Hermeneutics part 5: Using Arcing During the Observation Phase

Arc of Ephesians 1:1-14

My Arcing "Discovery"

Arcing has become an invaluable study tool for me. I remember when I first stumbled upon the site a few years ago. I was excited! I needed something fresh for my Bible study and this seemed to be it. I hungrily ate up the tutorial videos and began my journey into Arcing.

But there was one problem: I didn't really understand it fully. Here I sat after completing my first Arc on my own, staring blankly at a page full of labels. I understood what the labels were and what they meant, I just didn't understand what to do with them.

"Okay," I thought to myself, "I have a completed Arc. Now what?"

This was the question I kept asking myself over and over. I just didn't seem to be able to make the connection to the passage as a whole. Sure, I knew why 3a & 3b was an Action/Purpose, but how would I use that in teaching? I eventually lost interest and quit altogether.

Then a couple of months ago, the middle of May, to be exact, I took an interest in the book of Ephesians. Spiritually, I felt dry and needed to be refreshed. I started reading the book of Ephesians and my wonder for Jesus began creeping back in–in trickles at first, and as I read and re-read the book it came in waves that crashed over me and seemed to re-hydrate my spiritual life. That's when I went back to re-evaluate Arcing.

I took a different approach this time. I was determined not to quit until I had really grasped everything. I found the Power Point presentation online and read through it. And there, I discovered something that I had never known: How to "trace" back your Arcs to the main proposition of the entire passage.

This revolutionized Arcing for me! After I learned this the labels began making more sense. They were all interdependent upon the main proposition as a whole and part of the argument that was being used. Now, the book of Ephesians was really coming alive for me. I am excited as I continue this process. I am even signing up for a basic Arcing course in September, just to make sure that I've "got it."

Since the premise of Arcing to graphically display the flow of the thought in the author's text (it's so much more than that, though) I thought it would be helpful to use it during the Observation phase of hermeneutics. If you click the picture above it will take you to the the BibleArc website and the particular passage of Ephesians I have arced out.

Using Arcing in Observation

Now comes the big question: how do use Arcing during the observation phase?

First, you must understand what Arcing is. Arcing gives the flow of thought relationship in a passage. It is accomplished by dividing your passage into propositions. A proposition is simply a verbal idea (a statement containing a subject and a verb). Each new verbal idea is a new proposition. For example, if I say, "I drove to the hardware store in order to buy some nuts and bolts," I would have two separate propositions. 'I drove' contains the subject 'I' and the verb 'drove' (the prepositional phrase, 'to the hardware store' is part of the verbal idea). It is one proposition. The subject 'I,' which is implied by the verb 'bought' is another proposition. These two propositions relate to each other by the connecting thought 'in order to' which implies a purpose for the action, "I drove to the hardware store."

This example seems a bit simplified yet Scripture is argued upon these very grammatical ideas. The New Testament authors wrote for specific reasons to address a specific audience to propagate specific instructions. Of course, Arcing is a method that is not limited to the New Testament. I am only using this is as example.

When Arcing a passage you are seeking to determine what the author's main point of the passage is. Sometimes it obvious from the start. Other times you have to really work at it.

The observation part of hermeneutics is important because you're trying to determine the flow of thought, anyway. This is where Arcing comes in handy. Understanding how each proposition relates to each other and then to the passage as a whole will begin to answer some of the questions of the text, such as, why did Paul use that particular phrase?, or what did the author mean by that?

Using an example from the Arc of Ephesians 1:1-14, let's briefly look at propositions 4a-4b:

Proposition 4a tells us that God chose believers before the foundation of the world. That is, God chose those whom would be saved before He even created the Earth. At this point my Calvinist mind takes over. I automatically think that Paul is espousing the doctrine of predestination as the main theme. However, looking at proposition 4b pops the bubble on that idea. This "choosing" that God has done is for a purpose. The word 'that' at the beginning of 4b signals a Purpose connection to the Action of the choosing. The choosing is done with a view of having a people who are (a) holy & blameless, and (b) the holy and blameless people would be able to stand in the presence of the all consuming God without being consumed! Therefore, I would label these two propositions with an Action/Purpose relationship. Now I understand why Paul addresses predestination in this portion of Scripture. It is not to defend God's sovereignty in choosing His people, it is to declare God's purpose of having a people to Himself in the first place.

