I Can Do All Things Through Christ
Philippians 4:10-20
Pastor Phil Hughes, American Fork Presbyterian Church, Utah
November 26, 2023
Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” might be one of the most popular verses in the Bible. People find great inspiration from it. What isn’t to like about the thought that I can do all things – anything and everything – through Christ who will give me the strength to do it. All things can be done.
All things!
This verse is often owned by athletes. There was a heavyweight boxing champion some years back who had this stenciled on his boxing shorts. I guess Christ strengthened him to knock out other people and win his boxing matches. He was successful.
Stephen Curry, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, who plays on my favorite team, the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association who play in San Francisco, uses Philippians 4:13. Curry does things on a basketball court that make you want to watch. He is spectacular and has changed the game. Like many prominent athletes he has a contract for endorsements with a shoe company. When he first came out with a special shoe with the Under Armor company the citation, “Philippians 4:13” was stamped on the tongue of the shoe. It is his favorite Bible verse.
He said, “It represents a Bible verse I wear on my shoe. It’s also my mantra, how I get up for games and why I play the way I do.”
Philippians 4:13 sells well. Just look at the number of hangings and paintings in Bible books stores with this verse on it. Or go online and see how many t-shirts, mugs, posters, notecards, framed pictures, socks, and tote bags you can buy with this verse on it. I know people who have had Philippians 4:13 tattooed on their arms. Maybe you have some item with the verse somewhere in your home.
It is a verse that many people have found deeply meaningful.
Can I do all things through Christ who strengthens me? Can Linda Rogers hike up Timpanogos Mountain this afternoon? Can Lee Swenson make the Olympics in skeet shooting? Can Yen become a great opera singer? Can Ken Knight become a multi-millionaire as Christ strengthens him to invest? You know, this verse has been used by some who preach what we call a “prosperity gospel” that Christ will strengthen you to become rich. Or Christ will make you successful in whatever you do.
Is Christ going to strengthen us to do whatever we want? I don’t think this is what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote these words. This verse is inspiring. It can and should encourage our hearts. But maybe not in the way many, many people think it does.
It is always important to read the context of any Bible passage. This verse is more about contentment than empowerment. Paul is writing this letter to the Philippians from prison. Lonely, weary, isolated, maybe hungry and cold, he thanks the Philippians for their concern for him. Philippians is a very uplifting letter given it is written by someone held captive as a prisoner by Rome. It doesn’t sound like it. It is not full of moaning and groaning. The word “joy” and “rejoice” comes up many times.
Paul and the Christians in Philippi held a deep love for one another. The believers in Philippi were very supportive of Paul. Paul calls them partners in the gospel with him. And when the church in Philippi heard that Paul was in prison they came to him with supplies. They let him know that he was not forgotten.
But even while Paul thanks the Philippians he wants them to know that he isn’t really in need because he has learned to be content in all circumstances. He writes, “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.”
Think about it. He doesn’t have his social freedom. He probably isn’t getting the best of food. He can’t relieve himself without permission. I’m guessing the bed isn’t all that comfortable, if he even had one. Cell service was probably terrible. (That’s kind of a double entendre joke…) Not to mention he really doesn’t know if he is going to be condemned and put to death or remain alive. But he says that he has learned to be content with whatever he has and whatever his circumstances might be. Why? Because it is Christ Jesus who gives him the strength for this.
Have we learned the secret of being content in any and every situation? The good situations? The hard situations? The situations where we are thriving and the situations where we are struggling? When things are uncomfortable we long for escape. When it is hard we want to fix it. When things are good we want them to be better. The word “more” is a more cherished word in our culture than the word “enough.”
There are lots of people who say they love God who shudder at the thought of doing without something they want.[1]
One of my spiritual gifts is complaining. I whine and moan about the smallest things. I lose it over the smallest of inconveniences. I need more Christian maturity. I need to learn that secret of contentment.
Paul said he learned it. He didn’t always have it. He learned it, and he learned it in two ways. One way he learned contentment was in want. Paul had been through some things. Listen to how he describes some of his experiences in ministry in his second letter to the Corinthians. He writes about he has experienced flogging, prison, and the reality of death several times.
Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?[2]
Paul’s life was no cakewalk.
I don’t like it but I suppose it is through our trials and challenges that we have opportunity to learn the secret of contentment. If we will allow God to teach us we can learn. We learn it circumstance by circumstance, test by test, situation by situation.
