Opened (1272)(dianoigo from dia = through, between, used here as an intensive + anoigo = to open, remove that which obstructs) means to open completely (wide, like "double folding doors") and can speak of opening to one's understanding what is otherwise hidden to their intellect. To open the sense of Scripture and thus to explain the Scripture. To thoroughly disclose or cause one to thoroughly understand. Albert Barnes says dianoigo "means to explain what is concealed or obscure." Dianoigo is one of those truly "supernatural" words, a word that speaks of the Spirit's enabling power! It is used by Mark to describe the miraculous giving of hearing by Jesus (Mk 7:34, 32-33). The remainder of the NT uses are by Dr. Luke to describe the opening of the womb (context = miraculous birth of Jesus) (Lk 2:23), the supernatural opening of one's (spiritual) eyes ("the eyes of our heart") to recognize the Messiah (Lk 24:31), the opening of one's mind to Scriptural truth, explaining the truth, (and unless this occurs, we cannot truly understand it naturally, because it is supernatural!) (Lk 24:45, cp Lk 24:32), the opening of heaven to Stephen so that he could see Jesus (Acts 7:56), the supernatural opening of Lydia's heart to receive the Gospel preached by Paul (Acts 16:14) We see an OT parallel when Elisha prayed for his servant's (spiritual) eyes to be opened and given "supernatural vision." (2Ki 6:17) Note that the idiomatic phrase "a male that opens the womb" (Lk 2:23) speaks of the first-born male. "The Bible is divine revelation, not human discovery. Spiritual truth is a gift from God to blinded, sinful humanity." (Utley) In the Septuagint (Lxx), dianoigo is used to describe Sheol "opening wide" it's mouth (a dramatic picture of it being unavoidable or inescapable!) or of men "opening wide" their mouth to speak against the Jews (Lam 2:16, 3:46), of Ezekiel's spiritual feeding (Ezek 3:2), of "gates of rivers" opened to flood and destroy (Nah 2:6), of God opening His eyes to smite Judah's enemies (Zech 12:4), of a (supernatural) fountain opened "in that day" (the Millennium), a fountain "for sin and impurity." (Zech 13:1) Roy Zuck - Dianoigo means “to open,” and was the word used by our Lord when He healed a deaf man’s ears (Mark 7:34). In a more figurative sense, this verb is used of the opening of one’s eyes, mind, and heart so the person may understand spiritual truths. This stresses the divine element essential in Bible teaching. Only Christ could open the eyes of the Emmaus disciples so they would know that He was the One with them (Luke 24:31). Only Christ could open the Scriptures to them so they would appreciate them and know their meaning (Luke 24:32). Only Christ could open the minds of His disciples so they could understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45). Only God could open the heart of Lydia, that is, “rouse in (her) the faculty of understanding or the desire of learning.” Every teacher of spiritual truth must recognize that whereas he may apply the Word of God to others and seek to help them apply it to their lives, only God Himself can make the pupils’ hearts open or receptive to the truth. (Bib. Sac. Vol. 122, No. 486, p 157). Dianoigo was used occasionally in secular authors from Plato, et al, meaning to open by dividing or drawing asunder (dia), to open thoroughly (what had been closed); Dianoigo - 8x in 8v - translated in NAS - explaining(2), opened(5), opens(1). Mark 7:34 and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him (to the deaf man - Mk 7:32-33), "Ephphatha!" that is, "Be opened (aorist active imperative)!" Luke 2:23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "EVERY firstborn MALE THAT OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD "), Luke 24:31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him (Ed: Note that this is a clear reversal of their spiritual state in Lk 24:16!; and He vanished from their sight. 32 They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining (Note imperfect tense = over and over Jesus was explaining - what a teaching session this must have been!) the Scriptures to us?" Luke 24:45 Then He opened (dianoigo - aorist active indicative) their minds to understand (suniemi = put the pieces together so to speak, make sense out of) the Scriptures, Tim Keller in a sermon in 1994 spoke of the use of dianoigo to describe spiritual illumination - The reason he does it is because we’re spiritually blind. Let’s take a moment to define that. In Lk 24:45, it says, “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” The word opened is significant. As you know, this was originally written in Greek. The word opened is a translation of a particular Greek word. There were two different Greek words that could be used here. One is anoigo. One is dianoigo. The little word dia is the word for through. Anoigo means to open something like a door, something that already has a latch, something that already has a provision for opening. You use the Greek word anoigo with a door. Dianoigo doesn’t just simply mean to open. It means to break open. It means to bust open. It means to break in. You wouldn’t use the word dianoigo with a door unless it was a locked door. You use the word dianoigo with something like a mountain. “I opened the mountain with my tunnel.” It means to break through. Two different Greek words. Which one do you think Luke uses? You can just take a guess. He will not talk about the human mind or the human soul like a door. He talks about the human