I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

by  Mr. Titus Menezes

There goes a story of three trees who wanted to be something in life. The first tree wanted to be a pretty cradle when it grew up. One day some people came to the forest and cut the tree down. The tree was hewn into rough pieces and carelessly put together to form a manger in a stable in Bethlehem. The little tree was disappointed because it was shoved into a dark cave with no one to see it but some cattle. One day however, God laid there His own Babe -- the Son of God. The manger quivered with delight. "Oh, this is wonderful! In all my dreams I never thought to hold a Baby like this. This is better than all my planning. Why, I am part of a miracle!"

Years passed by, and men came to the forest to cut down the second tree. This tree aspired to be a great ship when it grew up. But the little tree did not do great things. It was not made into a great vessel, but instead it became a tiny fishing boat, owned by a simple Galilean fisherman named Peter. The little boat was most unhappy. One day it stood by the shores of the Sea of Galilee dejected and disappointed. A crowd had gathered by the shore and because of the multitude, a Man, called Jesus, stepped into the little boat and taught the people from it. "This is wonderful!" it whispered. "In all my dreams and planning I never thought I would be used as part of a miracle."

After some months, men came to the forest to cut down the third tree. This tree just wanted to remain on the hillside and point to God. But men did not leave the little tree alone. They tore away its branches; they cut into its bark, and deeper, into its very heart. They hewed it apart and put it together again, in the form of a crude cross. The little tree quivered through all its being. "This is terrible!" it whispered. "They are going to hang someone. Oh, I never wanted this to happen to me -- I only wanted to point to God! This is awful!" One day, outside of Jerusalem, a great crowd gathered. In the midst of the crowd was Jesus and beside Him was the cross. After nailing Him to the cross, the little tree heard words of forgiveness and peace that were offered to the whole world. Then Christ completed His work of redemption and "gave up the ghost."

And the cross began to understand! "This is wonderful!" it whispered. "In all my dreams I never thought to point to God in this way. I am part of a miracle. This is better than all my planning."

You would have broadly understood what is being expressed through the story of three trees.

Friends, I am going to speak to you on a very popular scripture verse from the NT – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me – Phil 3:14. This has been a quote that has been used less, misused more, stretched out of context and those who have, have found themselves at the wrong end.

It is one thing to say I can do all things but it is totally different to say I can do all things through Christ. ‘Through Christ’ changes the entire meaning of the statement. I can do all things stinks of self and selfishness – for my ends, my gain while I can do all things through Christ speaks for selflessness and total dependence on God.

I know of a person who a couple of years back told me – you know, I feel I can do so much more, my capacities are under utilized. It’s only a fraction. God was calling him for a certain action but he chose to build his own kingdom. Two years down the line, he gets sleep only for three hours and is dependent on sleeping pills. Today in his speech there is frustration, he has to manage his own creation himself. Today the world measures success by net worth – how many billions worth are you? The newspaper on Monday 28th April tells that India will have more billionaires by 2017. How many have made it the Forbes list, their ranking. Many of us are caught up into this. Many of us are in the same boat, we have worked out a plan, grand plans for our lives, our careers and we think we have got it all right till one fine day it crumbles and is shattered into pieces. We enter into frustration, anxiety, stress, depression, loneliness, drugs and you can add to that list. Who is responsible for this mess? Friends lets face facts – we can blame the entire world, our families, our employers and whoever we like to… but in the end each of us has to carry our own cross.

Let us then study what this quote has for us.
I can Physical
Do all things Physical
Through Christ Spiritual
Who strengthens me Spiritual
If Christ and his strength are spiritual how then can we cross over or apply it to the physical?

John 15:5-6 - I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

What do we pick up from these verses –
those who abide in me those who dwell, live, depend in Christ, cooperate in His will
will bear much fruit success will be theirs
those who do not abide can do nothing.
Are thrown away secluded, lonely, cast away
they wither depressed, stressed

Apart from Christ, I can do nothing, I can only fail. Remember the hymn “without Him, I can do nothing… without Him, I’d surely fail….”