But Paul said he also learned the secret of contentment in another way: through plenty. Abundance has its own challenges. It can create a false security. We can presume that we are OK. Why are churches growing in Africa and Asia and South America but shrinking in the United States and Europe? Could it be that we suffer from the affliction of abundance? People don’t know their need? You don’t need God when you have everything.
Which is why thankfulness is more than a holiday but a spiritual discipline. One that the person who loves God needs to practice everyday.
Having learned the secret of contentment Paul writes, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
The message is not “suck it up and deal with it.” The truth is we can make it through want or plenty with the strength God’s gives.
Paul isn’t preaching the beauties of positive thinking. It is about filling our lives with God’s life, not so that we necessarily feel good, but that we discover a strength that is not of ourselves but is higher than and beyond us. A strength that God gives those who put their lives in his hands when all is not well. A peace in what is hard, a holding when we are uncertain.
The focus in Philippians 4 is what the believer can do through the strength that Christ gives. This is not a promise that Christians will have superpowers or that they will be invincible or immune to life’s challenges. Instead, the promise of Philippians 4:13 is that we will have strength from the Lord to faithfully endure the difficulties that arise in life.[3]
“No circumstance could ever arise which would be too much for Paul’s God.”[4] He had a vigorous faith, a faith that believe God would get him through.
There was a group in Paul’s day called the Stoics who believed the highest level of living was for a person to become self-sufficient. If you just got rid of all desire you would find peace. Just don’t have any wants. We get our word “stoic” from this way of thinking. The Stoics taught that a person needed to come to a place where they didn’t care what happened to them. They thought you should get rid of feeling and accept whatever comes. A person could do this simply through their own will.
There are those today who say you need to find the resources for getting through within yourself.
There was a big difference between Paul and the Stoics. The Stoic thought he could learn contentment by the strength of his own will. Paul believed contentment came through the strength of Christ. For the Stoic contentment was a human achievement. For Paul it was a gift of God. Paul could face anything because in every situation he had Christ.[5]
“I can do all things through Christ” is a mantra for when we don’t have all we want or need. Whether that is materially, emotionally, or physically. Life isn’t what we would want but Christ will give us the strength to meet it.
Steph Curry needs Philippians 4:13 when his shots aren’t falling, his team isn’t doing well, or he finds he is suffering through an injury. (I hope he doesn’t have to lean on this verse too much because I want his shot to go in, the Warriors to win and him to stay healthy.)
Oliver Cromwell, was a military and political leader in England in the 17th century, said that this verse once saved his life. Cromwell’s oldest son died and he absolutely crashed in despair. Some of you know the feeling. But he leaned on this verse and said, “He that was Paul’s Christ is my Christ too!”[6] Is Paul’s Christ our Christ?
And in Jesus Christ – who gave his life for us and destroyed the power of death by his resurrection – there is a strength that will be given to us which will allow us to live in any situation.
How are we going to get through this crisis? I can do it through Christ who will give me the strength.
How are we going to get through this dark, cold winter? I can do it through Christ who will strengthen me.
How am I going to get through the financial strain of this month? I can do it through Christ who will strengthen me.
How will I survive in this loveless marriage? How can I endure these family problems? I can do it through Christ who strengthens me.
How will I face the loss of that one who I loved so much? I can do it through Christ who strengthens me?
How will I live through my loneliness? How will I get through this time with little rest? How will I live in this season of dryness? How will I make it through the holidays apart from my loved ones who I so want to be with? Through Christ who strengthens me.
How will I get through this transition of having to move, of losing strength, of not being what I was? I can do all things included this through Christ who strengthens me.
If the strength comes through Christ then I need to know Christ. I need to be in relationship with Christ. I need to know what it is to walk with him, trust him, and abide in him. That comes by putting our lives in his hands.
Let’s say this together: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
No one would choose suffering or hardship or want. But if we find ourselves there and it moves us closer to the Lord Jesus Christ, then that is a good place to be. Because whatever the circumstances in him we will find our strength.
Prayer: Come Lord Jesus and be our strength. Give us what we don’t have. Make our relationship with you so mighty that no matter what comes we know we can live in contentment, knowing you provide what our souls need. Thank you that you are this kind of God. Amen.
[1] See Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation, p.251
[2] 2 Corinthians 11:24-29
[3] Can I Really Do All Things Through Christ? Gotquestions.com
[4] The Message of Philippians, Alec Motyer, p.219
[5] William Barclay, Philippians, p.85
[6] They Met At Philippi, A Devotional Commentary on Philippians, Carroll Simcox, p.150