CHAPTER 7 Defining Evangelizing - Evangelism Unlimited

398 Evangelizology
(2) Of God opening doors:
(a) Of God opening a door of faith among the Gentiles, Acts 14:27
(b) Of God opening a door for the Gospel, 1 Cor 16:9; 2 Cor 2:12
(c) Of God opening a door for the Word, Col 4:3
(3) Of God opening the eyes of the Gentiles unto salvation, Acts 26:18
(4) Of ministry [including evangelism] with/from an open heart, 2 Cor 6:11
(5) Of the need for an open heart in receiving [a] the Gospel and [b] the continued
ministry of the Gospel, 2 Cor 6:13
(6) Of a person [singular], opening themselves to the voice of Christ, Rev 3:20
40) dianoi,gw – literally “to open,” hence “explaining”:
a) Physical use:
(1) Of ears being opened, Mark 7:34-35
(2) Of the womb being opened, Luke 2:23
b) Of opening in a figurative or spiritual sense:
(1) Of the opening of the eyes [of understanding], Luke 24:31
(2) Of the opening of the mind, Luke 24:45
c) Christ opening the Scriptures, Luke 24:32 [NAS, “explained”]
d) Paul “opened” the Gospel, Acts 17:3
“Explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead,
and…”
dianoi,gwn kai. paratiqe,menoj o[ti to.n cristo.n e;dei paqei/n kai. avnasth/nai evk nekrw/n kai.…
e) God “opened” the heart (o` ku,rioj dih,noixen th.n kardi,an), Acts 16:14
r. (41) ovrqotome,w (1 NT use; 2 LXX uses)– “Rightly teaching/dispensing/imparting/dividing/
handling,” in 2 Tim 2:15:
1) Meaning:
Friberg: literally, as cutting a straight road through difficult terrain make a straight path; figuratively
in the NT, with reference to correctly following and teaching God's message hold to a straight
course, teach accurately (2T 2:15)
Gingrich: to guide along a straight path
Louw-Nida: to give accurate instruction – ‘to teach correctly, to expound rightly.’ spou,dason seauto.n
... ovrqotomou/nta to.n lo,gon th/j avlhqei,aj ‘do your best ... to teach the word of truth correctly’ 2
Tim 2:15
Thayer: 3830 ovrqotome,w ovrqotome,w, ovrqoto,mw; (ovrqotomoj cutting straight, and this from ovrqo,j and
te,mnw); 1. to cut straight: ta,j o`dou,j, to cut straight ways, i. e. to proceed by straight paths, hold a
straight course, equivalent to to do right (for rVeyI), Prov. 3:6; 11:5 (viam secare, Vergil Aen. 6,
899). 2. dropping the idea of cutting, to make straight and smooth; Vulgate recte tracto, to handle
aright: to,n lo,gon th/j avlhqei,aj, i. e. to teach the truth correctly and directly, 2 Tim. 2:15; to,n
avlhqh/ lo,gon, Eustathius, opuscc., p. 115, 41. (Not found elsewhere (except in ecclesiastical
writings (Winer's Grammar, 26); e. g. constt. apost. 7, 31 evn tw/| tou/ kuri,ou do,gmasin; cf. Suicer
ii. 508f). Cf. kainotome,w, to cut new veins in mining; dropping the notion of cutting, to make
something new, introduce new things, make innovations or changes, etc.)*
2) Two LXX uses:
Prov 3:6 (“he will rightly direct” thy paths)
Prov 11:5 (the righteousness of the upright “shall rightly direct” his paths)
3) Notice also in the discussion of the verb peiqw, [persuade] below, that peiqw, is used to
translate the Hebrew verb [sv (shaw-saw), meaning to divide or be divided e.g. “having a
divided hoof” 5 times; and of David persuading his men in 1 Sam 24:7, “And David
persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul”
Conclusions: It is highly likely, from these examples, that rightly dividing has an implication of
verbally persuading to follow a right or proper action