Finding peace in the word of God!
Posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009
When studying God’s word use this technique:
The “Sentence Within” Technique
While completely reading all quotations herein, learn to focus on core ideas contained in Scripture passages. Verses that may seem familiar will almost certainly present new information previously overlooked, because every good Bible teacher will bring out new information from the Word.
In the quotations in the book, bold words will highlight a sentence within a sentence. For example consider the footnote just referenced.
A sentence:
Therefore every scribe concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.
Notice that the bold words within that sentence highlight another sentence, drawing attention to a particular thought.
A sentence within a sentence:
Every scribe brings out of his treasure things new and old.
So the bold words not only form a sub-sentence, but they indicate exactly which words support the point being made by the writer using the technique. Bold underlining brings into focus an even more basic idea, always forming a narrower sentence.
A sentence within a sentence within a sentence:
Every scribe brings out things new.
Techniques for studying the Bible, called hermeneutics, can be used properly or improperly. If used properly, this system of bold words and underlining can precisely denote one particular truth within a verse. The principle rule for using this technique properly is honesty. For leaving out a single word, especially a condition or negation, could distort a text. For example: “He who does believe is condemned” rather than Christ’s words “He who does not believe is condemned” would be dishonest. Used correctly, however, the sentence-within technique greatly aids Bible study. For example in Ephesians, Paul’s run-on, seven-verse sentence (Eph. 1:15-21) contains, “I give thanks for you,” which kernel of thought helps the student keep the rest of the passage in context. The sub-sentence helps the user of the technique communicate his ideas to the reader. The reader then considers whether the original author of the greater quote, say Paul or Jesus, also had in mind the same inner sentence. If so, then honest use of language and consideration of the context has indicated the validity of the sub-sentence.
The sentence within a sentence technique is designed to highlight not individual words but complete thoughts. Grammatical elements like subject, verb, and object help to constrain the range of interpretation and narrows the possible scope of the meaning of the passage.
I pray this helps you out when your studying and looking to FIND PEACE IN THE WORD OF GOD!
