Most Misued Bible Verse - Philippians 4:10-13

When it comes to misued Bible verses, there are certainly no shortage of them to go around. Which is the most misused might depend on which group of people you are working with.

If you’re working with unbelievers, they love Matt 7:1 “Judge not lest you be judged”

Never mind the context that speaks about judging hypocritically, and never mind that Jesus said elsewhere “Judge with a righteousness judgement”

If you’re around professing believers who hold to a distorted view of church leaders, you might hear “touch not the Lord’s anointed”

If you’re around believers who have not spent time deeply studying God’s word and like short platitudes to fuel their life you might hear verses like the passage under consideration today

Philippians 4:13 ESV

13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

This is often the favorite verse of athletes who claim it as a promise that they are going to win the championship, they’re gonna set that record, they’re gonna beat their opponent, because yeah I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

But what if both competitors are claiming that same verse?

Today we are going to consider this verse, but are going to keep it in its context to understand its true meaning!

Spoiler: it’s about Christ providing the necessary strength for us to be content in all circumstances.

Phil 4:10-13 is where we will be today.

Let’s read that text now.

Philippians 4:10–13 ESV

10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

I want us to notice two key things about this text.

The Philippians Concern

Paul’s Contentment

The Philippians Concern

Philippians 4:10 ESV

10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.

We’ve discussed at some length back in chapter two, how Paul had received a gift from the Philippians by the hands of Epaphroditus. The church had heard he was in need and sent Epaphroditus to carry their financial gift as an expression of their love and support for the ministry that was being carried out.

As Paul begins to move into a personal section of the letter, he considers how the Philippians have shown love and concern for him and it a cause of rejoicing!

It says they revived their concern for him.

This means that they had helped him in the past, but for one reason or another they were unable to continue doing it as they once did, but now they have returned to their former state of providing that help.

It say they lacked opportunity. We don’t know what caused this lack of opportunity. We don’t know if it was a lack of resources on the Philippians part, an inability to get their gift to Paul, Paul was known to refuse a gift from time to time if he thought the gift was being given out of obligation to pay him for the Gospel, or perhaps Paul simply didn’t have a need at the time until he was in prison. At the end of the day, we don’t know why Paul says they lacked opportunity, but we do know that the lack of opportunity did not stop the Philippians church from loving and desiring to care for Paul, and that’s something we can learn from.

I get the sense that they desired to help and looked for opportunity, even if it didn’t present itself.

Next week we are going to take a closer look at the heart of the Philippians but you can know for now that such is the context.

Paul’s Contentment

Philippians 4:11–12 ESV

11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

As we look at these verses, there are several lessons about contentment that we learn.

Contentment Looks Beyond Immediate Circumstances

Paul wants to be clear. He isn’t talking to the Philippian church as though he was in desperate need of something. From a human perspective perhaps you could say that he did need something. But for Paul, he isn’t trying to burden the church with obligation. He rejoices at their participation, but not because he is in need, but because of what the gift represents. Later in verses 14-15 Paul will refer to the church as those who share in his trouble and enter into Gospel partnership with him. That’s why Paul rejoices! His focus is on the ministry fruit, not the financial resources.

Contentment is Learned

Contentment isn’t something that you either got it or you don’t. It is learned behavior. Paul says “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content”

Then in verse 12 he says “I have learned the Secret of facing plenty and hunger”

You all know that I am a bi-vocational pastor. A number of years ago I was serving as a bi-vocational associate pastor at another church, and I was really struggling with the rigors of having what felt to me like divided attention. On the one hand, I was trying to help the church graduate from church plant status to established church status, on the other I was working full time or nearly full time for another electrical company.

God had to teach me contentment through those circumstances. And it was hard.

I think part of learning how to be content is learning what contentment is not.

If you hear “You need to learn to be content” and take that to mean “stop trying to change your circumstances” we are not learning contentment, but complacency.

Contentment Doesn’t Mean Complacency.

I have no doubt in my mind that Paul would have rather been free to preach the Gospel wherever he will instead of sitting in Prison. In the book of acts, Paul often acted to change his circumstances, even appealing to Caesar about his imprisonment. Does that mean he was a malcontent? I don’t believe so.

