“I Can Do All Things Through Christ”: All Things Means What?
There may be no verse in Philippians quoted more like a motivational slogan than Philippians 4:13.
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
We put it on shirts.
We put it on coffee mugs.
Athletes write it on their shoes.
Students quote it before exams.
People use it before starting businesses, pursuing dreams, accepting challenges, setting goals, or attempting something difficult.
The message we often attach to it is simple:
With Christ, I can accomplish anything.
It sounds powerful.
It sounds encouraging.
And the words themselves are certainly Scripture.
But is that what Paul meant?
Was Paul telling the Philippians that Christ would empower them to accomplish anything they decided to pursue?
Once again, context changes everything.
And this time we don’t even have to travel very far.
The explanation for Philippians 4:13 is sitting immediately before it.
Paul Tells Us What the “All Things” Are
Let’s begin with verse 11.
Paul writes:
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”— Philippians 4:11 KJV
Then he explains:
“I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”— Philippians 4:12 KJV
And then:
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”— Philippians 4:13 KJV
There it is.
Paul actually tells us what he has been talking about.
Being abased.
Abounding.
Being full.
Being hungry.
Having plenty.
Suffering need.
Those are the “all things.”
Paul is not standing at the beginning of an ambitious endeavor declaring that Christ will enable him to accomplish whatever he sets his mind to.
Paul is looking across radically different circumstances and saying:
Christ gives me strength to remain faithful in every one of them.
That is a very different message.
And perhaps an even more powerful one.
Philippians 4:13 Is About Strength, Not Unlimited Ability
There is a subtle but important difference between saying:
“Christ will enable me to accomplish anything.”
and saying:
“Christ will strengthen me through anything He calls me to endure.”
The first interpretation puts our ambitions at the center.
I want to do this.
I want to accomplish that.
I have this dream.
I have this goal.
I have decided where I am going.
And then Philippians 4:13 can become a spiritual stamp we place over our plans:
Christ will help me do it.
But Paul’s testimony runs in another direction.
Paul’s circumstances are not being controlled by his preferences.
Some of them are deeply unpleasant.
He has experienced abundance, but he has also experienced deprivation.
He knows what it is to eat until he is satisfied.
He also knows hunger.
He knows what it is to have resources.
He also knows what it is to lack them.
Paul is not saying Christ gives him the ability to avoid these conditions.
He is saying Christ gives him strength inside them.
That distinction matters.
Christ’s Strength Did Not Always Change Paul’s Circumstances
This can challenge the way we sometimes think about God’s strength.
We often pray for strength because we want strength to change something.
Strength to overcome the obstacle.
Strength to accomplish the goal.
Strength to defeat the opposition.
Strength to get out of the difficult place.
And sometimes God absolutely gives us strength to act.
But Philippians 4:13 reveals another kind of strength.
Strength to remain.
Strength to endure.
Strength to be content.
Strength to continue faithfully when circumstances are not changing.
Strength to live with abundance without becoming dependent upon abundance.
Strength to experience lack without concluding that God has abandoned us.
That kind of strength may not look impressive from the outside.
But spiritually, it is enormous.
Paul Had to Learn Contentment
There is a word in verse 11 that deserves our attention:
Learned.
“I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”
Paul was not born knowing how to do this.
Contentment was learned.
And apparently, some of Paul’s teachers were circumstances he would not have chosen.
Hunger taught him something.
Need taught him something.
Abundance taught him something.
Humiliation taught him something.
Having plenty taught him something.
Having little taught him something.
Through all of these changing conditions, Paul discovered that his stability could not depend upon the condition itself.
If his peace depended upon abundance, then scarcity could destroy it.
If his confidence depended upon having enough, then need could take it away.
If his faith depended upon comfortable circumstances, then suffering could dismantle it.
So Paul learned something deeper.
His sufficiency was found in Christ.
Even Abundance Requires Christ’s Strength
We tend to notice Paul’s hunger and need because those conditions obviously sound difficult.
But Paul also includes abundance.
That is interesting.
Why would someone need Christ’s strength to have plenty?
Because abundance has its own spiritual dangers.
Need can tempt us to doubt God.
Abundance can tempt us to forget Him.
Need can make us fearful.
Abundance can make us self-sufficient.
Need can make us ask, Where is God?
Abundance can make us stop asking for Him altogether.
This is why Paul says:
“I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound.”
Both require spiritual maturity.
Paul had learned how to have little without allowing lack to define his relationship with God.
And he had learned how to have much without allowing abundance to replace his dependence upon God.
Christ strengthened him for both.
This Connects Directly to “My God Shall Supply All Your Need”
This is why Philippians 4:13 and Philippians 4:19 should not be separated from one another.
In the first part of this series, we looked at Paul’s words:
“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
And we discovered that Paul wrote those words in a passage where he openly admitted that he had experienced hunger and need.
Now Philippians 4:13 tells us something about how Paul lived through those experiences.
Christ strengthened him.