Let's look at one more example using the set of propositions from 7a-10b:

There are a lot of labels in this screenshot but I have marked the propositions that I would like to point out. Notice the Action/Purpose relationship that encompasses 7a-10b. This is important because verse 7 begins by telling believers that we have redemption. Often times, we see something like this and automatically smile because we get me-focused. But again, Paul pops our bubble as we trace the flow of thought in his argument. He goes on to explain that this redemption actually has it's fulfillment in God's plan through Jesus Christ for the purpose of uniting all things in His Son. Our redemption is included in this.

This kind of smacks in the face of modern-day preaching that would make the whole of salvation about our blessings, our redemption, and our inheritance. Paul makes it abundantly clear that salvation is for the purpose of God's glory and the exaltation and fulfillment of the ages in Christ rather than about us going to Heaven to have a big family reunion, which seems to be the predominate thought here in the Southern United States.

When Arcing is done correctly it can open up our understanding of the flow of the passage to a greater degree. Once we understand the flow of thought we will be able to easily move into word studies and interpretation with much more confidence.

If you would like to better understand Arcing or learn the method yourself I would encourage you to visit BibleArc and begin digging in. Thanks for reading.


Until we come to full maturity,
Steven

Join the Ephesians Study Group Online!

I (Steven) am hosting a study group online through the book of Ephesians. We'll be using the
Arcing/Bracketing/Phrasing method. The group is open to ANYONE who wants to dig deeper into God's Word using the Arcing method. Don't be intimidated. If you'd like to join just go to this link and request membership. There will be three things that you must do after joining:

1. Read the Arcing tutorial that has been posted. It's in PDF format so no matter what system you're using you can download it or view it right there on the site. 
2. Complete the weeks reading and Arcing assignment, also posted in the group.
3. Interact with the group discussions and share your insights.

That's pretty much it. if you're interested just hit the link and sign up. If you wanna know more about Arcing then please visit the Biblearc website for instructional videos and tutorials. 

Hermeneutics part 4: The 3 Steps of the Observation Phase

Do you remember the four steps of hermeneutics? Here is a quick reminder:

• Grasp the text in their town - what did it mean to the original audience?
• Measure the width of the river to cross - what are the differences between the Biblical audience and me/us? 
• Cross the priciplizing bridge - what is the theological principle in this text?
• Grasp the text in our town - how should the individual Christian today apply this text? 

Welcome to the beginning of the first step–Grasp the text in their town. Today, you begin the actual process of interpreting a Biblical text. So let's get ready!

In our last hermeneutics post we discussed the importance of observing the text. Today, I would like to briefly discuss the three steps to the observation phase.

Someone once said that in order to really understand something you first must read it. Then, when you are finished you must read it again. Afterwards, to really begin to grasp the meaning you read it again...and again...and again.

You get the idea. Reading a text over and over will help you understand the flow of thought and argument an author is presenting. Therefore, we could say that the first step in observation is:

1. Read the text. In fact, you may want to read and re-read as many times as you need in order to really understand what is going on. I would personally recommend that one read the text at least 10-15 times before going any further. This is especially helpful if you are beginning a book study. Ideally, it is better to read the entire book in one sitting, if at all possible. There are several short books where this could be easily accomplished. Again, I cannot overstate how important this first step is. If one cannot grasp the flow of thought & the meaning of authorial intent then the rest of the study will be fruitless.
2. Observe the text. This next step is just as important! Observing the text means you are reading the text, but with intent. That is, you are now reading to look for specific things: coordinating conjunctions, repeated words/phrases, verbs of action, figures of speech, comparisons, and many other clues that will help you better understand and apply the meaning of the text (pp. 30-38 in Grasping God's Word). One helpful way (and this is also suggested in the book) is to copy & paste your text to a text document such as MS Word or Pages, or even a plain text and then print out the text to mark it up. Mark them in a way that is unique for you to understand so that you will know what you are looking at later on. Below, I've submitted my own example from a sermon in Acts that I preached a few years ago. I hope it will be helpful for you to see a real example. Examples are also provided in the book. 
3. Evaluate the text. One sure way to quickly gain the main points or thoughts of an author is to Phrase or Block Diagram a text. Phrasing is a method that takes all of the main thoughts and clauses and puts them on the left while indenting all of their subordinating clauses underneath of them. The example below is a a Phrase or Block Diagram, though at the time I was still perfecting the methods. It is a tool that I continue to use to this day. For more about phrasing just visit Biblearc.com (Phrasing) as well as their video examples. This English example video is excellent!

