Bible verse

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:13 · BSB

What this verse is actually about

Read the four verses before it and the meaning changes. Paul is not describing achievement — he is describing contentment: "I have learned the secret of being filled and being hungry, of having abundance and suffering need." The "all things" is every circumstance, not every ambition.

He wrote it from prison. That is the setting for the most quoted verse about strength in the Bible — a man with no control over his situation saying he has found something that holds in both directions.

Read as endurance rather than as a guarantee of success, it is a far sturdier promise, and it is useful on exactly the days the poster version is not.

Philippians 4:13 in context

The verses around it, from Philippians 4.

9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

10 Now I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.

11 I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.

12 I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. I am accustomed to any and every situation—to being filled and being hungry, to having plenty and having need.

13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

14 Nevertheless, you have done well to share in my affliction.

15 And as you Philippians know, in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church but you partnered with me in the matter of giving and receiving.

16 For even while I was in Thessalonica, you provided for my needs again and again.

17 Not that I am seeking a gift, but I am looking for the fruit that may be credited to your account.

Read all of Philippians 4

Philippians 4:13 in other translations

KJV

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

ASV

I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me.

ERV

I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me.

Where this verse shows up on Great Faith

We gather Scripture by what people are actually walking through. Philippians 4:13 is on this page.

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Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible, which is free of copyright restrictions for use on websites. Read the full Bible on Great Faith.