Bible Chapter by Chapter

Philippians 3: The Surpassing Worth Of Knowing Christ — And The Relentless Press That Never Stops

32 min · 20. maj 2026
episode Philippians 3: The Surpassing Worth Of Knowing Christ — And The Relentless Press That Never Stops cover

Description

In this episode of Bible Chapter by Chapter, we walk verse by verse through Philippians Chapter 3 — the most autobiographical chapter in the letter, and one of the most searingly honest passages Paul ever wrote. Paul opens with a sharp warning. Beware of the dogs. Beware of those insisting that something must be added to Christ to make you fully right with God. And then he does something unexpected — he builds his own case for why he could trust in the flesh more than anyone. And then dismantles it entirely. Circumcised the eighth day. Of the stock of Israel. Of the tribe of Benjamin. A Hebrew of Hebrews. A Pharisee. Blameless under the law. A résumé that by every external standard was exceptional. And Paul looks back at every item on it — and uses a word that still stops readers cold. Refuse. Not because those things were worthless. But because of what he found on the other side of counting them loss. Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. We work through six movements in this chapter. The warning against false confidence in the flesh. Paul's remarkable credentials — and what made him qualified to speak about them. The great revaluation — everything moved from the asset column to the liability column, for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. The intimate description of what that knowing actually looks like — the power of the resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings, conformity to his death. The relentless forward press — one thing, forgetting what is behind, stretching toward what is before. And the contrast between two kinds of people — those who mind earthly things, and those whose citizenship is in heaven. Is there something you are trusting in — alongside Christ or instead of Christ — to make you right with God? Leave your honest answer in the comments. We read every one. 📖 Scripture reading from the World English Bible (WEB)🎧 Calm, verse-by-verse devotional format📺 New episodes every chapter 📺 Watch more Bible studies here: https://www.youtube.com/@BibleChapterByChapterStudy [https://www.youtube.com/@BibleChapterByChapterStudy]🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6MnjQf5YAsxCAhha7jCSGD [https://open.spotify.com/show/6MnjQf5YAsxCAhha7jCSGD] Subscribe to Bible Chapter by Chapter and follow along as we walk through God's Word — one chapter at a time. #BibleStudy #Philippians #SurpassingWorth #KnowingChrist #ChristianPodcast #BibleChapterByChapter #Scripture #Faith #Devotional #PaulsLetters

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episode Rejoice Always, Pray Without Ceasing 1 Thessalonians 5 Bible Chapter by Chapter artwork

Rejoice Always, Pray Without Ceasing 1 Thessalonians 5 Bible Chapter by Chapter

In this episode of Bible Chapter by Chapter, we walk verse by verse through 1 Thessalonians Chapter 5 — the final chapter of the earliest letter Paul ever wrote, and the one that answers the question Chapter 4 left open. If Christ is coming — when? Paul's answer is not a timeline. It is an identity. You are children of the light, and children of the day. The day of the Lord will not overtake you like a thief — not because you know the date, but because you are already oriented toward what is coming, already living in the light of what the day will reveal. We work through four movements in this chapter. The day of the Lord and why Paul will not give a schedule — and what the posture of watchfulness and sobriety actually looks like in daily life. The community that holds together — with four different responses for four different kinds of people: admonish the disorderly, encourage the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient toward all. The three commands that have been called the shortest sermon in the Bible — rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you. And the benediction that closes the letter with the most important theological statement in it: he who calls you is faithful, who will also do it. The completion of what God began in you is not your project. It is His. He called you. He is faithful. He will do it. That is the last word of the letter. And it is the right one. Are you living like a child of the day — or has the coming of the Lord had nothing to do with your last Tuesday? Leave your honest answer in the comments. We read every one. 📖 Scripture reading from the World English Bible (WEB)🎧 Calm, verse-by-verse devotional format📺 New episodes every chapter 📺 Watch more Bible studies here: https://www.youtube.com/@BibleChapterByChapterStudy [https://www.youtube.com/@BibleChapterByChapterStudy]🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6MnjQf5YAsxCAhha7jCSGD [https://open.spotify.com/show/6MnjQf5YAsxCAhha7jCSGD]🌐 Visit us at: www.biblechapterbychapter.com [http://www.biblechapterbychapter.com] Subscribe to Bible Chapter by Chapter and follow along as we walk through God's Word — one chapter at a time. #BibleStudy #1Thessalonians #ChildrenOfTheDay #RejoiceAlways #ChristianPodcast #BibleChapterByChapter #Scripture #Faith #Devotional #TheHopeThatHolds 1 Thessalonians 5, rejoice always pray without ceasing, children of the light, day of the Lord thief in the night, he who calls you is faithful, in everything give thanks, don't quench the Spirit, Bible study, Christian podcast, verse by verse Bible, devotional, 1 Thessalonians, New Testament study, Paul's letters, second coming, Bible chapter by chapter, WEB Bible, Scripture reading, Bible commentary

