This post is part of the “How to Study the Bible” series.
Once you’ve identified the Language Structures in your text, you will be ready to identify and illustrate the relationships within and between statements, concepts, and ideas in your text. Identifying and illustrating relationships, will help you READ TO SEE how words, phrases, and ideas in the biblical text fit together.
Identify Relationships
| Look for Connecting Words such as: | Determine the Relationship the Connecting Word indicates: |
| and, but, or, neither, nor, then, furthermore, moreover, while, on the other hand | *a series of items or events? *a movement towards a goal? *a choice or possibility? |
| for, because, since, therefore, so accordingly, that, so that, with the result that, in order that, provided that, lest whereby, thereby, resulting in | *a reason or purpose? *a consequence or result? |
| if/then, except, unless | *a contingency? |
| when, whenever, after, before, as, while | *the timeframe of an event or action? |
| where | *the location of an event or action? |
| like, likewise, in this way, in this manner, in that, in other words, as, just as, even as, as if, such as, by, that is | *how an action was (or should be) completed? *a more detailed explanation? |
| not, but, yet, though, although, however | *a comparison? *a contrast? *approval juxtaposed with disapproval? |
| what, when, where, why, how, should, could, can | *a question and answer? |
| nevertheless, yet, though, although, even though however, but, and | *an unexpected truth or response? |
Follow the Exercise Below.
Notice the underlined connecting words in Ephesians 2:4-7.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:4-7
Identify the kind of relationship each connecting word in Ephesians 2:4-7 indicates.
- But indicates a contrast between what preceeded the text and the statement that God made us alive.
- Because indicates the reason for God’s attribute of abundant mercy: that reason is the great love with which he loved us dead trespassors.
- By indicates how you have been saved.
- And indicates a series of events: God saved, raised up, seated.
- So that, indicates the reason for God’s saving actions; God saved, raised, and seated us with Christ so that he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Identify the overall relationship between the ideas expressed in Ephesians 2:4-7.
Ask: What is the primary relationship – the main point? What is the overarching relationship? What is the relationship that encompasses all the smaller relationships?
In the Ephesians 2:4-7 text above, the overarching relationship is the reason for all God’s actions in the text. God saved, raised, and seated us with Christ so that he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Illustrate relationships you see in the text.
Create your own simple graphics to show how the ideas in the text fit together. Create:
- sentence diagramming, arching, phrasing, bracketing. (For examples, see Biblearc.)
- drawings.
- shapes.
- lines.
- arrows.
- words.
- diagrams.
Notice the combination of drawings, lines, and arrows, and words that are used to show the relationships in the Romans 12:1 video below.
Other resources that will teach you how to identify and illustrate relationships in the biblical text.
- Look at the Book from Desiringgod.com
- Learning Resources at Biblearc.com
- The 18 Logical Relationships at Biblearc.com
- What is Arching? Why Is It Important? from the gospelcoalition.org
- Resources on how to diagram sentences such as A Sentence Diagramming Primer.
Back to Part 1: READ TO SEE.
