I can’t think of any verse in the Bible off the top of my head that’s more misinterpreted than Philippians 4:13.
We often take it as a blank cheque or a pick-me-up to do anything we want to do.
Hate to burst your bubble though, it’s not.
If you don’t believe me, go try jumping off a tall building and let’s see how well standing on Philippians 4:13 works out for you.
You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you after all, right? WRONG!
Similarly, there are those who take it as God sanctioning their hunger or drive for whatever they want to do especially if it has to do with getting ahead in life.
Sadly, this verse tends to fuel the ‘hunger system’ or what the Bible calls covetousness in many believers today.
This is basically the insatiable selfish pursuit of more and the perpetual need for change.
So through,"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” we psych ourselves up on a perpetual wild goose chase for destination contentment, again, totally missing Paul's point.
Now this is the danger of lifting verses off the Bible in isolation.
You risk taking them out of context and when you take ‘text’ out of ‘context’ you are left with a ‘con’.
It cons you out of the truth God is trying to pass across and leads you down the path of doctrinal error.
So to truly understand what Paul is saying in Philippians 4:13, you need to take it from verse 10.
In Philippians 4:10-14 Paul says:
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 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. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 14 Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. (NKJV)
In verse 10, Paul basically thanks the church at Philippi for giving to him and caring for him.
He also explains that he understands it was due to a lack of opportunity that it took so long for them to give.
You see in those days, they lacked the luxury of services like Mpesa or Bank transfer or Western Union or PayPal or GoFundMe or Cash App to transfer money to Paul in a quick and efficient way.
So they had to wait and take advantage of when someone they knew and trusted was travelling to the town where Paul was staying so they could send their gift with them.
Getting such an opportunity often took some time.
In verse 11, Paul says that although he was happy that their support had finally gotten to him, his rejoicing was not because he really needed it (even though he did) or from the perspective of wanting anything from anyone.
He had gotten to a place where whether he had a lot or nothing at all, he could be content.
Christ had revealed to him the mystery of contentment.
Getting to a place where God alone is enough.
A place where nothing that can be added to you can add anything to you nor can anything that is taken from you diminish you.
Paul had found the secret of a stable life that could not be adversely affected by having little or having much.
Whether he was going through a tough time financially or had all the money in the world, it had no influence on the motives of his heart, conduct, or speech.
In verse 13, we can now understand the true context of what Paul is getting at.
'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' has nothing to do with the ability to do ANYTHING you want because you are in Christ or God empowering you to pursue your own selfish ambitions.
The ‘all things’ Paul is referring to here is ‘to have and to lack..to abound and to suffer need’ from the previous verse (verse 12).
"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. I can do all things (be full and be hungry...abound and suffer need) through Christ who strengthens me."
Do you see that?
In other words, Paul is basically saying, “I can live with alot and I can also live with a little through Christ who strengthens Me.”
Paul applauds the message of Christ, for enabling him to be free from the 'hunger system', where acceptance and success is defined by what one has (affluence) or who one is (influence).
I love how the message translation puts it:
“Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me; you just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything, personally. I’ve learned, by now, to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, and with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy, whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. WHATEVER I HAVE, WHEREVER I AM, I CAN MAKE IT THROUGH ANYTHING IN THE ONE WHO MAKES ME WHO I AM. I don’t mean that your help didn’t mean a lot to me—it did! It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.” (MSG, Phil. 4:10-14 emphasis mine)
Paul had found the recipe for being happy.
He fully understood the Gospel and how Christ enables us to have joy, whether we have alot or we don’t have anything.
Paul was not saying that Jesus came in and supernaturally rescued him from his lack; but in the midst of his lack, Jesus gave him the ability to have a high quality life so that neither prosperity nor poverty could define him or determine his thoughts, emotions, words and actions.
He found the inner strength of contentment in who he was in Christ, period!
The word content actually means ‘to have no need of external proof’.
It wasn’t that Paul had no needs, he did, but at the same time, he did not need those external needs to be met in order to have joy or peace of mind and heart.
Contentment is a life in which the belief that I am what I do or what I have is completely eradicated from one’s heart.
Now that said, contentment does not mean we accept poverty or we cannot expect God to prosper us.
This is the opposite extreme of contentment, which is ungodly as well.
Paul makes it clear that being happy in the midst of your poverty does not mean you cannot ask and expect God to prosper you (It just means you should not wait for prosperity to come to be content).
Infact, thinking the acceptance of poverty is contentment is the furthest thing from the truth!
Contentment was not Paul’s acceptance of poverty nor was it his embrace of prosperity.
It is to be in a place on account of God's indwelling where you see no need to add anything to your life to feel complete or to be truly happy.
This is not something that just comes naturally; it is something that happens as you grow in revelation of the gospel…as you come to understand how perfectly complete you are in Jesus.
There are many believers who believe If they attain a certain level of education, get a certain kind of job, make a certain amount of money, attain a certain level of wealth, attain a certain level of success, get married or marry a certain kind of person, have a certain kind of family, live in a certain kind of house, look a certain kind of way, have a certain kind of body, grow their ministry or church to a certain level, get certain spiritual gifts, then they will be content.
But this is a lie from the pits of hell.
You're basically spitting in the wind because contentment is not a destination you get to one day, but the fruit of a mind at rest because of what the heart believes, seeking no proof of what is already established as truth in the word of God!
The truth is, if as a beliver you cannot be content right where you are...in full possession of Christ who is all and in all, you will never be content!
Contentment is a place where the resurrected Jesus, what He has done, and who we are in Him is the final word and only confirmation we need to have joy.
It is a fruit of knowing and believing in His finished work and what it means for you!
Contentment is not something we strive for but the outcome of believing right concerning who we are in Christ.
It comes from within not without!
From the Blesser not the blessing!
From Who you know not what you own!
As you continue to grow in revelation of who you are in Christ, you will find that contentment comes effortlessly to you from your heart.
I heard a true story of this Christian woman who discovered a large diamond worth alot of money. So large was the diamond that it meant the end of all debt for the woman and her family. In fact, the end of all financial difficulties forever. Of course, this would be a dream come true for anyone. Now before she could cash in the diamond, though, a beggar came to her door, asking for food. She did not feel she wanted to give him food but the diamond; so she went with her heart and handed the large diamond to the beggar. In great amazement, the beggar quickly ran from her house, clutching and hiding the diamond tightly in his hands. Many years later, the lady heard a knock at the door, and upon opening the door she saw that it was the same beggar she had given the big diamond to many years ago. To her amazement, the beggar did not want food or money but reached into his pocket and handed her something. It was the diamond! “Ma’am, I don’t want this diamond. I want what it was that made you give me the diamond.”
That ladies and gentlemen is godly contentment and it can only be found in Jesus!
This revelation changed my life and i go back to it every time I feel I'm veering off the road and joining the 'wind chasers' bandwagon.
In Luke 12:15 Jesus says, "Beware! Guard yourself against every kind of covetousness. Life is not measured by how much you own."
God bless you.
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