Creating a Bible Arc

One of my favorite tools for Bible study is called "Bible Arc," which is an on-line tool created by Bethlehem College and Seminary (affiliated with John Piper's ministry). It's available at http://biblearc.com, and it is designed to help you graphically show the structure of a passage.

To me, the structure of a passage is one of the most important ways to really understand the passage. Whether you look at just the high-level structure or the low-level detailed structure, seeing how the passage fits together is extraordinarily helpful in understanding what the passage means. I've talked about the importance of seeing the structure many times before, including how we can see the Trinity show up in Ephesians 1:3-14 by first seeing the structure. There are just a few tools that really open up the meaning of Scripture for me, and finding the structure is one of them.

The difficulty has been having a convenient tool to show the structure. There's always pen and paper, but that usually leads to a lot of cross-out changes, and then there's the issue of filing away all the paper so that you can retrieve it later. There's word processing, and outlining a passage with multi-level lists shows the structure, but it's hard to "see" the structure. If the passage has a complicated structure, then the lists become even less capable of showing the structure well.

The idea behind Bible Arc is that it allows you to graphically show the structure electronically (which also takes care of all the crossing out and filing hassle). It's basic enough for a beginner to use, but it has enough features for experienced Bible scholars to use.

With Bible Arc, you start by selecting which passage you want to study for a new arc. You can pick from several different Bible translations, including the original languages, also allowing the user to make his own translation. You can have two translations side-by-side, or just one translation. You can also choose for the tool to automatically break up the passage by verses or to start with no automatic breaks at all.

After you create your initial arc, then you choose where the "breaks" are in the passage, such as sentences, phrases, if/then clauses, etc. You select between two words where a break should be (in both translations if using two), and then the tool breaks between then and puts a line. You can do this at a high-level or a very detailed level.

Then, after all the "parts" have been separated, then you "arc" the parts that need to be grouped together. For example, you might have two parts to a sentence, with a break between, but you still want to "arc" the two parts because they go together. Again, this can be pretty general or very detailed.

The third step is to identify what role the different parts play, and this may be a step that many people choose to skip (although it is very helpful). For example, if a part is an "if" clause, then you drag the "if" marker from the legend to right next to that part. (There's a Key that help you understand what all the markers mean.) Basically, you are labeling what function each part plays. You can even make up your own markers.


Some of the labels describe not the part, but how two parts fit together. For example, between a part that says "Bob was happy" and the part that says "and then he threw a big party," you would put the "P" marker, which means "Progression." The second part is a progression from the first part.


There are helpful videos of every step along the way to show you how to do it.

The only way to really get the hang of it is to first look at someone else's arc, and then to play with it on your own. You can see one of my simpler arcs (of 1 Tim 1:18-20) at http://biblearc.com?c2g4. Click on "Key" in order to see what the markers mean. But I recommend just playing with it sometime, if you're into methods of focused Bible study. It takes a little while to get the hang of it, but after that, I find that it actually saves time, because it helps me quickly see the structure of a passage.

More Cool Stuff in Scripture

Our reading through the New Testament together now has us in the Book of Acts, Luke's "sequel" to his Gospel, tracing the key events of the early church. There's something very cool in Acts that could well be Luke's cues to us about the structure of the book. There are six summary statements throughout Acts that seem to summarize the action that has preceded, and prepare for what follows. These six verses create six "panels," or sections, to Acts, which help us to see the important progression of the book.

The first summary verse is 6:7 ("And the word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith"). All of this action happening (especially persecution), and then all of the sudden, a summary verse that talks about the Word spreading, even to Jewish priests (success, despite the persecution). In the first section, the main character is Peter, the location is Jerusalem, and the audience is entirely Jewish. The very next thing is the story of Stephen, the first recorded martyr of the church, and as the persecution intensifies, many of the disciples are driven out from Jerusalem.

The second summary verse is 9:31 ("So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and, going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase"). Again, the narrative is talking about amazing events, and then out of the blue, a summary statement about the progress of the Gospel. In this second section, the main character is still Peter, but the location now includes Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, and therefore the audience of the Gospel now includes "half-Jews" - people who are not fully Jewish, but still have similar history and connections with Israel. The Gospel is beginning to spread out of Judaism, forced by the persecution. The very next thing are the accounts of Peter coming to terms with the Gospel spreading to, of all people, Gentiles. That was a huge paradigm shift for Peter and the others.

The third summary verse is 12:24 ("But the word of the Lord continued to grow and be multiplied") - the Word is continuing to spread. The main character is still Peter, but the location is now Palestine and Syria, which means the audience is primarily Gentile. The very next thing is the calling of Barnabas and Saul to become missionaries to the Gentile lands.

The fourth summary verse is 16:5 ("So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily") - another statement about the progress of the Gospel, despite the persecution of the new missionaries. The main character is now Paul (the Greek name for Saul, which he used as soon as he started going into Gentile lands). The location is now vastly different - Antioch and Asia Minor. The audience follows the same pattern in every town. First, the Jews, and then the Gentiles, who get far more attention because they are now more receptive than the Jews. The very next thing is the vision Paul has in a dream to go over to Europe (specifically, Macedonia), crossing greater boundaries with the Gospel.

The fifth summary verse is 19:20 ("So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing"). Still more progress with the Gospel despite violent rejection of the missionaries. The main character is still Paul, but the geography is Europe (Greece in particular) and the audience is overwhelmingly Gentile. The very next thing is Paul emphatically stating his determination to get to Rome with the Gospel. Rome is the center of the Western pagan world, the epicenter of Gentile politics, military, and religion.

