Episode 14
Philippians — Read the NT in 90 Days
What if joy wasn't tied to your circumstances—even when facing an uncertain future? In this episode of Seek Go Create, Tim Winders explores the book of Philippians, a letter Paul wrote from prison, overflowing with gratitude and hope despite his chains. Discover the vibrant faith of the early European church, the radical message of finding contentment in any situation, and the urgent anticipation of Christ’s return. If you’ve ever wondered how to anchor your joy beyond life’s ups and downs, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.
"Joy isn’t tied to circumstances. It’s anchored in Christ and it has teeth." - Tim Winders
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Episode Resources:
- NT90 Hub – This is the central website for the 90-day New Testament reading plan, with downloadable, printable plans, background information, and links to all episodes and resources.
Episode Highlights:
00:00 Introduction to Philippians
00:49 Context and Background of Philippians
01:53 Historical Significance of Philippi
02:54 Paul's Message to the Philippians
05:55 Key Themes and Verses
08:31 Warnings and Exhortations
10:14 Final Thoughts and Reading Assignment
11:20 Setting the Scene for the Letter
Transcript
Verdict, uncertain of tomorrow, but at peace.
Speaker:Philippian shows what happens when joy isn't tied to circumstances.
Speaker:This is Seat Go Create.
Speaker:You're listening to read the New Testament in 90 days, 27 books in order in context.
Speaker:We're walking through the New Testament, the way it was written, so you can
Speaker:hear it the way the first churches did.
Speaker:Make sure before we dive in here, to get the free reading plan, get all the
Speaker:resources at K two M Foundation slash NT 90 Links are down in the notes.
Speaker:If you need to click on that, go check.
Speaker:All of that out today.
Speaker:Stop.
Speaker:Philippians another one of Paul's letters and it's a letter that
Speaker:he wrote while he was in prison.
Speaker:You know, one of the first, I guess times that I became aware of context
Speaker:when I was reading the New Testament, this was years ago, was when I was
Speaker:reading this and then I found out that Paul wrote it while he was in.
Speaker:Prison.
Speaker:I was fascinated by that.
Speaker:When did Paul write this one?
Speaker:It was about 61 ad so, the audience was the church at Philippi.
Speaker:It was a Roman colony, and Paul will say it was his most supportive church and
Speaker:we'll hear later, probably his favorite.
Speaker:I don't know if it was because of that.
Speaker:Might have been.
Speaker:But anyway, he really liked this church.
Speaker:Felt as if it was one of his favorites, the setting.
Speaker:This is 31 years past the resurrection.
Speaker:He's still in change.
Speaker:He's still in Rome.
Speaker:Epaphroditus carries the letter back from Paul.
Speaker:Let's look at some historical context.
Speaker:There's a lot of stuff going on and as we said before, I think in the last,
Speaker:in the last episode, Phi Lehman, we talked about all that was gonna be
Speaker:happening over the next few years.
Speaker:Well, we're picking up steam in Rome.
Speaker:Nero is still on the throne.
Speaker:Paul is under house arrest awaiting trial before Caesar down in Jerusalem.
Speaker:The temple's still intact.
Speaker:There's nine years that we now know.
Speaker:Before the destruction of the temple, the church.
Speaker:Here's the note that I had, Philippi, is Paul's favorite church, the only one that
Speaker:consistently supported him financially?
Speaker:They sent Epaphroditus with a gift when Paul was imprisoned.
Speaker:Here's the tension.
Speaker:Paul's future is uncertain.
Speaker:He doesn't really know what's gonna happen.
Speaker:He could be released or he could be executed.
Speaker:A paphitis nearly died.
Speaker:On the journey to Rome, so that puts it in context there.
Speaker:Why now Paul sends Epaphroditus back with a letter of Thanksgiving.
Speaker:Encouragement and joy while he's under arrest and most likely in chains.
Speaker:Let's talk a little bit about Philippi, why this city matters.
Speaker:It's name for Philip ii.
Speaker:I'm a history guy.
Speaker:I love this.
Speaker:Philip II of Macedon, and that was Alexander the great's father.
Speaker:It is the site of the Battle of Philippi, which was fought in.
Speaker:42 BC where Octavian and Mark Antony crushed Caesar's
Speaker:Assassins Veterans settled here.
Speaker:Roman identity runs deep.
Speaker:It sits on the Via Ignatia.
Speaker:That is the major Roman road connecting the east and the west
Speaker:is like a highway and it allows for information, goods, merchants, people
Speaker:to travel easily in the Roman Empire.
Speaker:And also messages and gospels and letters and epistles, which is good for us.
Speaker:First church in Europe.
Speaker:Paul crossed the aian after his vision of the man from Macedonia in Acts 16.
Speaker:It is the first church in Europe.
Speaker:Paul crossed the Aian after his vision of the man from
Speaker:Macedonia, and that's in Act 16.
Speaker:There is no synagogue here.
Speaker:Paul found a group of women praying by the river, Lydia.
Speaker:A dealer in purple cloth.
Speaker:So she was quite the business person was his first convert.
Speaker:Paul and Silas were beaten and jailed here.
Speaker:On that first visit, the jailer asked, what must I do to be saved?
Speaker:And was baptized that night.
Speaker:It's got a small Jewish population, mostly gentile believers.
Speaker:They know Rome, very familiar with Rome.
Speaker:They know what it cost to follow a crucified king and not worship Caesar.
Speaker:As Lord, it's uh, imperial subversion, and this matters in a Roman colony.
Speaker:Philippi is a Roman colony citizenship.
