BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING OF COMMUNICATION : REV JOSE PUNAMADAM

       We now live in a global village. Ours is an era of communication and computer. In this era of Information Technology, Communication plays a very important role in all spheres of human activity. It is the fruit of all human life activity. Communication is essential for the development of the individual and for the formation of faith and ideologies .Communication is a reality in the world of human beings, animals and plants. It is an ever-going process in our day to day life. The need for communication is a basic one for development. According to one communication scholar, Dr. Keval J Kumar, In the beginning after all was ‘Aum’ or the ‘word’the first sound ever made or heard. In the Indian tradition the word is sabdha Brahman, and the divine word is communication. Communication is very closely related to the life and mission of the Church. It plays an important role in all areas of human life. Communication is a necessity for human beings and animals. As a social being, human beings cannot exist without communicating with one another. Communication is the real stuff of life. It is a basic need for all human beings and for all living organisms. According to C.R.W. David, all forms of life on earth have their own systems of communication by which they preserve, promote, propagate and perpetuate their species and culture. The stupendous achievements of man in science and technology would have been impossible without the most essential tool, communication.  It is a social necessity. It is a natural and social demand and requirement for existence.
Communication originate from the Latin word communis which means common. It simply means sharing, imparting, fellowship, giving and taking. In other words, it is a process of interaction. Communication is the process that links discontinuous parts of living world to one another. The word communication indicates interaction by means of signs and symbols. Every sign and symbol invites thoughts. So sign and symbol is a medium for effective communication. The symbols can be gestural, pictorial, verbal or any other form which operates in our mind to share something. In this respect communication is sharing which takes place through signs and symbols.Communication is the art of transmitting ideas and attitude from one person to another. Communication thus means to have something in common to share. Communication is the dissemination of information from one place to other. The physical expression of communication is speech, the written word and their extensions such as film, telephone, television, internet and so on. On the other hand, Holy Communion, liturgy, prayer, and icon painting are physical expression of communication.
The particular word communication is absent in the Bible. But on the other hand, whole bible is an account of God’s communication. Bible is a clear document and communication of God’s love, judgment and mercy to His people. Therefore communication is an integral part of the Bible. The sacred scripture is the divine communication expressed in human language. Biblical concepts, such as logos -the word, prophecy, incarnation, revelation, church, the gospel and koinonia are communication. The word communication is derived from the Latin root word communis which means common and from the word communicare which means to share, to impart or to have something in common. In our day to day life situation communication means making common or sharing something by two or more persons or group of persons. Communication literally means ‘to make common’. It is sharing of information and ideas in common.
OLD TESTAMENT UNDERSTANDING OF COMMUNICATION 
In the Old Testament, we can see the characteristics of God’s communication. The sign or the indication or the phrase ‘word of Yahweh’ is the most significant and predominant expression for divine communication. In the Old Testament, God reveals himself through words, deeds and through His own presence. The prophets and the law signify the everlasting presence of God’s divine communication. The Exodus event and the covenant symbolize, God’s revelation in the history of mankind. The content of God’s communication lies in the revelation of God himself. From the biblical understanding  God’s divine communication proceeds from the divine initiative.  The book of Genesis or the book of beginnings opens by telling that God made the earth and everything in the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth. The earth was without order and form. In the midst of darkness, God uttered the first word; which is considered as the divine communication. Let there be light; and there was light. (Gen1,3) This is the first communication of our creator God, which dispels darkness.In the Old Testament we find that Yahweh, the Lord God reveals himself in and through the actions and mission of the prophets.
God transmitted His message through the prophets. The message transmission is called communication. The words of the prophets were preserved first orally and then it was written. This oral and written communication was the source of change and it was the inspiration for liberation. In the Old Testament; Yahweh has revealed Himself through signs and symbols.The hand of God was manifested in the scripture. God’s voice was heard in this scripture and He made known his ways to the prophets especially to Moses and to the people of Israel. In this respect, the Bible, the written word of God is a medium for God’s communication. Bible or the scripture is the manifestation of God’s self communication.
REVELATION IS COMMUNICATION
