"On every page of the God-breathed writings are many thoughts that stretch out like long, clear arms of light across the darkness, discovering things otherwise hidden and illuminating wider areas than those of the immediate context. They are searchlights. I have selected one in each chapter of Scripture, for at least one central thought in every chapter should arrest the mind and affect the life," wrote G. Campbell Morgan, a skilled, wise, warm-hearted Bible teacher who conducted a classic 3-year study called Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible. Here is the fruit of that research—summarized, illustrated, and amplified with useful details—on all 66 books of the Bible.
DEUTERONOMY, JOSHUA, JUDGES, RUTH,
1 JOHN, 2 JOHN, 3 JOHN, JUDE, REVELATION
Philippians 1:29 "To you it has been granted not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for His sake." Philippians is Paul's great singing letter. It was at Philippi that he and Silas sang in prison despite cruel, unjust treatment, and to great and lasting effects. Now he was again in prison, this time in Rome, writing to "the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi." This letter reveals how apparently adverse circumstances are made allies of the soul and agents of victory under the dominion of Christ. Paul writes, "What has happened to me has really served to advance the Gospel," including among Caesar's imperial guard and household. This chapter includes some of the most beloved verses in Scripture, including, "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the Day of Jesus Christ," and "It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." The verse highlighted above makes it clear that living for Christ brings on suffering, but as an honor conferred rather than a burden to be endured. The pain is real and acute, but it brings a sense of joy and gladness that has no equal in human experience from the kinship one experiences with Christ in what He suffered for His people's sake.
Philippians 2:15-16 "In the midst of a crooked and perverse generation you are to shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the Word of life." This image of light describes those who are "blameless and innocent children of God" who, like their Lord, "do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more important" than themselves "without complaining or arguing." The Greek word translated "lights" is used only one other place in the New Testament, in Revelation 21:11 to describe the heavenly city: "Her brilliance was like a very costly gem." Reading further we discover that brilliance is not referring to light diffused, but to light received: "The city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb," which is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. What the Lamb is to be in final glory, the children of God are today in the sense of shedding true light, which shines brightly in this dark world when the Word of life is lived out and proclaimed. To live by the Word is to shine in such a way that those trapped in darkness may have guidance and help. Are we blameless and innocent, humble, and free from complaints and arguments? We can thank God this chapter also tells us it is our duty to "work out with fear and trembling" what God works in us "to will and to work for His good pleasure."
Philippians 3:7-8 "Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Paul here uses his own spiritual autobiography to engage in a useful mental and spiritual assessment. The two assessments were separated by at least 30 years. The first happened when Christ broke through upon him in all the radiant glory and revolutionary power of His risen life. The second takes place as he writes this letter to the Philippian church in a Roman prison chained to a guard, amid all the difficulties and trials created by his apostolic ministry. Think of all that happened between those two events! Paul certainly did. Since nothing occurred that altered his first reckoning, the "I count" assessment of his present experience reiterates the "I counted" of the first. Can we who follow Christ make a similar assessment? We remember the day when spiritual light broke upon us. It was a very real thing that dramatically changed our outlook. It compelled us to reconsider life in all its aspects, one by one. We obeyed God's Word. We turned our backs on all sorts of gains, counting them worthless compared to what we gained in Christ. But what about now? Only when we sincerely express our past decision in terms of the present—the "I counted" as "I count"—is there any real value in the past. We never want to rest on any past experience, but to move forward in accord with it. That is Paul's blessed example to us in this chapter. He says, "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
