Philippians 4:13 and the Importance of Context

Today's Theology Thursday post is going to deal with the importance of reading the Bible in context. You see, anyone can take an individual verse of the Bible and make it say whatever they want to serve whatever purpose they need. Thus, you must always read a verse in the context wherein it is found in order to arrive at what it actually means. The way to do this is to read the surrounding verses in order to gather the immediate context. In some, if not many, cases, like the example from last week's post, you must get the context from the rest of the Bible in order to understand the intended meaning. This week's post is an example of the importance of immediate context wherein the passage surrounding a well-known verse provides the intended meaning of that verse.


Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.


I can safely say that nearly anyone who has been a follower of Christ for any extended period of time has likely memorized this verse. It is so encouraging! It is such a great promise! The 'him' from the ESV translation of this verse is none other than Christ. It is Christ who strengthens me to do all things. What a tremendous truth to cling to in the worst of times or when facing difficult decisions/situations/circumstances. To know that, no matter what, I can do anything because Christ will give me the strength to do it is such a......wait a minute.

Did you just see that? That's exactly what happens when we aren't careful with handling a singular verse from the Bible. I got excited, and I took what truly is a great promise from God and made it say something that it was never meant to say. Contrary to what has often been put forth in Bible studies, devotionals, and even pulpits across America and around the world, this verse does not say you and I can do anything because Christ will give us the strength. Don't believe me? Let's take a closer look.

The first thing we have to do is check out the surrounding verses. Here they are, starting in verse 10:

10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.


We see from the preceding verses that Paul is addressing the church at Philippi and thanking them for their renewed 'concern' on his behalf. What concern? The concern for his provision. As a traveling missionary, Paul either relied on the generosity of the churches or he entered into a vocation (tent making) in order to supply for his material needs. In making this statement, Paul is showing gratitude for the Philippians desire to bless him materially, in spite of the fact that they were unable to do so in the instance to which Paul is referring.

Paul goes on to ease their potential worry over this by stating that he is content in whatever circumstance he finds himself. When he has had little, he has been satisfied with little. When he has had much, he has been satisfied with much. **While I am presently tempted to go off on a diatribe about both poverty and prosperity theology, I will restrain myself. I'd wager you can fill in the blanks based off of this passage.**

Thus, Paul is content with whatever comes his way. This would naturally beg the question, "How?" Paul, graced by the Holy Spirit, is gracious enough to anticipate the question and answer it. He explains that there is a secret to this contentment. It is a secret that ultimately can only be fully realized in the life of a believer, the life that fully trusts in Jesus as both Lord and Savior. The secret is verse 13 - "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Now that we know the context, let's dig in to the verse itself to see what it is actually saying - phrase by phrase (at this point, I will must state that I am exceedingly grateful for purchasing Logos Bible Software, as I have NO formal Bible training and certainly no language training. I'm not an advertiser for them, but it's great stuff).

I can do
The Greek here is ischuō, which literally means 'to have or exercise force, to be strong, to have efficacy, force, or value'. For those keeping track at home, this same phrase is translated as 'avails much' or 'has great power' in James 5:16.

all things
Here the Greek is pas, translated this way roughly 170 times in the Bible. In other words, 'all things' means 'all things'. You're welcome.

through him
These are both general words in the Greek, 'through' being a preposition and 'him' being a general definitive article. Thus, to understand who 'him' is, one must look at the broader context of Paul's writings to see who was regularly attributed with giving Paul strength. We see that this is 'Christ' or 'the Lord' in the following passages: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, 1 Timothy 1:12, and 2 Timothy 4:17. We can therefore safely conclude that it is Christ providing the strength is this verse from Philippians.

who strengthens
The Greek is endunamoō, which means 'to make strong' or 'to strengthen'. This is the exact same phrase used in 2 Timothy 4:17, wherein Paul was 'strengthened' by 'the Lord' to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.

me.
This is just a general first person singular pronoun. I include it only because it was the last word, and I wrote earlier that I'd be going phrase by phrase. I simply couldn't leave the sentence incomplete. For all the grammar nerds, as well as all the OCD people, once again you're welcome.

Putting the sentence back together again allows for the following paraphrase: "I am made strong by Jesus, who makes me strong for any circumstance." That's a little awkward sounding, but that's the heart of the verse. We are not made strong so that we can do whatever we want. This verse states that Christ gives us the strength to remain content and faithful no matter what circumstances, good or bad, we are facing. If we have plenty, Christ supplies the strength to stay humble and appreciative; if we are in want, Christ supplies the strength to endure and trust that He will provide. In other words, in 'all things' Christ gives us the strength to remain in Him.