Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Sadly some who read this verse only get to hear the part that declares “I can do all things.” It is not true, but some believe it as if it were gospel. Here is what I understand in that statement.

Go ahead and sin all you want. If you are declaring that you can do all things, then isn’t sinning a part of all things? Let me go a little further with that thought. If you can sin all you want, you have a bigger problem than your sin. If you can sin all you want then the Holy Spirit has not been given unto you and you are dead in your sins. One of the prime properties of the Holy Spirit is holiness. His presence drives you to want to be holy. He will convict you of sin. His responsibility is the chastening.

Please note the word which in the verse. It is used rather than who. The Greek word is ho and is a demonstrative pronoun. This is used to indicate that the demonstration, the actual act of obedience of faith in Christ is what strengthens me. I can do all things through Christ is a faith based response to what Christ is doing in you. It is that exercise of faith which strengthen your faith.

A proper understanding of the Word helps unite the verse to accomplish all that is intended. That will keep us from parsing statements and quoting only the part that does not stand alone in context. We often hear others quote scriptures out of context and the only protection we have in not being drawn into error is a sound familiarity with the Word in meaning and context.