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Origin of Small Groups from the Creation (02)
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Paul Jang
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2008-03-24 15:18:51, hit : 2,834 |
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Origin of Small Groups from the Creation (02)
As a matter of fact, samll group was the first reflective of the very nature of God and humanity (Icenogle 1994, 12). The original small group in the Garden of Eden may be a reflection of the divine small group Christian have historically called the Trinity (Icenogle 1994, 12).
Triune God is only One in the side of the ontological trinity, while Godhead has three persons in the side of the economical Trininty (Strong 1985, 326). In the side of economical Trinity the triangle consisted of three persons in unity (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) is a divine small group. This is an ontological small group in divine dimension (Icenogle 1994, 13). On the assumption that God is small group, in this point Gareth Weldon Icenogle says:
It may be overly dramatic to say that God lives as a small group, but the church has historcally described God as Trinity, three persons in one. In any case, the creation account presents both divinity and humanity as communities of being and action. God is described as existing in divine community, in dialogue with other members of the God-himself, an intracommunicationg group who also created humanity to exist in group intracommunication (Icenogle 1994, 21).
As he mentioned above, in the dimension of ontology God lives as a small group, the membership of which is three persons, namely God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit in one (Icenogle 1994, 21). As a result, God the divine group lives intracommunicating one another in himself, while the divine group has existed in intercommunity with human community from the beginning. In this point he also states:
God created and addressed humanity as community with community. The divine community has existed in intercommunity with human community from the beginning. Three areas of dialogue and community are established from the beginning: within (intra) God's group self, within (intra) the human group and between (inter) God's group and the human group (Icenogle 1994, 21).
Meanwhile a couple of the people (Adam and Eve) walking in the Garden of Eden was the representative of the first human small group after creation (Icenogle 1994, 12). This was the reflective of humanity. From the beginning the human small group is created as a male and a female, the reflection of the image and likeness of God. Therefore this group is like the divine group (God's group). The man and woman were very happy when they were in a lovely and gracious small group with which God had walked in the beginning of human being (Gen. 2:19).
From the beginning the divine group and the human group which intercommunicated each other under the covenant which God made for humanity existed in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15-17). It was a divine-human small group. This was a family group (home group) which God had first organized in the human history.
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Introduction
Ch Growth 