How to Chart a Biblical Book

Our Basic Charting Methodology

1. Read for the BIG PICTURE of your passage.

Read through the entire biblical book you are studying at a brisk pace in one sitting. Read to get the big idea of the flow of the argument. Don’t get bogged down in a lot of the details or in various kinds of issues and questions at this point. At the end of your reading, write down a one sentence summary of the main theme of the book. Now repeat this and read through the book again in one sitting (perhaps from a different translation) and seek to improve upon your first statement of the main theme. Repeat this process as many times as you can, depending on the length of the book. End with a concise, crisp one sentence statement of the purpose of the biblical book.

2. Determine the main contours of the skeleton or the

structure of the biblical book.

From your multiple readings of the biblical book, you should have developed some sense of the basic structure of this book and the flow of the argument. Now is the time to express this structure in your own words. The question you are seeking to answer is this: “How did the biblical author (and the Holy Spirit) develop the main theme I determined in #1 above?” In other words, how is the main theme developed and validated? How did the author/Author make their case and prove their point? How did they structure their argument? How do the various parts of the book relate to one another in developing this big idea?

3. Decide how you want to chart the structure of the book,

usually vertically or horizontally.

If you decide to create a vertical chart, you can generally get more description on your chart. Vertical charts tend to be more word-oriented than visually-oriented. In some cases this is very helpful when you want to develop your description of the structure of different sections. If you decide to create an horizontal chart, you are creating a more visually powerful tool. It is more readily obvious as to the flow of the argument. However, you generally have less room for development of each section with additional descriptive phrases. Remember, the goal of either style of chart is to show the interrelation of the parts to the whole of the book as the argument of the book unfolds.

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The Structure and Argument of

1 THESSALONIANS

Purpose: to encourage the spiritually-young Thessalonian Christians... through Paul’s defense and modeling of his team’s ministry among them, through his desire to visit them, and

through the exhortation to excel still more in holy, exemplary living in five problem areas. 1:1 Greeting The greeting from Paul, Silas, and Timothy.....

is to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1:2-10 Thanksgiving Paul's thanksgiving for the Thessalonians' faith/love/& hope.....

(Exordium) is rooted in their imitation of godly standards and in their example of

work/labor/& steadfastness in the midst of much tribulation.

2:1-3:13 Narration (Narratio) The Defense of Paul's Ministry among them and

the Documentation of His Ongoing Eager Desire to Visit Them

2:1-16 The Defense:

2:1-12 The model behavior of Paul and his team among the Thessalonians.....

was bold, rightly motivated, and tenderly affectionate and sacrificial.

2:13-16 The Thessalonians' reception of the Word of God as authoritative.....

motivated them to become imitators of the suffering churches of Judea

and to suffer the same afflictions from their countrymen.

2:17-3:13 The Documentation:

2:17-3:5 Paul's ongoing eager desire to visit the Thessalonians (his glory and joy).....

was thwarted by Satan more than once, so he sent Timothy to find out about their faith.

3:6-10 Timothy's good report about their faith and love...

both comforted Paul and Silas & intensified their desire to minister to them again.

3:11-13 Paul's prayer in response to the report..... petitions God and Jesus to direct them to the Thessalonians and to increase their love for one

another and for all people.

4:1-5:22 Moral Exhortation (Exhortatio) Explaining God's Moral Will on 5 Major Issues

4:1-8 Issue #1 - God's will regarding their sexual conduct....

is that they abstain from sexual immorality & take a wife for themselves with a sense of honor & God-usefulness.

4:9-12 Issue #2 - The Thessalonians' Christian love for one another....

should abound still more by manifesting itself in healthy financial inter-dependence that meets Christians' needs.

4:13-18 Issue #3 - The encouragement of those who have lost fellow Christians to death....

is rooted in the coming of Christ to rapture both the dead in Christ and those who are living at His coming.

5:1-11 Issue #4 - The era of the day of the Lord....

will come suddenly in the future upon the "sons of the night" and therefore the "sons of the day" (Christians)

should have a present lifestyle of moral alertness and discipline in light of this coming wrath.

5:12-22 Issue #5 - Healthy body life within the church....

is characterized by high esteem for spiritual leaders, appropriate ministry and responses to one another, continual

rejoicing, and responsiveness to the Spirit's ministry by examining, but not quenching.

5:23-28 Closing (Peroratio?) Paul's epistolary conclusion....

includes a benediction, requests for prayer, greetings, and instructions for the widespread reading of the letter.

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Philemon

Purpose:

to appeal to and persuade the slave-owner and church leader, Philemon, to welcome back his runaway slave, Onesimus,

and accept him not as a slave, but as a new Christian brother.

Closing:

To send personal

greetings from other friends

(vv. 23-24) & to bless in a benediction

(v. 25).

Greeting:

To greet & bless Phi- lemon, his

family, & the church in his

house.

Thanks- giving:

To encourage Philemon by giving thanks for his faith &

love, which have refreshed

the saints’ hearts.

1 3 4 7 8 16 17 22 23 25

Body of the Letter:

The Persuasive Appeal: The Personal Conclusion: To appeal strongly to Philemon as his To urge Philemon as a older spiritual brother, now imprisoned, partner (v. 17) and as a to welcome Onesimus back, for love’s brother (v. 20) to accept sake, not as a runaway slave, Onesimus as he would but now as a Christian brother. Paul and to charge any

losses to Paul’s account, which he knows Philemon

will do obediently. (Bracketing: Philemon’s service to the saints)

Paul’s Posture as: v. 17- a partner vv. 1 (& 23)- a prisoner of Christ Jesus v. 9- an aged man v. 19- a spiritual father/patron v. 2- a fellow-worker v. 9- a prisoner of Christ Jesus v. 20- a spiritual brother

You need a clear, 1-sentence purpose statement.

Do a concise

summary of each

paragraph; don’t just

restate the verses.

Note key themes, repetition, minor structural insights, emotional texture, etc. Note major structural insights. Follow the paragraph divisions from

a literal translation.

Mark key sections.

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