MOST MISINTERPRETED BIBLE VERSES #3

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

What happens when we treat the Bible as a random collection of freestanding verses? Well, for one thing, as Tyndale House Publishers editor Keith Williams told Christianity Today, “Philippians 4:13 is going to refer to an athletic performance rather than perseverance through need.” For some, “I can do all things” means scoring touchdowns and clearing the bases.

To a pastor I once sat under, it meant driving a car without any prior learning or instructions. He told us how he was asked whether he could drive. He replied, “I can do all things through Christ who gave me strength.” With that, he got on the wheel and drove the car.

Many students I have tutored over the years have told me that they can pass WAEC through Christ that gives them strength. Some have even gone a long way to tell me how God in fulfillment of Philippians 4:13 gave them answers to exam questions the day before or even right in the exam hall. I can tell you about a myriad of things that Christians profess to be able to do while invoking Philippians 4:13. They can get rich, get married, pass exams, succeed in business, raise children and get their women pregnant; all of that through Christ. 

The question is: what was Apostle Paul really discussing before he arrived to the verse under consideration?

CONTEXT

If we truly want to know what a Bible verse or passage means, we have to read it in context. We can’t strip away all the surrounding verses, remove it from its original intent, and still expect to understand it. 

Just before Paul says, “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength,” he recounts some of the different circumstances he’s found himself in: he’s been hungry and well-fed, he’s been in need and he’s been well off, and he’s learned to be content, no matter what his circumstances are.

Paul isn’t juxtaposing these circumstances to suggest that one is better than the other. He’s using these extremes to highlight that he understands the range of human experience, and that he understands the challenges that come with each position. He isn’t a rich person telling a poor person to be happy with what they have (or vise versa), and he’s not sitting there on a full stomach telling hungry people to get over it.

He’s saying that no matter what your circumstances are, you can learn to be content. How does he know? Because he’s tested it, and he’s proved it. How does he do it? That’s where verse 13 comes in.

If you read the NIV translation of verse 13, you’ll notice an important distinction from most other translations: “I can do all this through Him who gives me strength” (emphasis added).

When we read “this” instead of “things,” it’s a lot more clear that the passage is referring to specific things—all the things Paul has been talking about—not “all things” in the sense that we can do anything.

In context, "I can do all things" is the ministry that God has sent Paul to do. He can persevere, share the gospel, and be content in any situation. Not on his own, but through Christ who strengthens him.

WHAT PAUL DOESN’T MEAN

This verse is so misused because many Christians interpret “all things” as “anything,” not “all the things Paul has talked about.” It’s not a blanket endorsement that God will support anything we set out to do and empower us to do whatever impossible things we can imagine. It’s an assurance that we can do whatever God calls us to do, not whatever we decide to do.

This isn’t a biblical exhortation you can stamp on whatever goals you have professionally, personally, or physically. It’s an encouragement that God can give you the strength to be content, no matter what.

Paul was sharing that he’d learned to be content no matter what his circumstances — rich or poor, hungry or well fed, in prison or out. What Paul was saying is not so much “I can achieve anything,” but “I can endure anything” — which, in his case, included prison.

CONCLUSION

It is ironical that people would take a verse that meant something else and use it for the exact opposite.  A verse that teaches contentment is used to teach unbridled greed, arrogance, pride and unrestrained ambition. This is a classical example of Bible misinterpretation. Well it is not the first. 

Remember, a text taken out of context is a pretext.  And a person who misinterprets the scriptures is no different than the person who disbelieves it. In both cases, they have the same end conclusion. They both misuse and abuse the glorious word of God.