Is Grammatical Diagramming Important?

A Greek grammatical diagram of Philippians 1:29 underscores both its importance and an unsettling theological truth—suffering for Christ is a gift of grace!

 

ὅτι ὑμῖν ἐχαρίσθη τὸ ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ, οὐ μόνον τὸ εἰς αὐτὸν πιστεύειν ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ πάσχειν

Recognizing this fact centers on a seemingly extraneous definite article, translated in some English versions as it or by ignoring the presence of the article. The NET Bible note is instructive,

For that which is on behalf of Christ has been granted to you—namely, not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him.” The infinitive phrases are epexegetical to the subject, τὸ ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ (to huper Christou), which has the force of “the on-behalf-of-Christ thing,” or “the thing on behalf of Christ.” To translate this in English requires a different idiom.

 The subject of the main verb is a neuter nominative singular article the contents of which are defined by the two infinitive phrases that follow, believing and suffering. The subject of the verb cannot be limited to either believing or suffering. The gracious gift (ἐχαρίσθη) includes both. The correlative conjunctions οὐ μόνον and ἀλλὰ καὶ further validate this conclusion.

Diagramming has great scholarly and practical value for the preacher, teacher, and theologian. Here are a few key quotes from Lee L. Kantenwein, Diagrammatical Analysis:

(Page 7)“Diagrammatical analysis of the Biblical languages is an indispensable and methodological exegetical tool for the purpose of observing sentence structure and syntactical relationships.”

Again, (Page 9)“Therefore, diagramming is a diagnosis of syntax serving to pinpoint the relation that words have one to another, and thereby facilitating grammatical exegesis, the cornerstone of theological exegesis.”

Continuing, (Page 9)“The individual who is unable to express in some graphic way the structure of sentences is frequently not able to grasp the complete thought housed in a group of words.”

Finally, (Page 13) "There is no such thing as an unimportant detail or word of the Scripture text."

Diagramming a passage may be difficult and tedious work and at times reveal nothing more that what a simple reading of the text shows. At other times, however, frequently unexpectedly, diagramming becomes a critical pointer to discovery. Grammatical diagramming is inseparable to a comprehensive exegetical methodology.