Reading: Where Communication Began

Read: Textbook pp. 4–5 (“Let’s Begin at the Beginning of All Communication” to the end of the agriculture analogy)

Before you read

Key terms: the Godhead, the image of God, communion, the broken mirror, proclamation and discipling

Guiding question: If the “mirror” in man was broken, what would it take to repair it?

[IMAGE: Graphics Brief 3 — “The Broken Mirror” and Graphics Brief 4 — “Foundation, Framework, Function in the Story” (H5P Timeline)]

What the reading teaches

1. The first communication. “The only perfect, complete communication is within the Godhead, between the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Communication comes from within the Trinity: “And God said…” “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jesus is the Word.” (p. 4)

2. People were made to communicate. “By communication, man was formed, ‘Let us make man in our image….'” Man “was made in God’s image with the capacity for full, rich, and complete communication with God and man.” The gift of communicating with words and creativity comes from God. “This is the Foundation of communication.” (p. 4)

3. Our limits. “We are His creation, limited in space, time, strength, and knowledge, unable to see the future, and our view of the past is limited and distorted.” (p. 4)

4. What went wrong. “Man lost that glorious privilege when he disobeyed God. Words were used to worship false gods, to abuse others with slander, lying, and hate. Instead of praise for God, man sought praise for himself.” (p. 4)

5. The broken mirror. “The mirror in man was broken!” Communication that had reflected the divine nature “became like scraps of a broken mirror that reflect light but in an erratic, unfocused, even distorted manner.” (p. 4)

6. Communication lost its purpose. It “became centered on the limited process of sending and receiving messages, and those messages fundamentally came from self-interest.” It often became “manipulation of ideas to shape people and societies into merely human concepts and forms.” “Self was the dominant theme, even when concealed within acts of charity.” (p. 5)

7. The only remedy. “Only restoration of communion, oneness with God, could give the fullness of genuine communication — with both God and man.” (p. 5)

8. How God restored it. The text uses the three words that organize the book:

• Framework. “God formed the Framework for human communication by calling out one group of people to be a picture of His character,” starting with Abraham, then David and the prophets.
• Function. Jesus, “with His words and actions, Function, communicated so that man could understand God’s care, love, and grace for everyone.” “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14).
• Foundation. “Restoration of a relationship with God gives a Foundation for Communicating His Truth.” (p. 5)

9. The third assumption. “Communication is the human part of proclamation and discipling.” “The Spirit of God works inwardly both in preparation of the message given by the communicator, and in producing the response and transformation of the communication recipient.” (p. 5)

10. An analogy. “Considering communication as only about giving and receiving messages is much like thinking agriculture is only about flowers. The total plant must be involved for useful fruit — the roots, the stalk, the leaves, every part is critical.” “We begin with knowing God as our Foundation, the source of power and inclusiveness in communication.” (p. 5)

Reading Guide

1. Put the story in order in your own words: creation, the image of God, the Fall, God’s response. What does each step add?
2. Why does the author compare communication to a whole plant and not only flowers?
3. Which part of this story do you most often leave out when you talk about communication in your ministry or work?

Quick check: Foundation, Framework, or Function?

Drag each statement to the box it matches in the story of Section B. This is for practice. It does not count toward your grade.

[H5P type: Drag and Drop with three drop zones: “Foundation,” “Framework,” and “Function.”]