  We calculate the equation of state of nuclear matter for arbitrary
isospin-asymmetry up to three loop order in the free energy density in the
framework of in-medium chiral perturbation theory. In our approach 1\pi- and
2\pi-exchange dynamics with the inclusion of the \Delta-isobar excitation as an
explicit degree of freedom, corresponding to the long- and intermediate-range
correlations, are treated explicitly. Few contact terms fixed to reproduce
selected known properties of nuclear matter encode the short-distance physics.
Two-body as well as three-body forces are systematically included. We find a
critical temperature of about 15 MeV for symmetric nuclear matter. We
investigate the dependence of the liquid-gas first-order phase transition on
isospin-asymmetry. In the same chiral framework we calculate the chiral
condensate of isospin-symmetric nuclear matter at finite temperatures. The
contribution of the \Delta-isobar excitation is essential for stabilizing the
condensate. As a result, we find no indication of a chiral phase transition for
densities \rho \lesssim 2 \rho_0 and at temperatures T \lesssim 100 MeV.