The last summary verse is the final verse of the book, 28:31 ("And he [Paul] stayed two full years in his own rented quarters, and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered"), a statement of how Paul, even though under arrest on false charges, has freedom to preach the Gospel of Christ right in the center of power of the pagan West, the most influential city of the Greco-Roman world! The main character of this section is still Paul, the geography is Paul's journey from Jerusalem to Rome, and the audience is again mostly Gentile. The very next thing is ... the rest of church history!

The book starts in occupied, Jewish Jerusalem with a small band of scared Jesus freaks who have nothing but a command to make disciples of all nations and to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. The book ends in Rome, the Gentile capital, with the missionary to the Gentiles preaching the Gospel freely even within the household of Caesar himself. All along the way, Luke appears to give us summaries of the Gospel's progress even while telling us of the difficulties suffered by the apostles and missionaries. In every case, the very next thing is some brand new barrier that will be successfully crossed by this Gospel.

So, what is the book of Acts about? The structure itself tells us: by the power of the Holy Spirit, who is the real main character of every section, the Gospel will advance, not only in spite of the suffering of those willing to carry it across new boundaries, but even through their suffering. And the very next thing is the rest of church history!

As you read the Book of Acts with us, check out this structure and keep it in mind as you follow the storyline. It's a ripping good story!

What's the deal with the structure?

Last Sunday, we covered Psalm 106, and we saw how the psalm was laid out:

Praise (1-3)

   Request (4-5)

      Israel forgot, but God saved (6-12)

         Israel’s résumé of rebellion (13-39)

      Israel angered, but God remembered (40-46)

   Request (47)

Praise (48)

This kind of literary structure is called a chiasm (KEE-asm, or a "chiastic" structure), and they are actually pretty common in both the Old and New Testaments. I try not to "nerd it up" too much during a sermon with terms like this (only when I feel it will really be helpful), so I didn't mention what this structure was called or why they are important. The name "chiasm" comes from the Greek word for the letter "x," which is "chi," because the structure resembles the left half of the letter "x."

Why does Scripture have them, and why so frequently? First, it's a nice literary device - it's parallel and balanced, it reinforces ideas, and it organizes the point being made. Second, it helps set off one section of Scripture from another. The chiasm should be treated as a unit, somewhat distinct from what precedes and what follows. It helps us to know which ideas belong together, and we should study chiasms as a group, rather than separated into parts. You fully understand the point when you take it all together.

Third, a majority of the original audience of Scripture were listeners and not readers. They didn't have chapter numbers, verse numbers, or helpful paragraph headings. You can't always hear where a paragraph ends, for example. Literary structures like parallelism, transitional phrases, and chiasms help a listening audience know how the book is organized and how the thoughts go together.

Chiasms are important because, as noted earlier, they help us to know how best to study Scripture well. Literary units should most often be studied as units. Chiasms are also important because they help draw our attention to the center of the chiasm. In this case, the author draws our attention to the "résumé of rebellion," the large center section of the psalm. That's the author's teaching tool - Israel's repeatedly errant history. The other parts of the psalm help us to put that history in perspective and what to do about it.

That's why we started the sermon from the inside and worked our way out.

There's always a wise caution with chiasms, though. Some people go crazy with them - finding them where they don't really exist in Scripture, trying to make too big of a deal of how the structure affects the meaning of the passage, and so on. Structures like chiasms are helpful literary devices, not magic keys to unlock the "true" meaning of Scripture.

It's OK to "nerd it up" in the newsletter, right?

The Other Valuable Lesson on Bible Study

In my previous article, I talked about one of the toughest classes I ever had, and the valuable lesson I learned about studying the Bible by learning how to ask good questions about the Scripture. There are plenty of ways to find the answers, but asking good questions first will help lead you to the most valuable answers. I mentioned that this was one of two highly valuable methods I've learned to study the Word.

The second method sounds more scary than it really is. I have learned that finding the basic structure of a passage is tremendously helpful in studying what it means. Yikes! That's sounds hard and complicated! It can be, depending on how deep you want to go, but it doesn't have to be all that complicated.

Learning how to do this is more than a single article can teach, but I want to at least give you a favorite example of mine. Read Ephesians 1:3-14. Take a second to answer the question, "What is this passage about?"

There's a three-part structure to this passage. In this case, the three-part structure is marked by a phrase that is repeated. Look for it - see if you can find a phrase repeated three times in the passage. It's not verbatim the same, but it's close, and it's important to the passage. (Look for it on your own, but if you get stuck, keep reading for a hint.)

(Hint: Look in verses 6, 12, and 14.)

The repeated phrase is "to the praise of His glory," or something similar. If you didn't find it, stop and look for it until you see it.

Now, who is each one of these phrases talking about? (It's not the same person in each case.) Take a look before continuing.

That phrase occurs once for each person of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And that gives us a basic structure of Eph 1:3-14 (vv. 3-10 are about the Father, 11-12 are about the Son, and 13-14 are about the Holy Spirit). Furthermore, each section tells us something about the unique ministry of each one. Plus, the passage as a whole shows us the Trinity (without even using the word "trinity").

Now, re-read the passage and re-answer the question we asked before, "What is this passage about?" Did the structure give you a deeper answer to the question (even a little)?

Finding the structure of a passage can help us understand it much better. Next week, we'll look at the structure of chapter 2 and how that helps us understand it better.