Next part, through Christ – Let me give an example. All of us here receive water in our homes or close to our homes. We receive this water through pipes. Pipe is the means through which the water flows to our taps from a larger storage. What flows through the pipe only will be the output.

I am reminded of a management cartoon on teamwork. Two teams are involved in building a railway track and start at the opposite end and when they have to bridge the tracks they find they meet only on one railing the other railing is on the opposite side. The track is useless. So is the case here. God has a plan for us and is proceeding in a certain way. We devise our own plans which, is in contradiction to God’s plans and in the end no purpose is achieved. The quote does not end here it says all things through Christ who strengthens me. Jn 15: 5 - Those who abide in me and I in them. There is a mutual dependency in bearing fruit and the branch reflects/ gives what the vine provides. This is where there is total and perfect harmony – both proceeding in the same direction. This is where the branch does the will of the vine.

If we have understood the text properly, we can now say – I can do all Christ things through Christ. And to the last part of the verse – who strengthens me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Paul is not talking of physical strength building up our muscles, pumping iron and gym. He is referring to spiritual strength, building up of our spiritual muscles.

Ephesians 3:16-19
V16 - I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit,
V17 - and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.
V18 - I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
V19 - and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.(NRSV)

Each of these verses is a talk by itself but we will keep it within the purview of our topic. Paul is referring to strengthening of the inner being with power through the Holy Spirit. A new dimension is being introduced – inner being. If there is an inner being or an inner man there must be an outward man. What is this outward man? It is our physical, earthly lives.

2 Corinthians 4:16 - So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. We have to understand that there are two lives in us:
- physical lives wasting away
- spiritual lives being renewed day by day

The world is so focused on regeneration of the outward self that we have forgotten of this inner being. Nothing is being done to regenerate or renew this inner being. This inner being is to be strengthened, to be powered by the Holy Spirit. Spiritual strengthening has to do with faith in Christ.

If I were to ask where your heart is, in most cases I will be shown the chest. Yes that's the physical heart but we are discussing the inner being and so it is the spiritual heart, the very core of our being from where our intellect, emotions and will flow.
- Intellect is what I think
- Emotions is what I feel
- Will is what I will do/ chose to do

So for Christ to dwell in our hearts means that our whole inner being i.e. our thoughts, our feelings, our motives and intentions is the place where Christ would like to live and operate from. From there He would like to control, influence, direct, energize and empower us. This spiritual heart of ours is to be rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, in other words, strengthened in the love of Christ. This inner being before being strengthened, before being made a dwelling place for the Lord needs to be cleaned, tidied, needs to be healed and that is what we do in Inner healing. We are to be strengthened daily so that we may have the fullness of God v19.

How can Christ dwell in my heart or how do I receive this strengthening? Through faith. Faith is the means by which Christ and His Spirit dwells in our hearts. It is the means by which we are strengthened. There is no magic that Christ’s dwelling or power will simply enter. It can be received only through faith. A quick brief on faith: What is faith? When we talk faith everybody thinks of mustard seed. Faith comprises of three things: knowledge, belief and trust.
Rom 10:17 says – ‘So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.’ In other words, faith comes from hearing the Word of God i.e. you gain knowledge of Christ, How can you believe if you do not know. To believe you ought to know, have knowledge then only can you believe. Having believed you can now begin to trust/ rely in your journey through life.

There are two parts to faith: God’s part and man’s part. God’s part – given to us in Romans 12:3. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. This comes from the Word of God – the various messages, promises. So when we fail to read or study the Word, we have begun on the wrong foot.

Man’s part – With the faith received from God’s word, man has to develop, build this further. Recall the story of the blind man Bartimaeus shouting for help when Jesus was passing by - Mark 10:52. Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. This clearly indicates that there is a part to be played by man too. Merely hearing the Word is not going to strengthen or increase our faith. It has to be claimed based on the hearing of the Word. Bartimaeus had heard about Jesus and when Jesus passed by, he shouted for help to heal him. His faith earned him his healing. The faith that I had when I was young needs to grow and not stagnate.