BD-Acts_1_1-8.1

Your next step is to find a passage and begin to observe. I recommend a something simple to start with. 1Peter is a good place to begin. Copy & paste and print out the first 9 verses and begin the observation phase. Remember to leave at least 2 spaces between each line so that you have plenty of room to note any significant points, such as comparisons, conjunctions, contrasts, etc. Happy hunting!

Hermeneutics part 3: Beginning the Observation Phase

I'm a big fan of the new Sherlock Holmes series, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. It's kinda like a modern twist on an old classic, which usually doesn't sit well with my taste, but somehow BBC made this really work.

One of the most impressive features of the show is Sherlock's ability to notice the seemingly insignificant things. These usually turn out to play a role in solving the crime. Something as simple as stain on a shirt, or a particular type of clothing always betrays the villain.

Bible study is the same way. It's the little things that add to the whole and make significant contributions to the story. For example, in John 4 we have the account of Jesus' encounter with a Samaritan women at Jacob's well. Jesus asks her for a drink and then launches into discourse about Himself being the Living Water.





This all seems a bit insignificant until we learn that the Samaritans were hated by the Jews! Normally, any self-respecting Jew that had to travel to the Northern part of Israel would travel all the way around Samaria to keep from "tainting" himself.

Samaritans were considered half-breeds, to some extent. During the Northern exile Assyria carried off most of the inhabitants of Northern Israel, leaving only the poorest of the land. Remember, Israel was split in two, Judah in the Southern half, and Israel in the Northern half during the reign of Rehoboam. When Assyria carried them off they re-settled the land with peoples from their other conquests. The people of Israel eventually began to inter-marry with these Gentile captives, and thus the Samaritans were born.

The Jews were not allowed to intermingle with other nations, hence their hatred for these people.

By the time of Jesus most Jews would go to great lengths to avoid them. When going to the Northern Israel they made it a point to walk all the way around their land. But notice the map above. The line represents Jesus' own journey. He didn't avoid Samaria. In fact, He took the most direct route. We know from John 4 that the entire village became believers on account of the woman's testimony. And it all started with Jesus' trip to Samaria.

My point is that I would not have known this significant piece of information without practicing the observation phase. This would have been just another lovely story about a woman accepting Christ as Messiah, and therefore would have lost its original impact.

Observation is the most important step in any Bible study. I can't overstate this enough. When we read we should be reading purposely, with intent, allowing our eyes to rest on every word, sentence, and paragraph.

Like Sherlock Holmes we need to break out the magnifying glass and begin to look for "clues" that will help us to grow in our relationship with Christ. In the next post we will discuss and lay out all the steps to the observation phase.

Thanks for stopping by, and stay tuned for the next post. But be warned–from here on out the real work begins!

Hermeneutics: Some Common Pitfalls

Last week I began our series on hermeneutics. Our goal is to study, not just read, God's Word so that we can understand it, apply it, and therefore, be sanctified by the Holy Spirit's work through the Word.

Before we get started with the actual process it's important to understand some of the pitfalls that are easy to fall into when doing hermeneutics–namely, the pitfall of US!! What do I mean? When we do hermeneutics we often approach it with a few biases that we weren't aware may of not been there:

1. Theological bias - Most of us already have theological disposition of some kind. When we approach a text we tend to view it through that theological lens. To be sure, many passages can come to the same conclusion despite those theological tendencies, but when other hard passages come into play, such as Romans 9, Revelation 3, the Levitical Law, etc., our biases really start to shine through. Hopefully, the hermeneutical process will squelch much of that to produce an honest interpretation of the passage.
2. Cultural connections - The culture that we are most accustomed to can even be a stumbling block sometimes. For example, a person who has grown up in the Middle East may read the sections about polygamy much differently than their Western counterparts. I remember in college two young men in the cafeteria debating over this very issue, both from different cultural backgrounds. Duvall & Hayes give other examples of this in Grasping God's Word. 
3. Social status - Jesus had a heart for the poor, and so should we. But we cannot interpret every single passage through that lens. Most of us struggle financially and can relate to many of the stories of the poor. However, we should not let that bias affect every interpretation of a given passage that we are studying. 
4. Personal upbringing - This has a lot do to with the first bias. The way we were raised to think about certain issues will also affect what we pre-bring to the text. Were we raised in an environment where social action was at the front line? Did our parents thrust us into the ministry with them? How were "non-desirable" people to be treated? This and scores of other things will most certainly affect our hermeneutics.

