What is Man? The Nature of Human Beings • ~10 min read
Welcome, dear friends, to another enriching session of our Bible study! Today, we're delving into a profound question that touches the very core of our existence: "What is man?" The Bible offers a clear and consistent answer, portraying human beings as a remarkable, unified creation of God. This understanding is foundational to our hope in the resurrection and helps us appreciate the intricate way God has designed us. Let's open our hearts and Bibles to explore this beautiful truth together.
From the very beginning, the Bible describes man as a complete, integrated being. When God created humanity, He didn't assemble separate parts that could exist independently; He formed a whole, living person.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Genesis 2:7
Notice the powerful phrase: "man became a living soul." It doesn't say man *received* a living soul as something separate from himself. Rather, the combination of the dust of the ground (the physical body) and the breath of life (God's life-giving power) resulted in a single, unified entity—a "living soul," which simply means a living person or being. Our physical body and the life principle from God are inseparable in creating a living individual. When one ceases, the other no longer functions as a living soul.
This dependence on God's active presence for life is a recurring theme:
Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
Psalm 104:29-30
Here, the psalmist beautifully illustrates that life is sustained by God's "breath" or "spirit," and when it is withdrawn, the entire being returns to dust. Our existence as living, thinking beings is entirely dependent on God's sustaining power.
Job also reflects on God's intricate creation of man:
Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again? Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.
Job 10:9-12
Job acknowledges that God formed his entire being—flesh, bones, and the very life he possesses. There's no hint of a separate, conscious part that existed before or can exist apart from this unified creation.
The "spirit" mentioned in the Bible, especially in the context of life, often refers to the life-giving power that originates from God, not an independent, immortal entity within us.
The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
Job 33:4
Elihu, speaking to Job, makes it clear that his very existence and life come directly from the "Spirit of God" and the "breath of the Almighty." This is the divine energy that animates us, making us living, breathing, thinking beings. It is not a distinct, separable part of us that continues to live or think independently after death. When this life-giving power is withdrawn, the entire person ceases to exist as a conscious entity.
This is further supported by the psalmist:
His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
Psalm 146:4
When the "breath" (or spirit of life) departs, the person dies, and their thoughts—their consciousness, their very personality—perish. This underscores the unity of the human being; the mind and body are not separate entities that can function independently.
Sometimes, when the Bible speaks of "body, soul, and spirit," it's not describing three separate components that can operate independently, but rather referring to the complete human being from different perspectives—the physical, the mental/emotional, and the life principle given by God.
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:23
Here, the apostle Paul prays for the believers to be "sanctified wholly" and for their "whole spirit and soul and body" to be preserved. This isn't a prayer for three distinct entities to be kept separate, but rather for the entire person—every aspect of their being—to be made holy and preserved until Christ's return. It emphasizes the completeness and unity of the human being, not a separation into parts. It's about the whole individual being dedicated to God.
Our hope in the resurrection further highlights the unity of our being, especially the importance of our physical body:
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Romans 8:11
The promise is that God will "quicken our mortal bodies." This means our physical bodies, which return to dust at death, will be made alive again. This points to a resurrection of the whole person, body and all, not just a disembodied spirit or soul. The body is an essential part of who we are.
Paul elaborates on this in his discussion of the resurrection:
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:44-45
Again, the focus is on the "body"—a natural body that dies and a spiritual body that is raised. The "living soul" refers to the whole person. This reinforces the idea that our identity and existence are tied to our complete, unified being, which God will restore at the resurrection.
The Bible consistently teaches that man is a unified, living being. When God created us, He formed a whole person—a "living soul"—from the dust of the ground and the breath of life. Our "spirit" refers to the life-giving power from God that animates us, and when it is withdrawn, the entire person ceases to exist as a conscious entity. The biblical concepts of "body, soul, and spirit" describe different aspects of this unified person, not separate parts that can live independently. Our hope is not in an immortal, disembodied soul, but in the resurrection of the whole person—body, mind, and spirit—when Christ returns.