DIANOIA by Giulio Mari
"[M]aking mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know. . ." Ephesians 1:17-18 KJV
The reason for this short essay is to specifically deal with the dynamics of God's revelation to the believer more than the subject of the revelation itself. It is true that the ultimate goal of God's revelation is to elevate us to a fuller knowledge of the person and the work of our Lord Jesus, nevertheless we will limit this study to the way in which the enlightenment comes.
There
is no doubt that the Holy Spirit of God is the One who grants the "spirit of wisdom and revelation"
to the
believer.
I am also convinced that even the unbeliever who approaches God with
an honest, repentant, and
seeking heart is likely to receive this kind of revelation. That,
would be the heavenly light which will bring him to acknowledge Jesus as the
Son of God and usher him into
the reality of salvation.
We
can see from Paul's writing that the process of receiving wisdom and revelation
is subject to the "eyes of your understanding
being enlightened." In other words, in exclusion of God's enlightenment,
there is no possibility
of receiving wisdom and revelation. To be able to explain the process of the
coming of the "spirit of wisdom and
revelation" we have to look at one of the recipient of this delivery—the
mind.
We
find however, from other parts of the Scriptures, that the process of understanding
spiritual matters is a complex one; it includes the mind as well as the heart
and the spirit of man. In fact we see how our Lord, talking to His disciples, in Mark 8:17-18 is recorded
as saying: "Do you not yet perceive
nor understand? Is your heart still hardened?
Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?" Consequently we notice that, in this
instance, our Lord placed the emphasis on the hardness of the heart and not on
a closed mind—no perception, no understanding, eyes not seeing and ears not
hearing all being the result of having a hardened heart.
And
yet in Ephesians 1:17, the passage in question, Paul writes about the eyes of
the understanding; stressing in this
case, the role of the mind. We know that because the Greek word he uses for understanding is
dia-noia. The
word noia, in the original language, describes the function of the mind as
opposed to the organ itself which is
called nous.
By
using the word dianoia Paul
expresses the concept of the mind being engaged into a meditation leading to
understanding. Through the use of this particular word there is an effort being
described—a thinking through, a deep reflecting on the matter at hand with the
aim of perceiving something of value.[i]
Paul
is telling the Ephesians that he is praying that God's light will break through
on them while they are engaged and delving into the things of the kingdom of
God. It is at that very time, of thinking and meditating on the Lord, that Paul
desires and prays that the believer might receive the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of
Christ. The heart, the mind, and the spirit of man are all involved at the
receiving end of God's grace.
Therefore,
the heart must be open to be able receive from the Lord. Moreover, a spirit of
humility is an essential prerequisite to the knowledge of spiritual realities because "God resists the proud but gives
grace to the humble." James 4:6. KJV
The
believer has to be hungry for the true Manna from heaven and figuratively go
out, day by day, to gather the fresh Word of God having a soft heart and a
clear mind. Matthew 4:4 and Deuteronomy
8:3 both declare:
"Man
shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth
of God."
Jesus
said that He is the Bread of life and if we want to live godly lives and grow
in grace we must feed on Him continuously—and we do that because He loves us.
Are
we seeking first His kingdom so that God's revealing light may shine upon us?
Let us admit that there is no other alternative for our spiritual health, but
to grow in Him through the prayerful study of His Word. The challenge before us
is clear. Are we engaged in meditating and reflecting on our Lord and the
Scriptures or have we handed over to others this sacred activity?
"Blessed
is the man listening to Me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of
my doors." Prov.8:34
LITV
The
various ministries which our Lord has given to the Church are vital to the well
being of His body on earth, but have we relegated our personal duties to the
professional ministers instead of feeding ourselves with the truth of God's Word?
Which sober thinking person might want
to munch on snacks the entire week simply because on Sunday he can go to a
restaurant and have a feast? But that's exactly what we do if we do not spend adequate
and meaningful time with God but just wait for a Sunday sermon.
The
local Church, radio and television preachers, Christian literature, daily
devotionals and other forms of knowledge are great and we can be blessed by
them, but they should characterize the minor part of our interaction with the
things of God. We could easily starve on information, we need living spiritual
food which the Holy Spirit is longing to give us if only we take the time to—dianoia—the Scriptures with prayerful
attention.
Often,
while listening to a sermon or a fellow Christian, God's light beams into our
hearts. As a result we should follow-up those insights with thoughtful care so
that the revelation received might stay and become part of who we are and not
just vanish as a passing interest. We need to be changed by the Word of God for
the sake of our character and to become also more fruitful in the work of
sharing Jesus—by words and deeds.
Let
us not abandon the Scriptures and the seeking of His face. Let us not wholly
rely on the professionals to do the job for us. Let us not regard ourselves as
unable to understand. The Holy Spirit is ready to give us a spirit of wisdom
and revelation in the knowledge of Him —are we ready to receive?
In
these matters the opening of the eyes is the gift of God, no amount of
education, Christian or otherwise, will ever make up for it. Spiritual perception
is the realm of the person with a broken heart and a contrite spirit[ii].
By
the grace of God may we be such people—because the proud and the casual
observer shall remain in the dark.
[i] We might find easier to understand the word dianoia by considering the similar word
diagnosis, which, in non-medical
terms, can be defined as a careful examination
of the facts in an attempt to understand a matter.
Dia-gnosis,
(through-knowledge) emphasises the scrutiny of facts already known.
Dia-noia, (through-thinking)
emphasises the thinking process the mind goes through to be able to know facts.
(Explanations adapted from Webster's Dict.;
Strong's Concordance, Greek word n.1271 and the Expository Dict. W.E. Vine
1952).
[ii] Psalm 34:18; Isaiah
57:17 and 66:2
(Scriptures taken from the KJV of the
Bible and the LITV [Literal Translation of the Holy Bible] by J.P.
Green,Sr.1995).
_____________________________
Being aware of my limitations but
desirous to share, I submit this paper
to my fellow believers in Christ. None of my work is ever complete, there
is always something to add as the Lord grants more light. "For in You is the fountain of
life, in your light we see light." Ps.36:9 LIT
Rev.03.2013
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