This is not to say that we can never properly interpret a passage of Scripture. It is simply to remind us that as we begin the interpretive process we must be aware of our own prejudices, and consequently, do our best to thrust them aside as we study Scripture. 

Can this be done? With that question looming I would just like to close this post with a few statements that remind us that it most certainly can be done!

1. Hermeneutics follows a set pattern of rules. We interpret every Scripture the exact same way. In other words, one would not use one particular hermeneutical process for the book of Genesis and then use a totally different approach to the Pauline epistles. This guards our own tendencies as stated above and gives accountability as we approach our own hot button issues in the Bible. 
2. Rules are "added" depending upon the genre you are studying. I know, I know. I just stated that the entire process is always the same. And it is. Particular genres introduce different dynamics to the equation and while the process itself doesn't change a number of other variables come into play which must be accounted for. So, when you are studying the book of Genesis it helps to understand that it is an historical narrative verses studying the book of Revelation which is in the form of an Apocalyptical/Epistle (letter). I will talk more about genres further into this series. 
3. Hermeneutics is process. Way too often we tend to jump straight to the interpretation of any given passage without fully going through the process. Understandably, time restraints often play into this. But for personal study we are really cheating ourselves by not following through on the entire process. Don't get too jumpy! It's going to be a long process but the pay-off will be well worth the travel. 

In our next post I will begin to lay out the process in steps. We will discuss the entire journey in a brief overview. From there on out we will pick a passage and actually begin to put some time in on the study of God's revelation to us. God bless, and keep coming back.

Steven 

Hermeneutics: What, How, Why, When, Where?

It's important to start 2015 right. And for the believer that usually means a resolution to read more of the Bible. And it's a good resolution. But how about a resolution, not only to read more of God's Word, but to study it!

Most people seem to be content with reading 3, or 4, or maybe even 5 chapters a day. But how many people would actually sit down for a solid hour to study? When I say study I don't just mean reading, and highlighting, and such. I mean digging deep; going beyond the norm and really understand and applying that Word to your daily living.

That's what the main goal is for hermeneutics. It's not just reading, it's studying and applying. And hopefully, God will grant me the grace to help you on your journey. This series intends to walk you through, step-by-step, the hermeneutical process. My goal is to get you started by taking 1 chapter from the Bible and really analyzing it to the point where you know exactly what it says and how you apply it. 1 chapter doesn't sound too ambitious, but you'll soon discover that it's a lot of work. Whew!

For this particular series I'm going to be using a few tools that you may want to invest in or find other comparable tools. Here's what you'll need in general:

1. I'm going to be using two key textbooks to outline the hermeneutical process. They are Grasping God's Word and Preaching God's Word. Both book are co-authored by the same author and compliment each other. Pictures of them are below. 
   
   
   
   


2. You'll also need some kind of text editor such as MS Word, Pages, Open Office, etc. Copying and pasting is much easier than trying to hand-write Scripture passages. 
3. I'll be mainly using Logos Bible software and making reference to theWord Bible software. You can use a plain old Bible but I believe software will make your time in the Word much more efficient. Don't worry about price, there are a lot of good free ones that work fine. I'll mention them during our journey. 
4. Most of all you'll need patience! This is not going to be an easy task. I promise you, at some point you'll get frustrated and want to quit. You'll get angry and slam your Bible shut. You'll think it's too hard. And it will be. Don't expect a pay-off right away. Study takes time but the fruit it reaps will be well worth it in the end. 

We're going to take this slow so that we can digest every little part. At the end of each section I'll try to post a short video walking you through the process of what we went over that day. I know some people need to actually see it in action to aid in the learning process. It's okay, I'm like that, too. 

That's pretty much it for this post. In the next post I'll discuss some common pitfalls of interpretation before we actually dive into a text. Remember, we're going to take this slow. We need to learn this process and practice a little at a time as we learn. In the end, we'll be able to put the whole thing together. 

God bless you in this new year, and I hope you'll keep coming back to enrich your time in the Word.

Soli Deo gloria!

Steven