The meaning is often misconstrued and misappropriated; if anything, Philippians 4:13’s true meaning is somewhat lost. in Me, and I in you. Cease not from God’s work, because you are unable to perform it of yourself. Helpless, look to You for grace. You can do all things (Php 4:13), “I’m not able” Added to this, no doubt, also, much of the power to do all things lies in the fact that the Spirit of God enables the Christian to overcome himself. Matthew 5:13 (note) You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? The way to overcome is upon our knees. The most important part of a tree is the part you cannot see, the root system, and the most important part of the Christian’s life is the part that only God sees. Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. A week later the man returned looking more distraught than before. The waves dash fast and high; Some of the moves are demanded by the need for decent jobs. Then Php 4:13—"I have learned through the power of Jesus Christ that I can face whatever comes my way." He can lose all things, because he is already prepared to do it; he can suffer all things, because he does not value his body as the worldling does; he can be brave for Christ, because he has learned to fear God, and therefore has no reason to fear man. NLT: For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need. I am ready for anything through the strength of the one who lives within me. “Is that all?” he asked. They cast therefore, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. Who needs your encouragement today? I've tried to stop sucking my thumb, but I can't quit either!" I CAN DO ALL THINGS: panta ischuo (1SPAI): Context - Remembering that context (the text before and after a passage) is critical for the most accurate, robust interpretation, keep in mind that this famous verse is closely "hinged" with the preceding two verses (Php 4:11, 12-note) in which Paul explains how he is able to come to the point that he can make the glorious, profound declaration in this passage. What a gracious attainment! His spiritual battle might have left him in despair if he had not found the solution. The lad pinched his nose and exclaimed, "Who's been smoking in here!" If God grants us material comforts, we can thankfully enjoy them, knowing that it all comes from His loving hand. Because Paul had learned the secret (Php 4:11, 12-note) of continually abiding in Christ, Paul justifiably felt that it was impossible for life to confront him with anything that he and the Lord could not handle, no matter how severe or how favorable! — “I can do all things!” His hosts melt away, the bravery of Grecia is too much for him; he returns to his country in dishonor. You can go upon the tottering walls and slay the sons of Anak, and although they be strong men, who like the giants had six toes on each foot and six fingers on each hand you shall be more than a match for them all. —Richard De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Change ). We need each other, for we all have burdens to bear. He said, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. You shall be weak and contemptible, however rich or however great you may be in these things, if you lack the all-sufficient strength. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Victor). Christ puts his hand upon thy loins to day, and he saith, “Up and be doing;” and do thou reply, “Yea, Lord, I will be doing, for I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” I am persuaded there is no work to which a Christian can be called for which he will not be found well qualified. J Vernon McGee recommends some caution when interpreting and applying this verse writing, When Paul says all things, does he literally mean all things? Nothing is beyond my power in the strength of him who makes me strong! IT WAS a marvellous statement for a man to make: "I can do all things." Sometimes it's not helpful merely to quote a Scripture verse to someone. And you, too, my dear brother, if you are called this day to some duty which is new to you, be not behind the apostle, but say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” I have seen the good man disappointed in his best hopes, because he hath not won the battle in the first charge, laying down his arms and saying, “I feel that I can do no good in this world, I have tried, but defeat awaits me; perhaps it were better that I should be still and do no more.” I have seen the same man too for a while lie down and faint, because, said he, “I have sown much, but I have reaped little; I have strewed the seed by handfuls, but I have gathered only here and there an ear of precious grain.” O be not a craven: play the man. I keep thinking that I can't be content as long as he's not a believer. Philippians 4:13. And there is no temptation to sin from without which you cannot also overcome through Christ which strengtheneth you. As Christians we can work to better our circumstances as we have opportunity. If his master should appoint him to a throne, he would rule well, or should he bid him play the menial part he would make the best of servants: in all places and in all duties the Christian is always strong enough, if the Lord his God be with him. Every time a plane would fly overhead, I’d look up and wish I was flying it. "Today I was enabled to help and encourage a troubled person.". Paul said, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Phil. Oh! (The Fight of Faith Crowned), The Christian's strength (Thomas Watson, "The One Thing Necessary"), "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." But there were times when Muller’s faith was tried, when the Lord took them down to the wire before supplying the need. So with the quickened yet feeble professor; he shall soon give way under trial; but the mature Christian, the strong temperate man, can endure fatigues, can perform wonders, can achieve prodigies, because his body is well disciplined, and he has not permitted its humours to overcome the powers of the soul. The leader of a hated sect, all of them doomed by an imperial edict to death! Dwell on that present tense, strengthens. