Structure
	The reader is therefore urged to become structure-conscience, for if he does so he will find many passages unfolding before his eyes which he could otherwise not understand. -Robert Traina

Structure

We are moving on now to consider the relationship that exists between words. Words by themselves mean very little, they find their exact menaning as they occur in relationship to other words. Here is an excerpt from one of Vern Poythress' books. The section entitled "The Meaning of Words" helps to illustrate the relationship that exists between words.

There are two kinds of structure to look for: grammatical, and literary.

1. Grammatical - Grammatical structure pays close attention to the relationship between words. It identifies the subjects, objects, verbs, etc. It looks at which term modifies another term. There are important doctrines that hing upon the correct relationships being drawn between terms. However, since this is an introductory course we will not spend time here trying to identify predicate nominatives, or attempting to diagram sentences. This are useful activities, and I would encourage those who are interested to pursue this further. However, this is beyond the scope of our current class. Yet, we will consider some connectives here:
   1. Temporal - Words that indicate a temporal connection: after, as, before, now, then, until, when, while, etc. e.g Acts 1:4-8; Rom 4:9-11.
   2. Geographical - Here we look primarily for the names of cities, regions, mountians, etc. e.g. Exodus.
   3. Logical
      1. Reason/Purpose - for, since, in order that, so that. Rom 7:4 cf Jn 15:8; Matt 5:16; Phill 1:11.
      2. Result so, then, therefore, thus. e.g. Rom 5:1-3.
      3. Contrast - although, but, much more, nevertheless, otherwise, yet. Rom 5:9-10.
      4. Conclusion/Inference - therefore, on account of this. e.g. Rom 6:12
   4. Continuation - and. e.g. Rom 5:1-6.
   5. Emphatic - words such as: indeed, only, truly truly. e.g. Rom 2:25.
2. Literary - Literary structure is the broader structure of a book. While grammatic structure concerns itself with the relationship between terms or clauses or phrases, literary structure is more concerned with the relationship between paragraphs, segments, sections, and divisions. We will look more at this next time.

Homework

1. Attempt to discover the flow of a passage that you are going through in a small group or Sunday school class.

2. If you are not involved in such a class, or if you want more practice, read the first 4 chapters of Romans and try to find the connections there. Try to outline the structure of Paul's thought.