God’s faithfulness did not mean Paul never experienced need.
Christ’s strength did not mean Paul escaped every difficult circumstance.
Instead, Christ sustained Paul through circumstances that sometimes included need.
That makes these two famous verses much richer when we keep them together.
Philippians 4:19 tells us about God’s provision.
Philippians 4:13 tells us about Christ’s strength.
And Philippians 4:11–12 teaches us about contentment.
Together, they present something very different from the message that Christianity guarantees constant success, abundance, or achievement.
They teach us how to remain rooted in Christ regardless of what circumstances bring.
What Happens When We Turn the Verse Into a Motivational Slogan?
There is nothing wrong with pursuing difficult things.
There is nothing wrong with setting goals.
There is nothing wrong with asking Christ for strength when facing a challenge.
And certainly nothing about the context of Philippians 4:13 suggests that Christ’s strength is irrelevant outside Paul’s immediate circumstances.
The problem comes when we turn the verse into something Scripture never promised.
“Because Christ strengthens me, I can accomplish anything I decide to do.”
But what if the thing I want is not God’s will?
What if the door I am trying to open is one God intends to keep closed?
What if my dream never happens?
What if I lose?
What if the business fails?
What if I do everything faithfully and the outcome still isn’t what I wanted?
Does Philippians 4:13 stop being true?
No.
Because the verse was never a guarantee of our preferred outcome.
In fact, Paul’s meaning becomes especially powerful when the outcome is not what we wanted.
Christ can strengthen us even there.
Maybe “I Can Do All Things” Includes Things We Never Wanted to Do
Perhaps this is where Philippians 4:13 becomes uncomfortable.
We like:
I can succeed.
I can accomplish.
I can overcome.
I can achieve.
But Paul’s “all things” included:
I can be hungry.
I can have little.
I can be brought low.
I can live through circumstances I would never have chosen.
Not because those things are pleasant.
Not because suffering itself is somehow virtuous.
Not because Christians should seek deprivation.
But because none of those circumstances can separate Paul from the strength Christ supplies.
Maybe “all things” includes walking through a season you desperately wanted God to end.
Maybe it includes losing something you thought you needed.
Maybe it includes having less than you once had.
Maybe it includes watching a plan fail.
Maybe it includes starting again.
Maybe it includes accepting that something you prayed for is not going to happen the way you imagined.
Maybe it includes having more than you ever expected and learning not to make an idol of it.
The verse becomes less like a victory slogan and more like a declaration of dependence:
Whatever condition I find myself in, Christ will be my strength within it.
Context Doesn’t Make the Verse Smaller
Again, this is where we need to be careful.
Learning what Philippians 4:13 means does not diminish it.
It does not take away its encouragement.
It does not make Christ less powerful.
It does exactly the opposite.
Because “Christ can help me achieve my goals” is encouraging when everything is moving forward.
But:
“Christ can sustain me whether I succeed or fail, whether I have abundance or lack, whether I am full or hungry, whether I am lifted up or brought low”
is a truth that can carry someone through an entire life.
That truth survives circumstances.
It survives disappointment.
It survives financial difficulty.
It survives loss.
It survives success.
It survives change.
It survives seasons when everything we thought God was going to do looks completely different from what actually happened.
That is a much stronger foundation.
Read the Sentence Before the Famous Sentence
This is becoming one of the simplest ways we can protect ourselves from misunderstanding Scripture.
Before we build an entire belief around one verse, read what comes before it.
Read what comes after it.
Ask who is speaking.
Ask who is being addressed.
Ask what situation is being discussed.
Ask what words such as “therefore,” “for,” “but,” and “all things” are referring to.
Because sometimes the Bible itself answers the question we have been debating if we simply keep reading.
Philippians 4:13 is a perfect example.
What are the “all things”?
Paul has already told us.
“I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound… both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”
Then:
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Paul’s meaning is sitting right there.
What If We Started Quoting It Differently?
Maybe the next time we quote Philippians 4:13, we should remember Paul’s entire thought.
When there is abundance:
Christ strengthens me.
When there is need:
Christ strengthens me.
When I am full:
Christ strengthens me.
When I am hungry:
Christ strengthens me.
When circumstances are favorable:
Christ strengthens me.
When circumstances are painful:
Christ strengthens me.
When I understand what God is doing:
Christ strengthens me.
When I don’t:
Christ strengthens me.
Now suddenly the verse becomes something much more than motivation.
It becomes testimony.
Paul is not declaring unlimited human potential with a little help from Jesus.
He is declaring complete dependence upon Christ in every condition of life.
And perhaps that is what we need more than a promise that we can accomplish anything.
Because there will eventually be something we cannot fix.
Something we cannot achieve.
Something we cannot control.
Something we cannot prevent.
Something we cannot change.
And when that day comes, Philippians 4:13 will still be true.
Not because Christ promised to give us every outcome we wanted.
But because Christ Himself remains our strength when the outcome is not what we wanted at all.
Much Love
~Gayla~
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