What we need to realize is that we can simultaneously be content with where God has us, and work to change our circumstances.

How is that possible?

Here’s what I think the answer to this is:

Where does your contentment lie? Does it rest on your circumstances, or in Christ? If things are going well, its easy to say “I’m very contented” but what if God takes those things away? If you respond with devastation then your contentment was grounded in your circumstances rather than the Lord. IF you can honestly say “the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away” that reveals your contentment in Him.

This doesn’t mean we are stoic or don’t have any emotions about genuine loss, but it does mean our whole world is not wrapped up in the immediate circumstances.

On the flip side, if my contentment is in Christ, then I am free to work to change my circumstances knowing that even if my situation doesn’t change, even if God doesn’t open those doors for me, I’ll be okay. Because though I would prefer something else, If this is what God has for me, then I’m going to be okay with that.

Discontentment means that if the changes I want to see don’t come to fruition, I’m going to angry, frustrated, discouraged, or annoyed. This reveals that my contentment isn’t in Christ, its in my circumstances.

Contentment is Grounded in Trust

When Paul says he’s learned the secret, I believe this is connected back to Paul’s instructions about anxiety. Contentment and anxiety can be closely linked together. f we are anxious, there is a good chance that we are not being content. If we are worried about the future about what might come, that reveals a lack of trust, and a lack of contentment.

But If he is praying to God and trusting His good providence, and if he is choosing to dwell on that which is good noble just pure lovely good report, then it would seem that such a mindest would naturally flow into a mindset of contentment.

Discontentment really isn’t about your circumstances; its dissatisfaction with God and His work

Discontentment really isn’t merely discontentment with our circumstances. It’s discontentment with God and what He has ordained for your life. It’s dissatisfaction with that which God has ordained for your good and His glory.

It hits a little differently when we think it about that way. But if our minds stayed on that which Paul has called us to, if we are training our minds like we discussed last week, that is going to go a long way to aiding our contentment.

That brings us to verse 13.

After saying that he knows how to be brought low and how to abound. —and being brought low means to be humbled in the sense of lacking material possessions — He knows how to face plenty and hunger, abundance and need....

Verse 13:

Philippians 4:13 ESV

13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

I can be content when I have churches like the Philippians church supporting me

I can be content when the Gospel is widely embraced and lives are changed.

I can be content when I hear good reports about churches who are bearing fruit in the Gospel and carry forward the message even after I”m gone.

I can be content when I’m in jail without any means to support myself

I can be content when the Gospel is rejected

I can be content when I don’t know where the next meal will come.

I can be content when Jews mock me and gentiles revile me.

I can do all things through Him to gives me strength.

This is divine contentment that is grounded in trust.

He can’t do it on his own, he needs the strength of Christ. But with the strength of Christ, he can be content in any and all circumstances.

This verse isn’t about how Christ is going to help you get your promotion, win the competition, pass your test, or accomplish whatever goals you might have.

It’s about Christ giving you the strength to be content in HIM when all those things fail. When You’re passed over for the promotion, when you lose the competition....you can be content because Christ will supply the strength you need.

Just as a peek into our lives, for us right now, we are working towards a goal of purchasing a home this year. As we’ve begun working on this, we are discovering that our unique situation may not lend itself to that and we may not be able to get financing because of the unique nature of our income.

We may need to be content with living in our apartment for at least another year. And you know what? That’s hard, because we really want to be in our own home. But you know what else? I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. I can be content with our apartment if my contentment rests in Christ and not in my circumstances.

For you, you may be facing other things right now that you wish were different. That’s okay. Work to change those circumstances. We certainly are doing all we reasonable can to secure financing for our house. We can work to change our circumstances....IF we know that whatever God has planned is okay. Are we willing to accept the outcome from His hand.

So pursue your goals and godly desires! All the while resting in Christ and knowing that whatever comes you can be content, even if that is a struggle, because you can do all things, even being content when God says “no”, you can do so through Christ who gives you strength.

Let’s pray.