In My Experience
Going through this letter with you in its entirety has been an eye-opening experience. Previously, I’ve thought I’d studied thoroughly, but when I want to make sure you are with me in what I’m learning? That changes it. I wouldn’t say that I learn more because we’ve studied together, I think I’ve learned better. If I can’t explain it to you and have you reach a level of understanding, then I haven’t learned it well enough.
Have you been continuing to read the whole letter at the beginning of each new passage? Or have it read to you. Either way. I realize that seems tedious, but the biggest surprise I’ve had is how friendly and familiar the words have become.
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus…” I can hear the Logos man in my head and it brings comfort. There has been a lot of tumult at least in my world in the last 18 months that we’ve been meeting over this letter, and that one thing has remained stable. Could I have planned that? Not in an overt, I will have this result at the end of my time studying. Reading a book over and over has proven beneficial in the past, but I don’t think I would have been able to tell you that the familiarity would at this time breed confidence and knowledge and peace.
How has it gone for you? What surprised you in the repetition of reading/hearing?
The Final Passage
As we move through the letter sentence diagramming, we’ve been talking about those kinds of words that indicate a change of subject or direction in Paul’s thought. Reading the entire letter once again to keep the context in mind, we come to a new section which begins with the English word finally. Which seems to imply a wrap up sort of section. A marker for the beginning of a new passage.
In my estimation, the end of the passage isn’t the end of the letter. But the last passage is so short, we will consider it along with our next passage. It’s a two-fer. Let’s talk about where they start/stop.
When we read through the first passage, we see it’s all about the armor of God. We get down to the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Paul tells his audience what to do with that article of weaponry in Ephesians 6:18-20.
All through the description of the armor, each phrase is connected with an and. Then in Ephesians 6:21, Paul says “so that.” A switch in gears to a simple circumstance. So that the congregation would know how he was doing, Paul did this action of sending someone to them. And then at the very end of the letter, a pronouncement over the congregation. These comments are not related particularly to the description of the armor which is why I’m considering that they are a different passage.
Sentence Diagram
If you’ve been following for a while, you know the first step to my process (first after reading the whole letter) when analyzing a passage in an epistle is to sentence diagram. That’s before I look at types or meanings of words. Our objective is to be in the passage, getting familiar with it and organizing it. As we line up phrases, seeing the relationships between the phrases, we may find the Greek word-types and the English word-types (is it a straight verb or a participle?) are not the same when going from one language to another. That’s just fine, those kinds of notes can be jotted on the diagram. If it even is of interest when we get there.
Right down to the end of the letter, we are not necessarily striving for perfection in our structural diagram. We are (excuse my assumption) not fluent ancient Greek speakers or readers so all we can do is use the translation we have in front of us, trusting the scholars who labored over it for us.
As usual, I’ve included here a way for you to print a copy of mine. If you prefer not to create your own this time, that’s fine. Or perhaps you’d like to print a copy so you can follow along and see what I’m talking about for the process. Then maybe you’ll feel confident to create your own. In any case, here you go:
Let’s look at a few of the nuts and bolts of the actual process of sentence diagramming once again.
Line Up Implied Subjects
In this passage, Paul reverts back to directing his comments toward the entire congregation again. Most of the phrases have the subject implied. Just like in English, we can say, “shut the door” and it’s understood that the subject is “you.” For my sentence diagram, I chose to line up all of those phrases that look like they begin with “you.”
- be strong (Eph 6:10)
- put on (Eph 6:11)
- take up (Eph 6:13)
- stand (Eph 6:14)
- take up (Eph 6:16)
- and so forth
See how all of those phrases have the understood subject of “you?” Lining those up allow us to see the verbs clearly. When we start looking at some words to understand the picture Paul is painting for us, they are laid out. We can observe what kinds of words they are. Are they verbs that are? Do they explain a state of being? Or are they verbs that tell the audience to be in motion? Do these things. Or even are they participles, verbal nouns?
With types of words lined up, we can clearly see them and analyze them and understand better what Paul wanted to share with his audience.
Connectors and Modifiers
When sentence diagramming, we don’t want to lose any of the words. In the past, I’ve stuck “and‘s” and other seemingly inconsequential words over on the right side, not lined up in any way. They were just chucked over there. I’m growing and changing all the time. Now I line them up next to the verse numbers so I don’t lose track of them. The word and in Greek is a common connector, just like in English. I don’t recall right now what I read a while back about this word, but it isn’t a throw away word. Paul wasn’t simply filling up papyrus when he used the word and.
On that left margin, I also put prepositional phrases and other modifying phrases that are at the beginning of the main phrase. Examples from this passage are
- finally (Eph 6:10)
- therefore (Eph 6:13)
- in all circumstances (Eph 6:16)
With those words and phrases lined up, I was able to then line up those phrases with the implied subjects more easily. We never rearrange the order of the words; that’s a no-no. But sometimes the modifying phrases come before the subject and sometimes after. When I line them up on the left margin, that leaves me free to line up those implied subjects we talked about earlier without compromising the word order of the passage. And I can still see everything clearly.