mind or the human soul like a mountain: layers and layers of obstacles to the truth, impenetrable. What Luke is saying is the natural human mind, until Jesus gets to it, is spiritually blind. What does that mean? One illustration you can use is you think of the eye itself. Very often, as a person gets older, something develops on the eye called a cataract. A cataract is a clouding up or a misting up, an opaqueness that develops where there should be transparency. That’s a perfect analogy, a much better analogy than other kinds of analogies to explain the human soul. God made the human soul with a transparency. We are different than the animals. We are different than the plants. We honor the animals, and we honor the plants as part of God’s creation, but they’re not in the image of God. What does that mean? They don’t have a spiritual faculty. They don’t have a capacity for truth. They don’t have a capacity for reason. They don’t have a capacity for a real, personal connection with Jesus, with God. The Bible says naturally, because of sin, there is an opaqueness over top of our soul so that it has to be broken through. Another way to put it is we have cataracts on our soul. You can rub your eye all you want. That will not get rid of cataracts. You can rub it and rub it and rub it. You can wash it and wash it and wash it. That will not get rid of cataracts. There needs to be a medical intervention. Somebody who has skills you don’t have. There needs to be a surgeon. That’s exactly what Jesus is. You think all you need is the truth. You say, “I just need somebody to inform me. That’s all I need.” You don’t realize the depth of your blindness. You don’t just need the light. You need eyes. You need someone to take the opaqueness off. That’s what the surgeon does. That’s what the medical intervention does. That’s what you need more than anything else. You say, “What do you mean by opaqueness? What is it?” The spiritual blindness is not a lack of reason. It’s very possible for a person who is totally spiritually blind to read the Bible and accept it, to say, “Yes, I see Jesus died for my sins. I think that’s great. I like that. That’s important. I believe it.” To be spiritually blind doesn’t mean you can’t intellectually comprehend something from the Bible. In fact, it’s natural and normal for people, when they become Christians, to say, “Last year I became a Christian, but there was never a time in my life where I didn’t actually believe in the basic propositions of the Christian faith.” It’s very typical for a person to say, “I became a Christian last year, but there was never a time in which I didn’t believe in the resurrection, I didn’t believe in the crucifixion, I didn’t believe in the basic propositions of the Christian faith.” What do they mean when they say they became a Christian? Here’s what they mean. The opaqueness is not an inability to comprehend. It’s not an inability to reason. It’s not a rational inability. It’s not some kind of operation of the mind. Jean Piaget talks about the various operations that develop as a kid gets older. You have sensorimotor development, six stages of it. You have concrete operations and abstract operations. He’s talking about the various sorts of mental abilities and logical operations and transactions you do mentally. When we talk about spiritual blindness, we’re not talking about any of that. Spiritual blindness is not the inability to see the truth, but it’s the inability to value it, to appreciate it. The problem with that word is, in English, appreciate is a fairly wimpy word. There’s a song where it says, “Heavenly Father, we appreciate you.” Have you ever sung it? It sounds so wimpy, “We appreciate you,” but it’s not. It’s a good word, and here’s why. I’m going to keep with it. This is the heart of what this opaqueness is and what spiritual blindness is. The word depreciate means something loses its value. Therefore, it loses its economic power. It loses its clout. It loses how much it can influence. If you get a diamond, it’s valuable. What does that mean? You can get things done with it. There’s value to it. You have a diamond, and you can go places. You can do things. You can get things for it. That’s valuable. When something depreciates, it loses value. When something appreciates, it gains value. The word appreciate, in the English language, can also mean what increases is your realization of the value of something, your realization of the power of something, your realization of the influence of something. When a person says, “I became a Christian last year, though I’ve always believed, intellectually, in the Bible and, intellectually, in the Christian faith. Last year, I saw.” What does she mean when she talks like that? Here’s what she means. “I always knew Jesus died for me,” says a new Christian. “But I never realized I need to know Jesus loves me more than anything else in the world. I need to know that deep down underneath it I didn’t believe I’m loved. One day, last year, I realized what Jesus did for me is the thing I need most of all. It revolutionized me when I realized it. When I saw the value of what he’s done for me, I suddenly realized I don’t have to be like this. This is the root of all my problems.” That kind of language means the cataracts have come off. She saw, but she didn’t see. Suppose I could send you back in a time machine. There’s nothing a stock analyst would rather have than a trip back about five years. Isn’t that right? Just go back five years, ten years, whatever. You’re