Philippians 4:13 Reclaiming an old forgotten promise

 A long time ago, but still within my lifetime, there was one verse, a promise, that Christians would say all the time, and they meant it.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:13

And then they stopped. 

A few may still say it, but I think the older Christians smile knowingly and attribute it to youthful exuberance.

Maybe the fact that the word ‘Christ’ doesn’t appear in the earlier manuscripts had something to do with that.  All these modern Bible versions don’t have it anymore.   I quoted from the King James Bible, which was common when I was growing up, but now they’re hard to find.  Without the word ‘Christ,’ the verse doesn’t have the same ring to it.

I think, though, it probably had more to do with Bible teachers and pastors who limited the meaning to the previous verses, where Paul learned how to do this and learned how to do that, and so Paul was merely saying that, yep, God taught me how to do all these things.

But I think they are mistaken.  I see it as Paul saying, heck, I can that and anything else through the power that I have from God, or, through the One who strengthens me.  Or, through Christ who strengthens me.

It reminds me of another thing that happened a long time ago, but again still within my lifetime: the charismatic movement.  I would call that a revival, but people who know better simply regard it as emotional enthusiasm.  It was spreading across denominational lines, and not just Protestant ones.

But then the Bible teachers and pastors started telling everybody that it was a wrong interpretation, and everybody said, oh, okay.  And that quieted that down real quick.

And all this reminds me of something else that happened.  Way before my lifetime.

Joshua led the people of God into the Promised Land and achieved great victories in conquering the land.  But then Joshua died, and those of his generation, and those of the next generation didn’t follow in the footsteps of Joshua and the elders.  First they didn’t drive out their enemies, and then they couldn’t.

I’m suggesting that people started seeing that verse differently, because they weren’t seeing earth-shaking works of God, or even smaller things, and a wave of general disappointment and lower expectations spread over the people of God. 

So how do we get that back?  Not only these higher expectations of God but God actually doing greater things?

Like when David killed Goliath, basically it was one person starting something.  After David killed Goliath, other people saw that it could be done, and they did it too.  People need to see it happening somewhere else first to believe it can happen here.  And should happen.here.  It takes people who want more from God than just what they are seeing and who won’t settle for anything less. 

Frankly, I have no easy, quick answers. 

This has happened a number of times before in the Bible, and then it rarely lasted more than a generation.    

Every generation has to ask and answer the question for themselves.

I say it has to be true, otherwise much of the Bible doesn’t apply to us, and we don’t know ahead of time which parts do.

What do you say?