Yesterday20 min
episode The Dead In Christ Rise First — What Paul Told A Grieving Church About Death And The Coming Of The Lord | 1 Thessalonians 4 | Bible Chapter by Chapter artwork

The Dead In Christ Rise First — What Paul Told A Grieving Church About Death And The Coming Of The Lord | 1 Thessalonians 4 | Bible Chapter by Chapter

In this episode of Bible Chapter by Chapter, we walk verse by verse through 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4 — the chapter where Paul turns from the personal to the practical, and addresses the two questions the Thessalonians were most urgently living with. The first is ethical. In a culture with entirely different standards around sexuality and the body, Paul gives the Thessalonians a framework grounded not in rules but in identity: for this is the will of God, your sanctification. The person who knows God holds their body differently — not because of external pressure but because of who called them and what they are called toward. The second is pastoral. Believers had died since Paul left Thessalonica. And those who remained were afraid — would the dead miss the coming of Christ? Would they be left behind? Paul corrects that fear directly with some of the most specifically worded verses he ever wrote. We who are alive will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep. The dead in Christ rise first. Then together we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And then the eight words that carry the full weight of the chapter: so we will be with the Lord forever. Paul's command at the end is worth noting. He does not say therefore understand prophecy correctly. He says therefore comfort one another with these words. These words are given to be used. At gravesides. In hospital rooms. At three in the morning when someone cannot stop thinking about the person they have lost. Is your hope in the coming of Christ something you hold abstractly — or something you actually hold onto when life gets hard? Leave your honest answer in the comments. We read every one. 📖 Scripture reading from the World English Bible (WEB)🎧 Calm, verse-by-verse devotional format📺 New episodes every chapter 📺 Watch more Bible studies here: https://www.youtube.com/@BibleChapterByChapterStudy [https://www.youtube.com/@BibleChapterByChapterStudy]🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6MnjQf5YAsxCAhha7jCSGD [https://open.spotify.com/show/6MnjQf5YAsxCAhha7jCSGD]🌐 Visit us at: www.biblechapterbychapter.com [http://www.biblechapterbychapter.com] Subscribe to Bible Chapter by Chapter and follow along as we walk through God's Word — one chapter at a time. #BibleStudy #1Thessalonians #DeadInChristRiseFirst #WithTheLordForever #ChristianPodcast #BibleChapterByChapter #Scripture #Faith #Devotional #TheHopeThatHolds 1 Thessalonians 4, dead in Christ rise first, so we will be with the Lord forever, what happens to believers when they die, sanctification will of God, comfort one another, coming of the Lord, Bible study, Christian podcast, verse by verse Bible, devotional, 1 Thessalonians, New Testament study, Paul's letters, grief and hope, Bible chapter by chapter, WEB Bible, Scripture reading, Bible commentary

8. juni 202617 min
episode What Happens To Believers When They Die? What Is After Death? artwork

What Happens To Believers When They Die? What Is After Death?

