Special Question #4
Utilizing the 9 items a reader should observe in paragraphs (see chapter 4 of Grasping God's
Word), list as many of these items as you can observe in Philippians 2:1–4. Offer the items as a
list (e.g., you could list the "emotional terms" of the passage including such words as
"encouragement" or "comfort"). The goal here is to see how many of the 9 you can find in
Philippians 2. We are not interested here in interpretation or application, just observations
concerning the details of the paragraph with regards to the 9 items a reader should observe. What
details did you discover that you had not noticed before? How do you think this exercise can
help you to interpret the text better?
To make observations in the paragraph form, we must first visit the verse in which we
will be making the observations about. The verses are Philippians 2:1-4 “Therefore if you have
any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common
sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being
like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish
ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your
own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”1
General and Specific – Paul goes into general of being united with Christ, then to specific in
how someone acts when they are united in Christ.
Questions and Answers- no questions or answers
Dialogue – none
Purpose/ Result Statement – being unified in Christ, taking comfort and encouragement from
this unity in His love and oneness.
Means (By which something is accomplished) – if we follow Christ’s example, we will have
humility and love towards others. Placing their interests or needs above our own
1 Unless otherwise stated, all Bible references are from the New International Version (Colorado Springs: Biblica,
2011), accessed January 25, 2021, http://www.biblegateway.com/
Conditional Clauses - there are four conditional clauses/phrases – If you have an
encouragement, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any
tenderness and compassion. Result – then make my joy complete by being like minded
Actions of people – We are to follow Christ’s example of love, compassion, tenderness toward
others. We are to do nothing for selfish gain or to be in vain conceit. We are also told to through
humility value others above ourselves and out their interests above our own.
Actions of God - The Son Jesus or Christ is our example of how to treat others because we
unified with in Spirit, with his love, and compassion plus tenderness
Emotional Terms – there are a lot of emotional terms in this paragraph such as encouragement,
comfort, love, tenderness, compassion, and humility
Tone – the tone is exhortation from Paul
My first glance at the passage above I did not notice too much, but as I kept rereading the
little details began to show themselves. Our authors say, “to be effective in serving God... we
must be obedient to His Word and meditate on it constantly”2 I am learning that meditating on
the Word of God is pulling the sentences apart and actually study the Word of God. I never
realized the detail of “general to specific or from specific to general.”3 That in the passage above
Paul goes from a very general statement of being unified with Christ, to how that should be
mirrored in our own lives. As Klein states, “the interpreter must possess certain competencies
and must work with the correct and accurate methodology.”4 This is what I am learning to do,
use the correct methodology. As with any professions like doctors, programmers, pilots, and the
like, if they did not learn how accurately apply and use the tools of their craft; then they would
2 Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays Grasping God’s Word (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), 48.
3 Ibid,. 81.
4 William W. Klein, Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard, Jr. Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, 3rd ed.
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017), 201.
not be able to help their clients/customers correctly. If we don’t learn how to correctly look for
the purpose of the Biblical text or look for word repetition, then we won’t be able to truly help
ourselves and others in truly interpreting the Word of God. Because proper hermeneutics and the
use of the associated tools helps us to discern God’s message, dispel misconceptions or
falsehoods, along with how to properly apply the text to our lives.5
5 William W. Klein, Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard, Jr. Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, 3rd ed.
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017), 63.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