The communication of the Bible is founded on a historical revelation. Revelation is a fact and truth in the Bible. Revelation is God’s self communication in human terms. In the Bible, revelation is a historical ascertainable fact. In the history of the Bible God is infinitely superior to the thoughts and speech and vision of human being.  The Old Testament understanding of God’s revelation is dreams,omens, divination and other sign and symbols like thunder, rain and fire. (Lev19,26,Deut18,10,1Sam 15,23) These signs and symbols are considered as Channels of God’s revelation. Through these channels or media God revealed Himself to the people of God.   Communication through these signs and symbols are considered as divine revelation. In order to develop a theology of communication, we should go for an analysis of the channels like divine scripture, thunder, rain, fire and storms. The fact and process of revelation seems to have two different levels of communication. One is God’s communication with man and other is man’s communication with God and other human beings. God’s interpersonal communication with man is known as revelation. God’s revelation happens only through communication
THE BIBLE IS A WRITTEN WORD OF GOD
The Bible is a written document of God’s self communication. The Bible itself testifies that it is the word of God. In the book of Exodus, we find that God Himself commits the dialogue to write on two tablets of stone. (Ex3,6) Accordingly  the word of God is God’s words and not man’s(2Pet1,19-21) At the same time, it is a man’s response to God’s initiation. God is the Author of the Bible, which means that the sacred scripture contains the realities revealed by Him and written by Him. All books of the Bible are written through human agency and in this medium of communication, both God and human beings are involved. It is a medium in which God communicates with the humanity. Bible is a written word of God, or it is a word of God in writing. ‘Thus says the Lord’ is an expression of God’s self communication in the history.
The Bible is commonly referred as the word of God. It is always wrapped with the statements; this is the word of God and thus says the Lord. The expression thus says the Lord is God’s communication through the life and testimony of the Prophets. God’s self communication happens only through God’s intervention. Bible is a clear document of God’s intervention. God’s intervention is an interpersonal communication. It is core and content of God’s salvation and liberation. Bible is an oral tradition in a written form. It is a record of the divinely revealed communication from God. It is written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (Jn20,31, 2Tim3,16-17,2Pet1,19-21,2Pet3,15-16) Like the Prophets, the Apostles, under the inspiration and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit communicated the message of salvation and liberation to the people of God.
THE SPOKEN WORD OR THE VOICE OF GOD
The word of God can be considered as the spoken word; which reveals the nature of God and it acts in the history. By speaking, God reveals His nature and His character. God speaks directly to the same privileged men and through them to His people and to all nations. In the Old Testament understanding the word of God is the spoken word or the voice of God. In the Bible, God speaks to the prophets, who have the mission to communicate His word throughout the history. God speaks through vision and dreams(Num12,6). According to the Bible, He speaks mouth to mouth (Num12,8). The spoken word or the voice of God is considered as the divine communication.
COMMUNICATION IN THE NEW TESTAMENT-THE INCARNATION 
From the first page of the Bible, we can understand that God is God of communication or God is a communicating God. His means and ways of communication with nature and other human beings are many and different. He speaks and acts in the history in a different manner. When we look into the New Testament, Jesus Christ is the medium and message of God’s communication. The gospel says that in the beginning was the word and the word were with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men (Jn1,4).
The essence of incarnation is to convey God’s love towards humanity. It is a sign language of God’s Love.  Incarnation is the manifestation of God’s love in action. Having manifested Himself in creation and in History, God has finally communicated, His love and concern through his only son, the eternal word. In the incarnation, Jesus Christ is the son of God, who reveals the father. Incarnation is a symbolic representation of God’s love in action. God reveals himself in Christ through incarnation. In the strict sense, Jesus Christ, the word became flesh is a communication act and event of God’s ceaseless love. Incarnation is a divine communication event which took place in definite human environment. Incarnation is an expression of God’s self communication.
CONCLUSION 
From this study, we can understand that communication is an ever-continuing and ever going process in the Bible and it is a fundamental need for any human being. The prophets and the word indicate the everlasting presence of God’s divine communication. The Prophets themselves, declared as the messengers of God and they are understood as the medium for communication. From the biblical understanding, God’s divine communication proceeds from the Divine initiation. At the same time, the communication of the bible is founded on historical revelation of God. In the Bible, revelation is a fact and a truth. God reveals directly to the prophets, priests and to the people of God. After the study of biblical communication, we identified that, the Bible is a written document of God’s self communication and it is a man’s response to God’s self initiation. The word of God is the spoken word of God and it is the voice of God. After all, we pinpointed the biblical theme incarnation and came in to conclusion that Incarnation is the manifestation of God’s love in action. It is an expression of God’s self communication. Incarnation is a divine communication event which took place in a divine definite human environment. Incarnation is the culmination of God’s true love and it is the verbal and non-verbal communication.

Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church

Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church

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