#10 Linking Words

Linking Words

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“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”

I just read what is commonly known as the Great Commission.

What is being commanded?

A: Go, make disciples, baptizing… and teaching them

Does Jesus give us a reason why we should obey this command?

A: All authority…

How do you know which part of the passage is the command and which part is the reason?

A: The linking word signals a connection between the command and reason

What is the linking word?

A: Therefore

What are linking words?

The “therefore” in is one of example of the tool that we’re going to look at today—which we’ll call the linking words tool. The last few weeks we’ve gone through interpretive tools in our personal bible study toolbox.

Identifying linking words and how they work helps us understand the relationship between various.

What is a preposition?

When I say preposition, I merely mean a statement about something that includes:

· a subject, and

· a predicate (part of the sentence containing a verb and stating something about the subject)

For example, the sentence “Dogs bark” is a complete preposition.

What is the subject? Dog

What is the predicate? Barks

What if we expanded the sentence to, “Dogs bark outside my house”?

What is the subject? Dogs

What is the predicate?

A: All that follows the verb is the predicate.

These are simple enough. Many times in Scripture we find whole paragraphs composed of multiple prepositions. Our job is to understand how the prepositions relate to one another.

How do we do that?

Linking words. We look at the linking words between prepositions, which in turn tells us how the prepositions relate to each other.

This is not a new concept, right? Remember when you were young, and your mom said to you,

Don’t touch the stove because it will burn you.

Thankfully, in that situation your mom made it clear.

Don’t touch the stove, and It will burn you are not separate statements, or prepositions. They’re connected by the word because.

Don’t touch the stove because it will burn you.

Because links the two prepositions together and tells us that being burned is the reason or grounds for why you should not touch the stove.

Linking words can be used a number of ways:

· Give examples… for instance

· Add information… Furthermore

· Summarize… In short

· Sequence/show a progression of ideas… Firstly, secondly,… finally

· Give a reason… Because

· Give a result or purpose… So that

· Contrast ideas… However

· Distinguish… And

Today, we’ll highlight 4 linking words, starting with:

1. For: Let’s start with “for,” looking at the examples in your handout.

Example 1: —“Give thanks to the Lord, FOR his love endures forever.”

The linking word for tells us the reason/grounds for why the command is given.

Give thanks to the Lord…

For what reason?

FOR his love endures forever.

“For” has the same linking function as words like

“because” and “since.”

Example 2: —“If they do not have self-control, let them marry, FOR it is better to marry than to burn with passion.”

Questions:

· For those who do not have self control, what should they do? Marry

· And what is the reason they should marry? FOR it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

Example 3: —“Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, FOR I know that through you prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.”

Questions:

· What does Paul say that he will do? Continue to rejoice

· And what’s the reason Paul says he’ll continue to rejoice, despite being in chains? He will ultimately be delivered—the FOR helps us see the link.

Example 4: —“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, FOR he who is promised is faithful.”

Questions:

· What are we to do? Hold unswervingly to our hope

· Why (on what grounds) are we to do it? He who promised is faithful

2. Therefore: Like the word FOR, the word THEREFORE also provides much insight into the flow of thought between two different prepositions. But if FOR points from right to left

THEREFORE points from left to right. Both are linking words, but THEREFORE indicates a particular consequence of a preceding statement.

The example that we had just looked at in could be flipped around. “He who is promised is faithful, THEREFORE let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.”

Words and phrases like “Consequently” and “For this reason” function similarly.

Example 1: READ

So… what is the therefore (v.9) there for?

Questions:

· What did God the Father do? Exalt Jesus to the highest place.

· Why did he do it? Because he obeyed the Father, becoming a man, and dying on the cross for a sinful people to repent and believe.

Example 2 (FOR and THEREFORE):

—“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”

3. If: IF statements can be understood one of two ways:

i. Conditional Statements

Example 1: READ ,

Questions:

· What conditions are being linked by the word IF? These verses lay down an ultimatum for Israel. God’s blessing for them is conditional upon their keeping the terms of His covenant. The blessings are not automatic and can be lost IF the people turn away from Him—which they do turn away from Him, again and again.

· What is the your response to this passage as one who is now in Christ? Praise God that the covenant that He made with me was not dependant on my righteousness, but Jesus Christ’s!

ii. Because Statements: If statements can also be used in a way similar to the because statement.

Example 2: READ

Questions:

· How is Peter using IF here as a because statement? Peter is not suggesting that there’s any doubt whether these things happened. Rather, he’s using IF in a way that’s similar to because, saying that God can be relied upon for rescuing the righteous in Christ from the punishment of the wicked outside of Christ.

4. So that: So that statements can also be understood two ways.

They can tell us the PURPOSE behind something…

Example 1: —“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with the power through his Spirit in your inner being SO THAT Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”

Or, they can introduce the result of something.

Example 2: —“Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak.”

Activity: —pulling it all together, let’s look at , and I want you to underline the linking words.

READ

Questions:

· There are 3 SO THAT’s in our passage (v. 5, 8, 10).

· Why does Paul tell us to live godly lives?

· What is the significance of v.4 in verse 11? Why is the linkage of 1-10 (commands) and 11-14 (grounds) all that important? (Grace motivated obedience)

Any Questions?

Conclusion: In conclusion—did you catch that linking word?—I hope that you are able to see how linking words act as interpretive queues for our personal bible study, helping us follow the authors argument and, ultimately, see what the Lord has for us in a given passage. Let’s pray.

HANDOUT...

How to Study the Bible

Class 10: Linking Words

I. What are linking words?

· Help us to see relationships between various propositions

· Proposition: An assertion or statement about something that must include a subject and a predicate

· Linking words can be used to ...

II. Four Common Linking Words in Scripture

1. For - indicates the reason or grounds

“Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever”

()

“If they do not have self control, let them marry, for it is better to marry than burn with passion” ()

“Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance”

().

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who is promised is faithful” ()

2. “therefore” - indicates a particular effect or consequence of a preceding statement

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” ()

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. ()

3. “If” - can be understood in two ways:

1) Conditional ...

“If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom ... However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.”

(, )

2) Or, as because ...

“If God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorra by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous should by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) - if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.” ()

4. “So that” statements - can be understood two ways:

1) Indicate purpose

strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, SO THAT Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith”

()

2) Demonstrate a result

“Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak…” ()

1 You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.

2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.

4 Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children,

5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.

7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness

8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

9 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them,

10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.

12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,

13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,

14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

Remaining Schedule Section III: Interpretive Tools

· Repetition

· Using Commentaries & Other Resources

· Studying Difficult Passages & Familiar Passages

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