Speaker:This is important as we read here.
Speaker:Citizenship is identity.
Speaker:Savior is Caesar language.
Speaker:Nero was held as savior of the empire.
Speaker:Paul flips it.
Speaker:Our citizenship is in heaven and from it.
Speaker:We await a savior.
Speaker:That's in chapter three, verse 20.
Speaker:That's not just theology in this context, it's actually treason, adjacent hope.
Speaker:The true king is coming and it's not the man on the throne.
Speaker:What you'll encounter.
Speaker:In Philippians, it's warm and joyful, but not naive.
Speaker:Joy is the dominant note, yet Paul is equipping this church for resistance,
Speaker:the Joy partnership from the first day, chapter one, three through five.
Speaker:Faithful support the Christ Hymn.
Speaker:We saw this earlier in Colossians, though he was in the form of God.
Speaker:He did not count equality with God, a thing to be grasped, but
Speaker:emptied himself down to death.
Speaker:On the cross, then exalted above every name.
Speaker:This is the second Christ hymn from Paul's imprisonment.
Speaker:Colossians gave us cosmic or big picture supremacy.
Speaker:Philippians gives us downward humility.
Speaker:Same chains, same worship language, different angle.
Speaker:The words press on in chapter three verses 13 through 14, forgetting
Speaker:what lies behind straining.
Speaker:Toward what lies ahead.
Speaker:And of course this one that most of us know, we hear it often rejoice,
Speaker:always chapter four, verse four through seven, the peace of God
Speaker:that surpasses understanding.
Speaker:And then, we hear about the secret contentment just being content,
Speaker:chapter four, verse 11 through 13.
Speaker:I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Speaker:Not a self-help slogan, but the testimony of a man in chains
Speaker:I always loved the thought.
Speaker:Of that verse, those scriptures being written and penned on a letter
Speaker:while someone was imprisoned possibly being moved towards execution.
Speaker:Anyway, that's phenomenal.
Speaker:That shows the tremendous faith that Paul had and how it can transfer to us.
Speaker:Hallelujah.
Speaker:working out your salvation.
Speaker:This is chapter two 12 and 13 with fear and.
Speaker:Trembling because God is at work in you and he mentions being blameless
Speaker:in a crooked generation, do all things without grumbling or disputing.
Speaker:That's in chapter two, verse 14 and 15, and we're reading this
Speaker:in context, but truthfully.
Speaker:We know that applies to many of us today.
Speaker:So anyway, a lot of warnings here.
Speaker:Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers.
Speaker:Beware of the mutilation in chapter three verse two, sharp warning against the
Speaker:judaizers that are pushing circumcision.
Speaker:he mentions enemies of the cross, many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Speaker:Their God is their belly.
Speaker:Chapter three, verse 18 and 19.
Speaker:then he specifically calls out a few people here and
Speaker:talks about unity, fraying.
Speaker:He names Euodia.
Speaker:And Siki directly urging them to agree in the Lord In chapter four,
Speaker:verse two, imagine that, that you've got a disagreement going on.
Speaker:You've been called out by Paul in a letter and now 2000 years later,
Speaker:we're still mentioning their names.
Speaker:Joy isn't tied to circumstances.
Speaker:It's anchored in Christ and it has.
Speaker:Teeth.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Here's the urgency.
Speaker:The Lord is at hand.
Speaker:This is going to be so common over the next few books.
Speaker:Really leading all the way up to the book of Revelation, the
Speaker:urgency, the Lord is at hand.
Speaker:Paul says in chapter four, verse five, the Lord is at hand.
Speaker:Inga is the word in Greek.
Speaker:It's near, it's imminent.
Speaker:The Philippians heard soon, and that's the context.
Speaker:To live is Christ.
Speaker:To die is gain.
Speaker:Chapter 1 21 and the Lord is at hand.
Speaker:That changes how you wait.
Speaker:In chains.
Speaker:Alright, a reading assignment.
Speaker:You're gonna read Philippians in one session.
Speaker:I love these books that you could read in one section and get the good full context.
Speaker:You can split it up if you need to, but attempt to at the reading
Speaker:plan to read it in one session.
Speaker:Alright, what's next after this?
Speaker:Boy, we're gonna get to a good one.
Speaker:Next episode will be Luke Eyewitness Certainty and the Road to the Cross, A
Speaker:Careful Investigation for Theophilus, and we will talk about that next time.
Speaker:Make sure you're following along at K two M Foundation slash.
Speaker:In T 90, that's the hub where all things are placed, links to
Speaker:everything downloads, et cetera.
Speaker:Go make sure you check that out and we haven't mentioned this in a while, but
Speaker:if you don't have people joining us and reading along, this might be a good time
Speaker:to share and see if they could jump in the reading plan with us as we move along.
Speaker:Alright, let's put ourselves.
Speaker:Into the scene when this letter from Paul, the letter to us, the Philippians arrives
Speaker:before you read, let's set the scene here.
Speaker:It's AD 61, Philippi word spreads.
Speaker:Epaphroditus is back alive and he's carrying a letter from Paul.
Speaker:By evening, the church gathers Lydia is there.
Speaker:The jailer who once locked Paul in chains sits.
Speaker:Among the believers, Epaphroditus thin from the illness that nearly killed him.
Speaker:Unrolls the scroll.
Speaker:The room goes quiet.
Speaker:Paul is in chains awaiting verdict, and yet the letter overflows.
Speaker:Gratitude, joy, A man in prison writing to us his favorite church.
Speaker:Rejoice now.
Speaker:Let's read.
