Mining the Word for the Treasures of God
In Living Color
USING COLOR TO SEE PATTERNS IN YOUR BIBLE STUDY
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There are a few simple things I like to have on hand when I study the Bible: A pen so I can circle, mark, and underline the text; a notebook so I can write about my questions and observations; and a set of 24 twistable crayons.
I think I’ve forgotten how to study the Bible without using color. It is such an essential part of my practice that a page of the Bible with no color feels like a page I have sorely neglected.
In this post I will share some tips for using color to help you see patterns in the Bible. I’ll share how I’m currently using color in the book of Luke, plus give you two color coding plans shared by some guys in our Deeper Riches community.
No matter how much you’ve used color in the past, there should be something helpful here for you.
Choose Your Tools:
The first thing you need is a way to mark the text in color. You want something with a good variety of colors that will not bleed through your pages. My favorite tools for color are crayons. Crayola makes a great set of 24 twistable crayons.
Once you’ve got some color in your hands, what should you do with it? Here are some ideas to help you get started:
Use Color to See Repetition
One of the easiest ways to start using color is to mark repeated words or ideas within a passage. They will pop off the page when they are marked in the same color. This is a simple way to help you see the theme of a specific passage.
For example, in Luke 3:1-21, I noticed the word “baptism” or “baptized” repeated frequently, so I circled each instance in brown. I colored every reference to repentance in turquoise, and every mention of “warning,” “wrath,” or “fire” in red. This helped me see the fiery nature of John the Baptist’s message.
On the second page, the phrase, “What should we do?” is repeated three times, and you can see it pop because it is circled in yellow. I noticed John’s responses were all talking about money or possessions, so I marked that with light green.
Use Color to Trace the Themes
Another important way to use color is to trace the themes of an entire book.
In the book of Luke, for example, I’ve been tracing the “Kingdom” theme by marking in purple every mention of “king,” “David,” “kingdom,” and “throne.” Green is the color I use for the “Salvation” theme.
You can also use color to trace the progression of a character or idea across the book, or to see things that otherwise fade into the background.
For example, I noticed that Luke references a lot of Old Testament people, places, and practices. So I started marking references to Israel’s culture and history in orange. I’ve been tracking the work of the Holy Spirit with pink.
I keep my primary colors for tracing these big themes, and use all my secondary colors for marking repetition inside specific passages.
Color makes repeated words and ideas pop off the page so I can easily see what is important. It helps me see how the author is developing a theme, or notice when something brand new is introduced.
Color Key for Luke:
Want to see my entire color-coding key for the book of Luke? I’ve made a bookmark with all the themes and motifs I’m tracking:
Use Color to See the Who, What, When, Where
People use color in all sorts of ways. My friend, Nate, has developed a completely different color system to help him spot the who, what, when, where, and structure of a passage.
You can see in the example that he has marked all references to God in orange. For people other than God, he uses different colors for first, second, and third person (as in the example), or he chooses a different color for each character (not shown). (1st, 2nd, 3rd person would be especially helpful when studying a letter, like Colossians.)
You can see the “where” in light green, and the “when” in brown.
You may have noticed a lot of purple in Nate’s example. He is using purple to mark important connecting words. This helps reveal the structure of a passage, how the author is connecting ideas.
Get Nate's Guide:
Nate has generously shared his color coding system in a free PDF for our Deeper Riches community. It has all kinds of useful tips for making Observations, and applies more broadly than the book of Luke.
Learning how to observe the content of a Biblical text and study the Bible on my own has been transformative for me over the last several years. My prayer is that others will be encouraged and equipped to do the same through careful observation and diligent study of the text. That's why I'm sharing this resource.
What about Daily Bible Reading?
So far we’ve been talking about using color for Bible Study, but color can be useful in your daily Bible Reading as well. (See this post on Bible Reading vs. Bible Study.)
Using color consistently in your Bible reading can help you track the overarching themes of the entire Bible. My husband, David, is using colored highlighters as he reads through the entire Bible this year, and he gave me his key to share with you:
David’s Color Coding Key for the Entire Bible:
Yellow – fear or anything that stands out
Red – enemies, wrath, punishment
Blue – covenant, sovereignty, God’s works, the nations
Green – blessing, money, inheritance
Orange – meditation, the tongue, miscellaneous
Purple– crying out, calling on God, shouting to the Lord
Pink – love, mercy, the heart
Here’s what this looks like in David’s Bible:
With this much color, it’s not surprising that David begins fresh with a new copy of the Bible every time he reads it through. These Bibles are a treasure in our house. We have six children, and each one will receive one of Dad’s Bibles when they leave home.
Your Turn
The most important tip I can give you is to use color in a way that makes sense to you. It doesn’t need to look exactly like me, or Nate, or David.
Try a few things out and see what works for you. If you use a double spaced copy of the text (like what Nate and I both used above) then you can always print a new copy and start over if you want to try something new.
If you are already using color, we’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below or share a pic of your own text on Instagram at #lukeinlivingcolor.
The goal isn't to get it "right," or create something that is worthy of Instagram. The goal is to know God more through the study of his Word, and let our lives (not our crayons) adorn the gospel.
Ideas for using Color:
1. Mark repeated words and ideas.
2. Trace the themes of the text.
3. Keep track of people, places or timelines.
4. Draw attention to patterns you see in the text.
