What is a Person? by Michael Podhaczky

Imagine a new Christ-follower asks you ‘What is the biblical concept of a person?’ how would you briefly answer them? Where would you begin? Well, as Christ-followers would, our first port of call be the Scripture? You know, as those who hold the Bible to be the God’s Word to humanity, and if we believe that it is true, then we can trust what it has to say on the matter.

For example, in Gen 1:26, we read that the first two people were created due to a decision made by God. That is, He said,

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make humanity in our image, according to our likeness.’”

So, if humanity were the result of divine purpose, then one would think that this is where our fundamental value lays. The first two people were intended to be a unique creation, not like any of the other created beings either on heaven or on earth. They were created as a result that God chose to create them in His image and likeness.

God made the first person out of the earth, and then He breathed His life into them. Humanity was created for God’s glory, e.g. Is 43:7; 2 Tim 1:9.

“…the creator created them male and female…;” (Gen 1:27; 5:2; Matt 19:4; Mk 10:6; then in Gen 2:7 “…the LORD GOD formed the man…; and finally in Gen 2:22 “the LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the Adam, and brought her to the Adam.”

The Hebrew word for rib here is ‘tsela’ it is the only use of the term to describe a part of the human anatomy in the Hebrew Bible. So, woman is part of man and together they are one in complete unity and likeness. Notice that when God created humanity, He created them, not just him.

God knew what humanity would be and do before He created them. If that is the case, why then why did God create them? If we are honest, this is still a mystery that we do not fully know. However, God in His divine purpose had decided that humanity made would be in His image. Because of humanities sin, we would need to be liberated and allowed to come back into God’s family through a person. It would be through the person of Jesus Christ, His Son. We do know that restored humanity in Jesus Christ is the object of God’s love. Humanity may have been created from the dust but is now (or can be) a child of God.

Pause in His presence for a moment and think this over…