back in time now, and sit down with the Wall Street Journal. You start to read the stock stuff. You’re sitting alongside your stock analyst friends. Of course, they’re there from their own time, and they don’t know what you know. They don’t know anything about the future. You’re going down the list and, all of a sudden, you come to Microsoft. You say, “Oh my gosh, it’s selling for that! Hmm, if I buy a thousand shares of that, I’ll be a ‘quadrillion-zillionaire’ in seven years. I will do everything I can. I’m going to borrow. I’m going to beg. I’m going to do anything I can to buy everything.” You know what they don’t know. They go down all these little lines, and one of the jumps out at you. It says Microsoft. Why? You can appreciate it. You know the value of it. You know the influence of that information. There’s information on that line. Nobody else can see what it means. Nobody else can see the significance of the information. Nobody can see that knowing that will make all the difference. They can’t appreciate it. They’re blind. They don’t have eyes, but you do. What does it mean to become a Christian? It means to look at stuff you’ve looked at for years and, suddenly, it jumps out at you. You say, “What’s the matter with me? How could I have never seen the power of this? How could I have never seen the meaning of this? How could I have never seen the value of this?” That’s what spiritual blindness is. I know there are people in this room who say, “Of course I’m a Christian. I’ve always believed,” yet that’s never happened to you. You have no idea what that experience is like. You’re spiritually blind. You need to have someone break through. Break through, dianoigo, open. Some years ago, there were two women I was counseling back in my first church in a little town. I didn’t know much about counseling. They both came to me within a week of each other, and they had the same problem. They were facing a very devastating loss in their lives. They came to a pastor. Actually, there were no counselors in town. People came to pastors back then because there was nobody else to talk to about their problems. They came in at various times. In both cases, I laid out a passage of Scripture and then I gave them a book. Same passage, same book, same basic theme. Maybe a month later, I saw both of them. The one woman came back and said, “Do you know what? When I began to see what God has given me, what I have in Jesus, I began to realize if I have that, then I can bear the loss of this.” I could see she was healing. The other woman, same age, same situation, same Bible passage, same book. I remember she came back and she said, “Yeah, that’s very nice. I guess I believe it. But what good is that if I have lost the thing I’ve lost?” She was inconsolable. She was broken, from what I can tell, permanently. What was the difference between them? Illumination. The same truth, but the one woman was able to appreciate the truth. She was able to see the value of the truth. She was able to sense the power of the truth. The other woman did not. Let me tell you what illumination means. You say, “I want peace.” Friends, until the goodness of God is more real to you than all of the threats around you, you will never have peace. You’ll be worried sick. You say, “I wish I could forgive the person who’s hurt me.” Until the forgiveness of God is more real to you than all of the injustice that’s been done to you, you will never be able to overcome your bitterness. It’s a matter of illumination. It’s a matter of appreciation of the truth, because we’re blind. Do you want to overcome guilt? The truth of what he’s done for you has to break through. Do you want to overcome worry? The truth of how good he is has to break through. Do you want to deal with boredom? The truth has to break through, and so on, and so on. We’re blind. (Jesus As Prophet-part 2 - Understanding Jesus-Jan 16, 1994) Acts 7:56 and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened up (Note: Perfect tense - He saw them opened and they remained open! What a welcome home after being stoned to death!) and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." Acts 16:14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart (~ her soul) to respond to the things spoken by Paul. Acts 17:3 (Context - Acts 17:1-2 - "He reasoned with them from the Scriptures" - this refers not to the NT but the OT - could you explain Jesus to others from JUST the Old Testament?) explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ." Comment: The implication of Paul's explaining is that it was accomplished supernaturally, not naturally, a good pattern for all who would seek to proclaim the Living Word in power and in the Spirit (cp this "dynamic" [dunamis] combination in 1Thes 1:5-note). Dianoigo - 34x in 32v - Genesis 3:5 "(Satan is speaking) For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened (Lxx = dianoigo), and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. Exodus 13:2 "Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring (Lxx = dianoigo - idiom [+ metra = womb] "opening the womb" = first-born) of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me." 12 you shall devote to the LORD the first offspring (Lxx = dianoigo - idiom [+ metra = womb] "opening the womb" = first-born) of every womb, and the first offspring (Lxx = dianoigo - idiom [+ metra = womb] "opening the womb" = first-born) of every beast that you own; the males belong to the LORD. 13 "But every first offspring (Lxx = dianoigo - idiom [+ metra = womb] = "opening the womb" = first-born) of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 15 'It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the LORD the males, the first offspring Lxx = dianoigo - idiom [+ metra = womb] = "opening the womb" = first-born) of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.' Exodus 34:19 "The first offspring Lxx = dianoigo - idiom [+ metra = womb] = "opening the womb" = first-born) from every womb belongs to Me, and all your male livestock, the first offspring from cattle and sheep. Numbers 3:12 "Now, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn, the first issue Lxx = dianoigo - idiom [+ metra = womb] = "opening the womb" = first-born) of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine. Numbers 8:16 for they are wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself instead of every first issue Lxx = dianoigo - idiom [+ metra = womb] = "opening the womb" = first-born) of the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. Numbers 18:15 "Every first issue Lxx = dianoigo - idiom [+ metra = womb] = "opening the womb" = first-born) of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 1 Kings 4:20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and rejoicing. 2 Kings 6:17 Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, I pray, open (Lxx = dianoigo) his eyes that he may see." And the LORD opened (Lxx = dianoigo - Perhaps this is a prayer we dare pray for ourselves and those for whom we are called to intercede - that the Spirit would open eyes to see supernaturally God's truth which is closed to natural vision!) the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 20 When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, "O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see." So the LORD opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. Job 27:19 "He lies down rich, but never again; He opens his eyes, and it is no longer. Job 29:19 'My root is spread out (Lxx - dianoigo = "opened up") to the waters, And dew lies all night on my branch. Job 38:32 "Can you lead forth (Lxx - dianoigo = "open up") a constellation in its season, And guide the Bear with her satellites? Proverbs 20:13 Do not love sleep, or you will become poor; Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with food. Proverbs 31:20 She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out (Lxx = dianoigo = "she opens up her hands completely" - a picture of her generosity and benevolent spirit) her hands to the needy. 26 She opens (Lxx = dianoigo) her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. Isaiah 5:14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; And Jerusalem's splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it. Lamentations 2:16 All your enemies Have opened their mouths wide against you; They hiss and gnash their teeth. They say, "We have swallowed her up! Surely this is the day for which we waited; We have reached it, we have seen it." Lamentations 3:46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us. Ezekiel 3:2 So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. Ezekiel 20:26 and I pronounced them unclean because of their gifts, in that they caused all their firstborn (Lxx = dianoigo - idiom [+ metra = womb] "opening the womb" = first-born) to pass through the fire so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know that I am the LORD."' Ezekiel 21:22 "Into his right hand came the divination, 'Jerusalem,' to set battering rams, to open the mouth for slaughter, to lift up the voice with a battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up ramps, to build a siege wall. Ezekiel 24:27 'On that day your mouth will be opened to him who escaped, and you will speak and be mute no longer. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.'" Hosea 2:15 "Then I will give her her vineyards from there, And the valley of Achor as a door of hope (Lxx uses dianoigo to translate as "to open her understanding"). And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. Nahum 2:6 The gates of the rivers are opened And the palace is dissolved. Habakkuk 3:14 You pierced with his own spears The head of his throngs. They stormed in to scatter us; Their exultation was like those Who devour the oppressed in secret. (Septuagint = 3:14 Thou didst cut asunder the heads of princes with amazement, they shall tremble in it; they shall burst [dianoigo] their bridles, they shall be as a poor man devouring in secret.) Zechariah 11:1 Open your doors, O Lebanon, That a fire may feed on your cedars. Zechariah 12:4 "In that day," declares the LORD, "I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. (LXE In that day, saith the Lord Almighty, I will smite every horse with amazement, and his rider with madness: but I will open mine eyes upon the house of Juda, and I will smite all the horses of the nations with blindness.) Zechariah 13:1 ¶ "In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity. Mark 7:34 and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, "Ephphatha!" that is, "Be opened!" Luke 2:23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "EVERY firstborn MALE THAT OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD "), Luke 24:31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, Acts 7:56 and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." Acts 16:14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. Acts 17:3 explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ."