Philippians 4:13 Explained: I Can Do All Things Through Christ, in Context

Philippians 4:13 with the verses around it

Philippians 4:13 is the last line of a short paragraph about money and contentment. Here it is in the World English Bible:

• Philippians 4:10. “But I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your thought for me; in which you did indeed take thought, but you lacked opportunity.”
• Philippians 4:11. “Not that I speak because of lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it.”
• Philippians 4:12. “I know how to be humbled, and I also know how to abound. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in need.”
• Philippians 4:13. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Read that way, the all things in verse 13 are the things in verse 12: being humbled and having plenty, being full and being hungry.

Paul wrote it from prison

Paul wrote Philippians in chains, probably in Rome around AD 61, though some think it was Ephesus or Caesarea. He mentions his imprisonment several times, and says the whole palace guard knew why he was there: “so that it became evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my bonds are in Christ” (Philippians 1:13).

He didn’t know whether he would live or die: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21). By then he had been beaten, stoned, shipwrecked three times and gone hungry (2 Corinthians 11:24–27). When Paul says he has learned to be content, he isn’t talking about a bad week.

A thank-you note

Philippi was the first church Paul started in Europe, and it supported him more faithfully than any other. When he was in Thessalonica, they sent help “once and again” (Philippians 4:16), and now they had sent a gift to prison with a man named Epaphroditus (Philippians 4:18).

Paul thanks them, but carefully. He doesn’t want them to think he was desperate. Verse 13 is his way of saying: I’m grateful for your gift, but even without it, Christ would have carried me.

What does “all things” mean?

It’s easy to read “I can do all things” as I can achieve anything. But the verse sits in a passage about enduring, not achieving. Paul is saying that whatever happens to him, he can face it, because Christ gives him strength. His all things include going hungry.

That makes the verse bigger, not smaller. A promise that you’ll win is only good on the days you win. A promise that Christ will give you strength to be content, faithful and at peace, whatever happens, is good every day.

The secret of being content

Paul says he has “learned the secret” (Philippians 4:12). The Greek word was used for being initiated into something, as if contentment were a mystery he had been let into. And notice that it was learned. Paul wasn’t born content. He practiced it, through years of plenty and need.

The same chapter shows how: rejoicing in God in every circumstance, praying instead of worrying, and thinking about what is true and good (Philippians 4:4–9). Paul told Timothy the same thing: “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:6).

Is Philippians 4:13 about sports?

It’s one of the most popular verses in sports, written on eye black, wristbands, sneakers and locker room walls. Using it that way isn’t wrong, as long as it means: whether I win or lose, Christ gives me strength to play well and handle the result. Paul would recognize that. He used athletes as pictures of faith himself (1 Corinthians 9:24–27).

What it doesn’t mean is that God guarantees a win. Both teams can have Philippians 4:13 on their wristbands. The verse is true for the losing team too.

Through Christ, or through him?

Some Bibles, like the King James and the World English Bible, say through Christ. Others, like the NIV and ESV, say through him. The difference comes from the Greek manuscripts. The oldest copies of Philippians read through him who strengthens me, and later copies added the word Christ to make clear who Paul meant.

Either way, the meaning is the same: Paul’s strength came from Christ. The NIV also says I can do all this, instead of all things, which points back to verse 12.

A prayer from Philippians 4:13

Lord, I don’t know what today will bring, plenty or need, good news or bad. Teach me the secret Paul learned, to be content in whatever comes. When I’m strong, keep me humble. When I’m weak, be my strength. Help me trust that you will give me what I need for this day. Amen.

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