I am currently taking a Philosophy class at Community College. We had to write a discussion question about Self, which in my mind evolved into a question of personhood. I got started writing, and by the time I was done, I had a full essay (rather than a 100 word discussion question) on the Biblical view of personhood. I thought I’d share it with you today. I welcome feedback from you! Thanks for reading!
What is personhood? This is what the question of “self” really comes down to. Am I a person because of my soul? Am I a person because of my mind? Am I a person because of my body? Some have indeed taken the stance that personhood is found solely in the existence of an immaterial soul, and the phrase “the real me is not this body but my soul” reveals this. However, I believe that there is a better way to define the “self,” a better way to deal with the question of personhood. The Bible lays down a definition of personhood grounded in the creation of man as image-bearers whose value and dignity found in their soul extend to their physical bodies as well. In the Biblical worldview, body and soul work together to define personhood.
The Bible teaches that human beings are made in the image of our creator God. Genesis 1:27 says: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (ESV). This “image,” many Bible scholars and theologians will point out, has the underlying idea of a “carving.” As John MacArthur (2020), lead pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, puts it: “God was, in essence, the pattern for the personhood of man.” The Bible teaches that God created mankind and all the other animals as part of day five and six of creation. Yet in doing this, the Bible also identifies humanity as distinct from other animals. What is it that makes humanity distinct? That he is made in the image of God. Therefore, MacArthur teaches, the image of God “cannot speak primarily of man’s appearance or biological makeup.” In those respects, it is true, we are at times very similar to animals. Therefore, body alone is not what gives us our image-bearing quality – it is not where we derive our personhood from.
What then is behind this idea of the image of God? It is those qualities which we share with God, albeit in a broken, sin-shattered way. We were created to share these qualities (MacArthur lists holiness, goodness, wisdom, truth, love, relationship, and cognitive abilities as some of these qualities) with God. Sin and evil have marred our ability to do so. We are now broken image bearers who reflect only a part of these attributes. We can recognize this if we look at our own lives. We are able to think, but sometimes we forget. We are able to love, but also able to hate. We have wisdom, but sometimes our wisdom fails us or others. Yet it is the (although imperfect) reflection of these immaterial qualities that make us image bearers, and thus make us persons.
The fact that we are image-bearers gives us dignity and value. This is derived from our immaterial qualities such as cognition, wisdom, love, and creativity. Their value comes from being attributes of the creator God. This is reinforced by Genesis 6:9. It says, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image” (ESV). This leads to the problem with the statement, “the real me is not this body but my soul.” If we believe that the soul is the only thing that matters, we will not value the body the way God does. This belief would give us freedom to do whatever we want to the body: to mutilate it, to wound it, to starve it, or to kill it. After all, in this view it only the soul that matter, and I could do whatever I want with my body. But the Bible makes it clear that this is not the case.
Note that Genesis 6:9 also begins to argue for the value of the physical body. You cannot shed the blood of a soul. You must have a material, physical body for blood to be shed. Therefore, in this verse we begin to see that the value derived from our impersonal soul is extended to the physical body that soul inhabits. We are more than a body, this is true, but this ought not make us discount the importance of our bodies. God still values the physical body he has given us, and we ought to as well.
Matt Perman (2006), a writer for Desiring God, says that “disembodied existence is not God’s ultimate and final and greatest purpose for us.” In fact, the Bible teaches that God cares deeply about our physical bodies and will restore not only our souls and spiritual state, but also our bodies. “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23 ESV, emphasis mine). Our physical bodies do matter to God. They will be part of the redeemed creation at the still future, final resurrection of the dead. “So it is with the resurrection of the dead…It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:42, 44 ESV). The Greek word (soma) is the same for both “bodies” (Blue Letter Bible). Therefore, the words “natural” and “spiritual” describe some kind of quality about the bodies but does not discount the fact that there will be a body involved in the new creation. Revelation 21:1-4 teaches that the day is coming when a renewed physical earth is established on which renewed physical bodies will engage in activities that glorify and honor the creator God whose image we will accurately bear.
As we have seen, we are created in the image of God, which means that we have value and dignity, and it is from this that we derive our personhood. That value and dignity extends from the immaterial qualities and characteristics of God that we reflect to the physical bodies that he given to us. We use our physical bodies to display those characteristics. Therefore, when God fully and completely sanctifies us, we will have new bodies that will be able to reflect those attributes perfectly and fully. As a result, our physical bodies do matter, and they are part of what makes us human. We cannot harm or destroy either our own bodies or the bodies of others. As 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (ESV, emphasis mine). Both body and soul are a gift from God that he expects us to use to glorify him and reflect his nature. This is what it means to be a person.
Works Cited
English Standard Version. (2016). Crossway. Print.
G4983 – sōma – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (kjv). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4983/kjv/tr/0-1/
MacArthur, J. (2020, July 10). To Bear the Creator’s Image. Grace To You. https://www.gty.org/library/blog/B200710/to-bear-the-creators-image
Perman, M. (2006, January 23). What Happens at Death? Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-happens-at-death
So impressed with your mind. How God has used your parents to influence you to take this stand. I know that you are rooted in God and I am very impressed at your willingness to share His view and design with your professor and your class. Thank you for sharing this assignment with us.