I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. (Philippians 4:12)
Gr. chortazō, “to feed,” used of fattening animals, but also used of satisfying man’s hunger.
Instructed.
Gr. mueō, “to initiate into the mysteries,” that is, to instruct a person in the secret rites of the so-called mystery religions (see Vol. VI, p. 91). The word may be translated “to learn the secret of” (RSV).
Every where.
Literally, “in everything,” that is, under all possible circumstances.
How to abound.
Paul’s disposition was so stabilized that he was unaffected by the ebb and flow of circumstances.
Abased.
Or, “brought low,”“humbled.” Paul is speaking of physical needs, not spiritual deficiencies.