Prepositions
One of my favorite word-types to line up are the prepositions. Why yes, I do have a favorite word-type. Having a phrase modified potentially in so many different ways is interesting to me. Paul chooses these modifiers. Why? Fascinating.
Okay, I’ll calm down the nerd a bit, but as we move through the passage, there are a number of different instances that Paul explains and illustrates through the use of prepositions.
In Ephesians 6:10-11, he tells his audience to be strong. How? In the Lord, in the strength of his might. Are there other ways to be strong? Almost certainly, but how can the audience focus on strong-ness according to Paul? It’s all contained in Jesus. See? Super cool.
There are other places Paul uses prepositions like Ephesians 6:18-20. But the one example in particular my attention was drawn was Ephesians 6:12.
Anaphora
I’ll bring the verse here (Ephesians 6:12 ESV), kind of diagrammed. I’m not sure the “diagram” is easy to see on a phone, but it works on a tablet or a computer.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood
but against the rulers
against the authorities
against the cosmic powers over this present darkness
against the spiritual forces
of evil
in the heavenly places. See all the against‘s? There is a not…against (which if you think about it, it’s a sort of double negative. Maybe more emphatic?) followed by a but…against series. Against is a preposition, yes, but Paul used a technique by repeating them. This is a technique often used by orators to create powerful and memorable speeches. This technique, anaphora, is used down to our current day to be emphatic as well as sticky to our memories.
Heard of “Go big or go home”? Anaphora. The go’s are repeated. Patrick Henry used anaphora when he spoke those famous words, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Paul did the same thing to a greater extent by repeating against multiple times. Repetition has purpose both in the spoken word and the written word.
Reflection
As you know, at this point there can’t be much by way of “how does this apply to my life” because the cart of application does not come before the horse of interpretation. Or of observation for that matter. However, we can read what there is in English and have basic comprehension.
For example, in Ephesians 6:18-20, there is a call to prayer. Paul says that prayer should happen all the time, in the Spirit, for all the saints, and also for him.
For him? Paul? And what does he request? The right words to speak? With boldness?
Does this strike anyone else as odd? Based on what we know of Paul, how could he need prayer for right words or boldness?
More importantly, since Paul needed prayer for these things, what does that say about the rest of us believers? Basic comprehension…not only do I need prayer, I need to be praying for the rest of the saints. We all need right words to proclaim the gospel and its realities, as well as the boldness to use them. Here is a real life example from this week.
Speaking the Words as We Ought
Does anyone remember back last year, right before Christmas? We spent this time together here. A very similar experience, which I related to you last year, happened to a lady this last week with one of her kids. I don’t know this lady very well, in fact I only know her from a doctor’s office. But each time I have an appointment and I bump into her, it seems like there has been a terrible circumstance in her life just in the last day or so.
Just to be clear, I would never, never, never choose the difficulties I’ve had with my own children. These pains and trials were not what I imagined for them when I brought these treasures home from the hospital. However, in God’s wisdom, he knows that without actually experiencing the pain first-hand, I wouldn’t have had the same words given or had the boldness to speak as I ought. “Boldness” which translates in my case to re-entering into the pain that I experienced last year as this lady is experiencing for the first time.
Crying the tears with her. Hugging her. Praying for peace right in that moment for her in her darkness. While this lady already knows and loves Jesus, it’s still the gospel that is being spoken. It’s the good news of the reality of the gospel in the muddy, seemingly hopeless trenches of life.
If Paul calls for prayer for himself as well as all the rest of the saints, we want to be sure to prepare for our missions with prayer for ourselves and the rest of the saints.
Father, I pray for words for my brothers and sisters to declare boldly as they ought to speak. The words that have been given them through their unique and ordained experiences.
Wrap Up
Our Bible Study Bite for today is to remember to read the whole letter at least when we start a new passage. Like I said, it may seem tedious but it will most likely yield results that surprise you.
Example of Repetition
Jeremy was telling me about another book he’s been reading and it’s been relating how Sesame Street and other kids’ education programming work. The book tells of how there is often repetition associated with the success of the kids’ learning of a subject. Repetition as in sometimes the same program was aired every day of the week. Doing studies of the kids’ reactions and attention-spans from those programs which were aired in the 70’s and through when my kids were little in the 90’s and 2000’s, the kids were found not to be ultimately bored with the shows they saw over and over.
They participated.
After seeing the program a number of times, the little people began to engage with the program. Singing the songs, answering the questions, participating with the story being shared.
Why is this important to consider? God designed people to work this way. He even told us that in some ways we are to be like little children. Not necessarily precisely in this way, of course. But I think there is an implication. If we can plug into the way that little people are successful in learning, why would we not? Being in touch with the basics of repetition and story isn’t childish or immature. It’s acknowledging the wisdom of the one who created us to learn in these ways.
Thanks for studying with me today! If you’ve found anything helpful here, please like and subscribe. And if you know of other students of the Word, would you please share so we can all study and encourage each other with what we’re learning?