What happens to believers when they die? It is one of the most searched questions in Christianity — and not because people are curious about theology. It is because someone they love has died. Or is dying. Or they are honest enough to know that one day they will be the person who is gone. Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 specifically for people in that situation. The church at Thessalonica had lost members since Paul left — believers who died before the coming of the Lord — and those who remained were grieving with a specific fear. Had the dead missed it? Would they be left behind when Christ returned? Paul's answer is the most direct, most specific, most comforting passage in the New Testament on this question. We walk through it carefully in this episode. We don't want you to be ignorant, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you don't grieve like the rest, who have no hope. We work through five movements. The language of sleep and what it does and does not mean. The consistent picture across the New Testament of where believers are now — with the Lord, today, at home with Him, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:8 and Philippians 1:23, anchored by Jesus's own words to the thief on the cross: today you will be with me in Paradise. The specific concern of the Thessalonians — would the dead miss the coming — and Paul's direct answer: the dead in Christ rise first. The eight words that carry the full weight of the passage: so we will be with the Lord forever. And the command Paul ends with, which tells us exactly what these words are for: therefore comfort one another with these words. Not a timeline. Not a theological argument. A comfort. Meant to be used. Is there someone you have lost — or are afraid of losing — that you want to bring to this passage today? Leave it in the comments. We read every one. 📖 Scripture reading from the World English Bible (WEB)🎧 Calm, verse-by-verse devotional format📺 New episodes every chapter 📺 Watch more Bible studies here: https://www.youtube.com/@BibleChapterByChapterStudy [https://www.youtube.com/@BibleChapterByChapterStudy]🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6MnjQf5YAsxCAhha7jCSGD [https://open.spotify.com/show/6MnjQf5YAsxCAhha7jCSGD]🌐 Visit us at: www.biblechapterbychapter.com [http://www.biblechapterbychapter.com] Subscribe to Bible Chapter by Chapter and follow along as we walk through God's Word — one chapter at a time. #BibleStudy #WhatHappensWhenYouDie #1Thessalonians4 #DeadInChrist #ChristianPodcast #BibleChapterByChapter #GriefAndHope #Faith #Devotional #TheHopeThatHolds 🏷️ TAGSwhat happens to believers when they die, dead in Christ rise first, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, so we will be with the Lord forever, Christian death afterlife, caught up together rapture, grieve with hope, Bible study, Christian podcast, verse by verse Bible, devotional, 1 Thessalonians, New Testament study, Paul's letters, what happens after death Bible, Bible chapter by chapter, WEB Bible, Scripture reading, Bible commentary

7. juni 202617 min
episode The Cost of Loving People (1 Thessalonians 3) artwork

The Cost of Loving People (1 Thessalonians 3)

In this episode of Bible Chapter by Chapter, we walk verse by verse through 1 Thessalonians Chapter 3 — thirteen verses and one of the most emotionally honest chapters in any of Paul's letters. Paul had been driven out of Thessalonica before the work felt finished. He had left brand new believers in a hostile city with almost no foundation. And the not-knowing became unbearable. So he made a sacrifice — staying alone in Athens rather than leaving the Thessalonians without anyone — and sent Timothy back to find out if they were still standing. We work through three movements in this chapter. Paul's anxiety that he could not contain — the phrase we couldn't stand it any longer appears twice in five verses, and the specific fear behind it: not that the Thessalonians would suffer, but that the tempter would use the suffering to pull them back from faith. The report that changed everything — Timothy returning with glad news, euangelizo, the same word used for the gospel itself, telling Paul their faith and love were real. And Paul's response, one of the most compressed and honest pastoral statements in the New Testament: for now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord. The prayer that closes the chapter, with its first full mention of the parousia — the coming of the Lord — as the horizon toward which all the holiness and love are oriented. Is there someone whose faith you are genuinely invested in — someone whose standing actually affects how you are doing? Leave your honest answer in the comments. We read every one. 📖 Scripture reading from the World English Bible (WEB)🎧 Calm, verse-by-verse devotional format📺 New episodes every chapter 📺 Watch more Bible studies here: https://www.youtube.com/@BibleChapterByChapterStudy [https://www.youtube.com/@BibleChapterByChapterStudy]🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6MnjQf5YAsxCAhha7jCSGD [https://open.spotify.com/show/6MnjQf5YAsxCAhha7jCSGD]🌐 Visit us at: www.biblechapterbychapter.com [http://www.biblechapterbychapter.com] Subscribe to Bible Chapter by Chapter and follow along as we walk through God's Word — one chapter at a time. #BibleStudy #1Thessalonians #TheHopeThatHolds #ForNowWeLive #ChristianPodcast #BibleChapterByChapter #Scripture #Faith #Devotional #PaulsLetters 1 Thessalonians 3, for now we live, Timothy Thessalonica, pastoral ministry Bible, stand fast in the Lord, coming of the Lord, parousia, Bible study, Christian podcast, verse by verse Bible, devotional, 1 Thessalonians, New Testament study, Paul's letters, faith and love, Bible chapter by chapter, WEB Bible, Scripture reading, Bible commentary

6. juni 202616 min