What Is Man?
What does the Bible reveal about the nature of human life, the spirit within us, and what really happens when we die?
What is man? Few today have an adequate answer to this enormously significant question.
In the Hebrew Scriptures the question “What is man?” is asked twice. David’s reflections in Psalm 8 are widely known and are quoted in the New Testament book of Hebrews. In contrast, the passage in Job 7 is rarely remembered. But both are worthy of careful consideration. (They are specifically addressed in this lesson’s last section, “God’s great purpose for man.”)
But how do we define humanity? What is a human being? These questions have exercised the minds of philosophers from time immemorial. But in this lesson we are concerned with what God’s Word reveals about the nature of people.
What does God reveal about man’s present existence?
“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 being [or ‘soul,’ KJV]” (Genesis 2:7).
“Behold all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4; compare verse 20).
Genesis 1 tells us that man was made in the image of God (verses 26-27). Then chapter 2 reveals a little more detail about the specifics of that creation. God created man out of matter, “the dust of the ground.” The Bible nowhere reveals him to either be or to possess an “immortal soul.” All such ideas representing man as already possessing immortality in his being are nonbiblical concepts originating from distinctly non- biblical sources.
Scripture tells us plainly that the soul is something that can die or be destroyed. It is not immortal! Jesus said not to fear “those that kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him [God] who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28)—that is, a final fire to burn up the unrepentant, not a place of eternal torment. (For a more complete explanation of this crucial topic, download or request our free study guide What Happens After Death?)
Though man clearly does not possess an immortal soul, is there an important nonphysical component of man’s being?
“But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding” (Job 32:8).
Apparently this “spirit in man” adds that essential nonphysical ingredient that gives people their innate capacity to learn and understand on a level vastly superior to animals. Paul indicates that it imparts the ability to know “the things of a man” (1 Corinthians 2:11).
What happens to the spirit in man when one dies?
“Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7).
Is this spirit in man conscious apart from the man’s brain and body?
“For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing . . . There is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10).
“For in death there is no remembrance of You [God]” (Psalm 6:5).
Many verses in the Bible show us that the state of death is compared to sleep (Daniel 12:2, Luke 8:52; John 11:11-13; 1 Corinthians 15:19-20). The dead, however, will be awakened to consciousness by Jesus Christ at the time of the resurrection (John 5:28-29; 6:39).
