Can I Really Do ALL Things Through Christ?
How many times have you heard someone say this about the word all? “All means ‘all’ and that’s all that all means?” While this is true (the word all does mean “all”), the word all doesn’t always mean every possible thing all at once. While this may seem obvious, we don’t always apply this simple fact to our personal study of the Bible. As a result, we easily misinterpret and misapply what the Bible says when it uses the word all. I’ll give you a common example.
A Verse for Winning Ballgames?
Athletes often scrawl Philippians 4:13 onto their sneakers or quote this verse in a press conference when they win. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” They say that this verse motivates them to play hard, fight through adversity, and come out winning in the end. However, what happens when an athlete from each team depends on the same verse? Only one can win, right?
If all means “all” in a universal sense, then this verse would be appropriate for playing a game to win. I trust you know, however, that’s not what Paul was talking about when he said this.
Facing Feelings of Anxiety
Paul was speaking to believers in the church at Philippi. These believers were experiencing some measure of hostility for their faith, just as Paul faced when he planted the church in the beginning (Acts 16:16-24).
Because of their difficulties, they were succumbing to feelings of anxiety. That’s why Paul told them, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil 4:6).
Some Appreciation for Financial Support
After providing them with some additional guidance, Paul thanked them for the financial support they gave him (Phil 4:10, 14). This helped him at a crucial time which he described as his “distress,” which means a time of “extreme pressure and difficulty” from a financial and material standpoint. In fact, they were the only church who provided for his material needs when he was planting and pastoring churches in Eastern Europe (Macedonia) (Phil 4:15). Even the church at Thessalonica, which Paul called an exemplary church (1 Thess 1:7), failed to provide financial support (Phil 4:16).
Because of this difficulty, the church at Philippi stepped up to meet the need from a distance on repeated occasions (Phil 4:16). To demonstrate why this financial help was important, Paul described it as a pleasing and acceptable sacrifice, not to him but to God (Phil 4:18).
Furthermore, he encouraged them by pointing out that by meeting his needs this way, they would receive abundant spiritual fruit (Phil 4:17). This indicates that when you give to meet the needs of someone else this way, especially for the cause of the gospel, then God exchanges your financial contributions for eternal rewards, which he applies to your heavenly account to earn compound interest.
Paul makes it clear that he was not teaching these things because he wanted more money (Phil 4:17). (Whenever a preacher talks about these things, it will be easy for people to accuse him of doing that.) To reveal that he had the right attitude, he explained that he was not making a request for support to meet his needs (Phil 4:11). Nor had he done so before.
Here’s how things played out. He was in a dire financial situation, especially when he was caring for the church at Thessalonica. At the same time, the church at Philippi was looking for opportunities to meet his needs. When they discovered his need, they sent Epaphroditus (and perhaps others at other times) to provide the help Paul needed (Phil 4:10, 16, 18). They did the research for themselves and took the initiative to meet his need.
Content in Any Circumstance
Ultimately, Paul was not asking for their help, though he needed help badly from somewhere. Despite his need, he chose to embrace a bedrock principle for Christian living. “Not that I speak in regard to need,” he said, “for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content” (Phil 4:11).
Contentment is an inner frame of mind that learns to adapt to your circumstances, even when the circumstances do not change. This mindset does not panic and worry when your financial situation is grim. Nor does it wander from God when your financial situation is abounding with resources. That’s exactly how Paul describes it. He said, “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” (Phil 4:12).
This leads me to the oft-quoted verse I mentioned at the beginning of this study. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). Knowing the context, to what does “all things” refer? Does it refer to anything at all? Does it mean that you can climb a mountain on an extreme wilderness hike? Does it mean that you can win a football game if you pray beforehand? Does it mean that you can pass your exam at school? Does it mean that you can go to work and exceed the sales goals at work because you claimed this promise by faith? Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean any of these things.
This verse teaches us to receive from Christ the inner, quiet strength of contentment. We need this contentment no matter what we face. We need this contentment when the refrigerator is full, when we own the house, and when the retirement account is outperforming the market. We also need this contentment when the refrigerator is empty, when we don’t own the house, and when the retirement account is going nowhere fast.
This is not a verse for winners only. It’s a verse for losers, too. Whether you are winning or losing on the material and financial side of the ball today, you need this verse. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. You can handle financial success with quiet calm and peace, and you can handle financial hardship and suffering with the same quiet confidence in God.
Not Just a Verse for Pastors
Why did Paul share this truth with the believers at Philippi? Not just to say thank you for their financial support, and not just to explain his personal mindset towards suffering and success. He shared this with them because some of them were also facing financial difficulties. That’s why he encouraged them by saying, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19).
This is not just a verse for pastors. It’s a verse for every believer, whether you are experiencing abundant financial blessings or severe financial need. You can do all these things through Christ who strengthens you, knowing that in every situation, God will provide for your needs somehow, in his time and in his way.
Does this describe your situation today? Has God granted you prosperity? Or has God allowed you to experience a financial crisis? In either case, are you living the life of complete contentment in Christ? If not, then you can embrace this perspective today as Paul once did and as he encouraged the church at Philippi to do as well.
Thomas Overmiller serves as pastor for Faith Baptist Church in Corona, NY and blogs at Shepherd Thoughts. This article first appeared at Shepherd Thoughts, used here with permission.