If our faith remains the size of a mustard seed, everything will be in proportion to that. Why do we need this strength? Our inner being is one area even the best of friends or the most loving spouse cannot answer/ know. Not one of us can have full knowledge of what is going on in the other person’s mind and emotions at any point of time. But there is only one person, one friend who has access to it – our Lord.

Revelation 3:20 - Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. Jesus is referring to the door of our inner being, our heart. There is so much commotion inside, disorder that we cannot listen to the gentle knock, the calling.

A few verses earlier - Revelation 3:17 - For you say, 'I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.' You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. These are not my words, the Bible says. This is the state from our first parents. I need nothing, I have prospered, I can do all things whereas the fact is that we are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked and what not. We think we can bring order into our lives while we are actually messing it up.

But the Lord does not want us to remain that way. He wants to clean us up and wants to dine with us. This is very interesting text. I am standing at the door. The posture for prayer among Jews was standing. Recall the Pharisee and the sinner standing in the synagogue. Jesus is praying that we may open the door to Him. He then wants to eat with us. He wants to sit, recline and dine with us. What can we give him to eat? Do we have anything good to offer?

All we have is broken lives, shattered dreams, depression, frustration, anger, our pride. But He has come for these only. He is willing to eat whatever we have to offer. But He does not stop at “I will eat with you” He continues by saying “and you with me”. The Lord offers His broken body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins and for our healing – the healing of our inner being which will be manifested in our outward being too. He wants us to be strengthened, fortified against the attacks of the evil one and of the world – the dangers, the difficulties, the disappointments, afflictions, confusion, persecution etc.

Friends our lives are but a clay jar – fragile. One push and there we lie – broken, scattered. A knock and we see a glaring hole, we are bruised. When we look at these the further we are driven to despair sometimes resulting in a total breakdown. It is in this very brokenness, Jesus wants to abide, to dwell, to live. 2 Corinthians 4:7 - But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 - We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;(NRSV) (We are afflicted (distressed) in every way, but not crushed (flattened); perplexed (confused), but not driven to despair (depressed); persecuted (victimised), but not forsaken (abandoned); struck down, but not destroyed (shattered).

Nothing of the outside will shatter the inside of us as we are strengthened by the Lord. It is not our human power but of the Lord. This is the meaning of I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can face life and all its ups and downs through Christ.

We have often heard the phrase – Man proposes but God disposes. It is not a scripture verse but was based on Proverbs 16:9 by Thomas Kempis. The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps. Man can plan and scheme but the final say is of the Lord. Proverbs 19:21 - The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established. Isaiah 46:10 - "My purpose shall stand, and I will fulfill my intention"

We keep saying it's a dog’s life. Come to think of it it’s true. Imagine a master walking his dog down the road. As the dog tries to go away from the master, the leash gets tighter round the dogs’ neck making him choked and breathless and limping. He has to return to the master to be eased and comforted. The story of the prodigal son…

When the Lord takes charge, he will direct your steps, your next action. And as you experience this, you will be moved to subject all your plans to him for approval. Every plan has to have an approval. You will work hard to see if the Lord is in agreement to it and only then you will act. David loved the Lord and wanted to build a temple for the Lord. But the message of the Lord came; not you but your son Solomon will build one for me. As Christ increases, I must decrease.

Two verses preceding our key verse - Philippians 4:11-13 - I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. All the strengthening the Lord will undertake is not for self glory and boasting. There is a purpose, a goal: 1 Peter 4:11 - Whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ.

Eph 3:19 - And to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. It is for the service for the Lord and in the process of serving Him, we may gain knowledge of his infinite love and be filled with His fullness.

1 Peter 4:11 matches the text of Phil 3:14 - “I can do” is replaced by “God may be glorified in all things” through Christ. Amen