty and plenty; yea, it may be extended to all the duties incumbent on him both as a Christian and as an apostle, as to exercise a conscience void of offence towards God and men; to take the care of all the churches; to labour more abundantly than others in preaching the Gospel; and to bear all afflictions, reproaches, and persecutions for the sake of it; yea, he could willingly and cheerfully endure the most cruel and torturing death for the sake of Christ: all these things he could do, not in his own strength, for no man was more conscious of his own weakness than he was, or knew more of the impotency of human nature; and therefore always directed others to be strong in the Lord, and in, the power of his might, and in the grace that is in Christ, on which he himself always depended, and by which he did what he did.
Here's what I would contend:
If we can get to the point of accepting / being content in / enduring anything, that means we are totally dependent upon God for our needs. And when we become dependent upon God for our needs, they no longer become our primary concern. It is His strength in our weakness. We may never shoot like curry, but His strength is not for that, it’s for our weakness and wondering, our loss and suffering, pain and at times our faithlessness.
There's nothing wrong with Philippians 4:13 giving you encouragement when you feel inadequate. But ask yourself: what have you come through in life that you could never have "done" except for that same strength that led Jesus to be able to live sinlessly and carry through with a brutal sacrifice He could have called upon angels to stop?
Let me leave you with this perhaps-disquieting thought... If the meaning here is, as the Commentary suggests, "I have strength for all things," then consider whether "all things" involves stuff we'd normally try to avoid – problems, suffering, trials, tribulations, and all manner of troubles that cause you to need that strength? After all, Paul was in prison (yet content and still spreading the gospel) when he wrote these famous words...
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