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. I also highly recommend reading Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret which can be downloaded free at CCEL. So it is this relationship with Christ, expressed by beholding Him in His word and depending upon Him in prayer, that enables us to draw from Him the power essential for a godly life. 16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. (Copyright 1995, Steven J. Cole, All Rights Reserved. You can also check out the latest posts, and connect on Facebook and Instagram. Upgrade to Bible Gateway Plus, and access the NEW NIV Study Bible Notes, Fully Revised Edition. ZA Blog. Will you hold yourselves back? Revelation 12:11, "They overcame him—that is, the accuser of the brethren—by the blood of the Lamb." We are enjoined to defeat Satan in our warfare with the evil one. Great are his inward corruptions; and many are the temptations to call them forth: but he is enabled to mortify and subdue them. Holiness), Jerry Bridges in his modern day classic "The Practice of Godliness" notes that. I. But he couldn’t go any further and felt constrained to go back. Notice that there is a need to learn not only how to get along in times of need, but also how to live with abundance. How many times are you thrown in such a position that you have an excellent opportunity for rebuking sin, or for teaching holiness, and how seldom do you accomplish it? Sol. Always labor in the strength of Christ. Psalm 119:33, 34, 35, 36, 37 is a good example of such a prayer of dependence. In elucidating this passage, we shall shew. Our course is “onward, onward into Light”—we must not turn our face to look back into the darkness. Philippians 4:13, NASB: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." II. A Christian friend of mine uses one in the opposite way. The Missionary Societies need you, young men. We know not how much capacity for usefulness there may be in us. For example, he may write, "Today I was enabled to share my testimony with a friend." The boy responded, "Don't you know it's not good for you?" “The goat is filthy.” The rabbi said, “Go home and let the goat out, and come back in a week.” A week later the man returned, radiant, exclaiming, “Life is beautiful. But the Stoic philosophy was marked by detachment from one’s emotions and indifference to the vicissitudes of life. Do as Samson did—he first cried to God for help and then having taken hold of the pillars, he pulled down the house upon the Philistines! Through Christ, Who is strengthening me, and does continually strengthen me; it is by His constant and renewed strength I am enabled to act in every thing; I wholly depend upon Him for all my spiritual power (Matthew Henry's paraphrase), For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need (NLT), All of nature depends on hidden resources (cp "in Whom" = Christ in Col 2:3-note). When Paul said that he could do all things, he meant all things which were God’s will for him to do. NAS Exhaustive Concordance. In a wonderful book called The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, the Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs explained what we ought to say to ourselves whenever we are tempted to be discontent: “I find a sufficiency of satisfaction in my own heart, through the grace of Christ that is in me. Contentment comes from focusing on the Lord as the Savior whom I must serve. The idea is to cause one to be able to function or do something. ( Log Out /  Luke 20:26 And they were unable to catch Him in a saying in the presence of the people; and marveling at His answer, they became silent. Every child of God by faith may say, “I can suffer all things.” What though to-day we be afraid of a little pain? 2:10; 16:10; 28:32; 31:6, 7, 23; Jos. We are to put Him on continually. To as many as receive Him, He gives power to become sons of God (Acts 5:31; John 9:12, 13). 1989. (2Ti 4:7-note). Some think that because they were converted fifty years ago they can do without daily supplies of grace. What canst thou do, Paul? Endunamoo in simple terms means "to put power in" (like a car needs gas for power) and so to make strong, vigorous, to strengthen, or to be strengthened, enabled or empowered inwardly. But closer consideration removes each supposition; and we find ourselves face to face with a prisoner bound to a Roman soldier, who had run through the whole scale of human experience, now touching its abundant fulness, and anon descending to its most abject want; one who said himself: "I know how to be abased, and I know also how to abound; in everything and in all things have I learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in want." Someone says, “If God is sovereign over the tragedy that happened to me, then He is not good.” What would you reply? ΠΡΟΣ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΗΣΙΟΥΣ 4:13 Greek NT: Westcott and Hort / [NA27 and UBS4 variants] πάντα ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με. Mark 5:4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. (Ryken, P. G., Hughes, R. K. Exodus: Saved for God's glory. "I know," the barber replied. Look at old Ignatius. 2. The Living Bible expands the text this way.