Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13 (NIV)
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Philippians 4:13 (KJV)
For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13 (NLT)
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13 (ESV)
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13 (NASB)Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose]; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me.
Philippians 4:13 (AMP)Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].
Philippians 4:13 (AMPC)Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org
Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.
Philippians 4:13 (MSG)Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
New Covenant Meaning
Paul Wrote This From Prison, Not a Stadium
Philippians 4:13 is one of the most quoted verses in sports, business, and motivational culture. But Paul did not write it before a competition or a challenge he was trying to win. He wrote it from Roman imprisonment, in the middle of a passage about learning contentment in every circumstance (vv. 11-12). "All things" does not mean "every goal I want to achieve." It means in every situation Paul finds himself, whether abundance or need, imprisonment or freedom, Christ provides the inner strength to be sufficient. The promise is sufficiency, not conquest.
"Strengthens" Is Continuous, Not a One-Time Infusion
The Greek word endunamounti is a present active participle, meaning the one who is continuously strengthening me. This is not a past event Paul is drawing on. It is an ongoing supply. Christ is actively, presently infusing strength into Paul. This changes the posture from "I received strength once" to "I am being strengthened right now." Whatever you are facing today, the supply is active, not stored from a previous moment.
This verse is commonly placed on jerseys, locker rooms, and motivational posters. But the verse before it reads: "I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content" (v. 11). And the verse before that: "I know how to be abased and I know how to abound." Paul is not promising victory in competition. He is describing the secret of being unshakeable in any condition. The strength Christ gives is not the strength to win everything. It is the strength to be whole in everything.
Application for Your Life
This Is About Contentment in Hard Seasons, Not Just Accomplishment
If you are in a hard season right now, Philippians 4:13 is for you more than it is for someone chasing a goal. Paul wrote it as a man who had been beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned, and abandoned. His testimony is not "Christ helped me win." It is "Christ made me sufficient in every condition." You can be in lack and still be whole. You can be in a valley and still be stable. That is the promise.
You Are Not Drawing on Stored Strength. You Are Being Supplied Right Now.
The present participle endunamounti means the strengthening is happening continuously. You do not need to summon strength from a previous spiritual experience. You do not need to remember when God came through before and draw on that memory. The supply is live. Ask for the strength you need today. It is being offered today. Christ is not working with a limited reserve. He is actively pouring into you right now.
Prayer Based on This Verse
Father, I receive what Philippians 4:13 says. Not as a slogan but as a covenant reality. In whatever I am facing right now, Christ is continuously strengthening me. I am not running on empty and hoping for a refill. The supply is active. I receive the strength being offered right now. Not the strength to win everything but the strength to be whole in everything. To be content when it is hard. To be stable when it is uncertain. To be sufficient in Christ's sufficiency. That is enough. That is more than enough. In Jesus' name. Amen.