Tag: Bible Study Methods

Observation – Part 2: Structure

When most of us reading this blog pick up a bible to read or study that Bible will be in English. For many, many people that will be the only exposure to God’s word.

Don’t worry there is a lot you can glean from scripture in observing the structure that is presented in English.

Literary Structure

In grammar, you learned about paragraphs, sentences, phrases, and clauses. This knowledge is the core understanding you will need in observing the structure within a Bible book.

Bible Study Methods give this list for Units of Structure:

We should be able to recognize each of these in a Bible passage.

  1. The Phrase — Grammar: A group of two or more associated words, not containing a subject and predicate. One example is the prepositional phrase.
  2. The Clause — Grammar: A group of terms, including a subject and predicate, and sometimes one or more phrases, constituting a partial (or whole) unit of thought and expression.
  3. The Sentence — Grammar: A group of words containing subject and predicate. There are declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences, or a single word, in the case of the simple imperative. A sentence must contain a complete thought.
  4. The Paragraph — Grammer: A group of sentences constituting a unit of thought and expression. The paragraph develops a point or subject. In modern English the paragraph is much more clearly defined than it is in the Bible.
  5. A Segment — In Bible study it is a group of paragraphs constituting a unit of thought, or developing a thought.
  6. A Division — In Bible study, some books have divisions. This is a group of segments constituting a larger unit of thought or subject matter.
  7. The Book — This is a Bible division. The Bible contains 66 books in all, each of them written for a specific purpose at a given time. Some are history, some are prophecy, some are for instruction, some are poetry. Each book of the Bible has its own characteristics.

We will be spending more time with some of these units in the weeks to come. For today, let’s focus on how we can refine our focus and understanding of a passage through the simplified structure of a sentence.

Structure Within a Paragraph

(Grammar Police: What follows will be a very simplified approach to grammar meant to give a wide group of people the tools they need to get into Bible study. I know I’m missing things. Please leave me a comment below on anything that might further clarify these points.)

A paragraph is “A group of sentences constituting a unit of thought and expression. The paragraph develops a point or subject.” These sentences all have two main parts: the Subject Part and the Predicate Part.

Subject Part

A Subject “…is a word or group of words which name the person or thing about whom or which the statement is made. In its simplest form, it consists of a noun or a pronoun.”

The Subject Part includes the words that belong to the subject, such as adjectives.

Predicate Part

A predicate “… is a word or group of words which make a statement about the subject. In its simplest form, it consists of a verb alone.”

The Predicate Part includes all the words that belong to the predicate, such as adverbs. We will also consider the Object of the sentence (direct or indirect object) to be a part of the predicate part.

Illustrations

If you’re like any of the classes I’ve taught in this, you’re thinking; “This is way too hard. I’m going to skip to next week.” Please don’t do that. This concept is simpler in action. 

Here are a couple of illustrations to get you started. If you have any questions please send me a message through the contact page on this website.

Philippians 1:3

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,”

The simple subject and predicate of this sentence is “I thank”

The subject part is “I” and the predicate part is “thank my God upon every remembrance of you,”

Philippians 1:15

“Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:”

The simple subject and predicate of this sentence is “some preach”

The subject part is “Some indeed” and the predicate part is “preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:”

Your Turn

Give it a Try

Use a blank piece of paper to note the simple subject and predicate of other sentences in Philippians 1.

Brush up on your grammar skills

Take a few minutes to find answers to some of your questions that have come up as you’ve read this post. There are some great free tools online to help in understanding grammar.

Keep it Simple

Don’t overthink all this. Understanding grammar is a step on the path of understanding scripture, it is not an end in itself.

Note: Quotes and concepts drawn from “Bible Study Methods” by Burton Brush. Used with permission.

Bible Study Overview

Sherlock Holmes was a fascinating character to me as a child and young teen. I would try to solve the mysteries before the book revealed the answers, and I had very discouraging results at first. But Sherlock, man, he could solve a crime. He would see the facts of what had happened (however improbable) and work his way back to the perpetrator.

Did you know that Sherlock Holmes is a champion of the method we use for Bible Study?

The Inductive Method

Inductive Bible study takes that Word of God, as it is, and studies it from there.

We study the Words (terms), Sentences, and Paragraphs to get a feel for what the passage is saying, then draw conclusions.

“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” 
Deuteronomy 4:2

Three facts about the Inductive Method

  1. It is scientific in Approach
  2. Its Process Consists of Analysis
  3. Its Purpose is to Discover

The Deductive Method

The deductive method is a perfectly legitimate method for Bible Study, but it is only appropriate for certain kinds of studies. It’s common for someone’s personal Bible study plan to switch back and forth between inductive and deductive bible study.

Deductive study has limitations. 

“8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.” 
Isaiah 55:8–9

By nature deductive study starts with a conclusion and seeks to support that conclusion. This can be a dangerous way to handle God’s word. If we approach scripture strictly through deductive study we risk imposing our assumptions into scripture. 

Deductive study is sometimes used for topical, and doctrinal studies. It can be helpful if used carefully. However, deductive study can lead to a tunnel vision where we only see the verse that showed up in our search results without its context. This can lead to a feeling that our conclusions have been validated before we even start the study.

Many have used dissected portions of scripture to support beliefs that are simply not taught in God’s word.

In summary:

The Deductive Method (You speak to the Bible.) 

The Inductive Method (The Bible speaks to you.) 

How does Inductive Bible Study Work?

Some of the more prominent characteristics of inductive study are seen as follows: 

1. It lets the Bible text or passage speak for itself. 

We start with the simple question: “What does it say?” This keeps us from trying to force our ideas into the Bible. We can freely learn from the mind of God.

2. It observes first, then it interprets and applies.

When observation is first false results are significantly less likely.

3. It analyzes what the Bible says (content), and how it says it (form or structure).

Context is key. We will look at each word and the structure in which it is used. (Don’t worry, this is simpler than you might think.)

4. It is aware of explicit and implied Truths.

Inductive study will start with the plain text of the Bible, but no-one has studied every deep truth of scripture. Those deep truths are our goal.

5. In it, original, firsthand study holds a prominent place.

You need a firsthand understanding of Scripture. When this is taught as a Bible institute course, all commentaries are restricted at this point. It’s not that those who wrote them don’t have something to teach us. We want to learn from the Bible first.

Your Turn

You can start today! 

Begin by reading the book of Philippians. Sit down with just the Bible. Remove other distractions and read Philippians straight through. Then tomorrow read it again.

We’re going to be spending a lot more time in this beloved book, get familiar with it.