In verse 13 we find a basic principle related to the apostle’s secret of sufficiency in Christ: “I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me.” In this verse we find the secret to which Paul refers in verse 12: “The secret both to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to lack.” Christ was his secret of sufficiency.
To be empowered by Christ is to be made dynamic inwardly. Christ dwells in us (Col. 1:27). He empowers us, makes us dynamic from within, not from without. By such inward empowering, Paul could do all things in Christ.
Paul was a person in Christ (2 Cor. 12:2), and he desired to be found in Christ by others. Now he declared that he could do all things in Him, in the Christ who empowered him. This is an all-inclusive and concluding word concerning his experience of Christ. It is the converse of the Lord’s word concerning our organic relationship with Him in John 15:5: “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” As long as we have Christ and are in Him, we can do all things in Him.
The “all things” in Philippians 4:13 refer to the things mentioned in verse 12 and to the virtues listed in verse 8. This means that the application of verse 13 is limited by the context of verses 8 through 12. On the one hand, by the empowering of Christ, we can live a contented life (vv. 11-12). For us to be able to do all things in Christ who empowers us is to be satisfied in any circumstance through Christ who empowers us as the secret of our daily Christian life. On the other hand, by the empowering of Christ, we can be true, dignified, righteous, pure, lovely, and well spoken of. This means that we are persons in Christ, who empowers us to live out every kind of virtue. This is to live Christ, to magnify Christ in His virtues.
We need to realize that Paul’s word about Christ as the empowering One specifically applies to Christ’s empowering us to live Him as our human virtues and thereby to magnify Him in His unlimited greatness. The six virtues mentioned in verse 8 are actually the image of God. God created man in His image, that is, in His attributes of love, light, holiness, and righteousness. The fact that man was made in the image of God means that he was made in the form of love, light, holiness, and righteousness. The six items—what things are true, dignified, righteous, pure, lovely, and well spoken of—are in these four divine attributes of love, light, holiness, and righteousness. These are the real virtues, for they are the expression of Christ. Christ empowers the believers to live Him and magnify Him in all these virtues. In Christ who empowers us, we can practice these things, expressing these highest human virtues; in Christ who empowers us, we can be true, dignified, righteous, pure, lovely, and well spoken of.
To live a life of all these virtues is much more difficult than doing a Christian work. Many can preach the gospel, teach the Bible, and even establish churches, but they are not able to live this kind of life, a life full of the virtues of being true, dignified, righteous, pure, lovely, and well spoken of. In order to live Christ as our human virtues for the expression of the divine attributes, we need to be empowered by the indwelling Christ.
If we would experience Christ as the empowering One enabling us to do all things in Him, we need to let Him live in us (Gal. 2:20), be formed in us (4:19), make His home in us (Eph. 3:17), and be magnified in us (Phil. 1:20). If we fail to do these things, He will not have the way to empower us, but when Christ lives in us, is formed in us, makes His home in us, and is magnified in us, the way is prepared for Him to empower us. Then, empowered by the indwelling Christ, we will be able to do all the things spoken of in Philippians 4:8 through 12.
In verse 19 Paul says that his God will abundantly repay the believers. In his experience Paul had the conviction and assurance that God was his God. He could say, “My God will fill your every need.” God was Paul’s God because Paul was one with Him. Thus, Paul regarded the material gift sent to him from the Philippian believers as a sacrifice to God (v. 18). Furthermore, he believed with assurance that God would richly repay them. Here we see that whenever we receive a gift, we need to have the assurance that this gift is presented not only to us but also to God. Then we need to have the conviction that God will repay the one who gives this gift. In His repayment, God will fill every need of the giver, fully supplying that one and satisfying him.
Paul told the Philippians that God would fill every need of theirs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Because the Philippians cared for God’s sent one, God would care for their every need. Philippians 4:19 indicates that the Lord’s repayment is “in Christ Jesus.” In Christ Jesus modifies the word fill. Christ, the all-inclusive One, is the base, the element, the sphere, and the channel in and by which God cares for His people according to His riches and in glory. As the all-inclusive One, Christ is the element, realm, channel, and atmosphere of God’s repayment. This indicates that even the believers’ giving and receiving of material things are intimately related to the experience of Christ as the One who empowers them.
In summary, we need to experience and enjoy Christ as the One who empowers us so that we will stand firm in Him, rejoice in Him always, let the peace of God guard our hearts, be content all the time, do all things that express the highest human virtues, and have God fill our every need in Christ. When we enjoy Christ to this extent, although there may be many problems in our circumstances, in Christ and with God they will be solved.