Jesus Christ as man was in every respect like unto us, except in sin and the consequences of sin. Christ could not have been mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2) and the head of humanity, He could not have called Himself "Son of Man," unless He was a true and perfect man. A complete human nature implies, in the first place, a rational soul. Christ's soul differed from ours only in the marvelous perfections and graces with which it was enriched. His human intellect did not possess infinite knowledge which belonged only to His Divine intellect, but it possessed in the highest degree the beatific vision, infused knowledge, and acquired knowledge. By the first He saw the Divine essence from the first instant of the creation of His human nature; by the second, He knew like the angels by means of infused ideas, without sensible images and reasoning; and by the third He apprehended by means of His senses and reason (Luke 2). By making use of the senses and reason Christ learned from experience what He already knew theoretically and supernaturally (Hebrews 5). Christ possessed not only a human intellect but also a human will: "Father, not my will (human will) but Thine (Divine will) be done" (Luke 22). Besides being impeccable, Christ's human will was in perfect conformity to His Divine will, because one and the same Divine Person operated through both. Christ also had a true and real body and not an imaginary or heavenly body, as certain heretics claimed. The view of the latter would imply that Christ did not truly suffer and die for us and that He deceived us. Since Christ's body was conceived miraculously by the supernatural operation of the Holy Ghost, it did not possess those infirmities which flow from sinful fallen nature. Christ's body was perfect, complete, and becoming His condition. Being fashioned directly by the Holy Ghost it possessed a beauty worthy of its Divine nature. Christ assumed only those infirmities which in the present order flow from the natural constitution of the body, such as hunger, thirst, sufferings, and death. Christ willed to experience bodily suffering in order to expiate our sins and to give us a superlative example of all virtues.

See Incarnations; Jesus, Life and Ministry of ; Christ, Christology .

The characteristics which unite all persons despite their many individual differences and constitute them as God's “image.” The pages of Scripture depict a great variety of human actions and attitudes, thoughts and feelings, sins an successes. Considered together this variety gives a biblical perspective on human nature. Humanity as Created “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27 ). Theologians have supposed that this “image” designates what is most essential to human nature. Many patristic, Catholic, and Protestant orthodox theologians have argued that the image was reason. Although Scripture depicts humans as thinking creatures, this definition was originally derived from Greek philosophy. More accurate is the suggestion that the image consists in humankind's lordship over and stewardship of creation, for this is the theme of the following verses (Genesis 1:28-31 ). The best clue comes from frequent reference to Jesus as that image to which we are to be conformed (Romans 8:29 ; 1 Corinthians 15:49 ; 2 Corinthians 3:18 ; 2 Corinthians 4:4 ). The most basic characteristics of Jesus' life were His dependence upon and devotion to His Father and His loving servanthood toward His fellow humans. This suggests that the essence of being human consists in a three-fold relationship: towards God as Lord, towards other humans as fellow servants, and towards creation as entrusted to our care. The second feature is confirmed by Genesis 1:27 which, as Karl Barth noticed, practically identifies being in God's image with being female and male. For in the interdependence between the sexes, the need, desire, and delight of humans for and in each other can be most vividly symbolized. Theologians have often discussed whether individual humans are composed of just body and soul, or of body, soul, and spirit. Yet this question has been somewhat misguided. Scripture represents people not as individuals composed of parts, but as integrated, acting units intimately interrelated with others. The biblical term “body” often denotes not simply the individual's physical substance, but a channel through which, or a way in which, one gives oneself over to sin (Romans 6:12 ), to God (Romans 12:1 ; 1Corinthians 6:13,1Psalm 42:1-29 Corinthians 6:19 ) or to other persons (1Corinthians 6:15-16,1 Corinthians 6:18 ). Biblical words for “soul” often indicate the entire person, especially as longing or striving for life (1 Samuel 1:15 ; 1619168892_87 ; Proverbs 13:19 ). Biblical words for “spirit” again often denote the entire person, but this time as especially open to God (Ezra 1:5 ; Jeremiah 51:11 ; Romans 8:16 ). Investigation of the Bible's specific terminology generally substantiates its understanding of the image of God. The significance of human life is found primarily in relationships with others and with God. Humanity under Sin Theologians often seek to determine sin's essence through careful analysis of Genesis 3:1 . From this episode alone, sin can appear simply as the transgression of a divine command. However, the lengthy and varied narratives concerning Israel and Jesus yield fuller insight into sin. In the Old Testament, sin indeed involves breaking the commands of God's covenant. Yet this is rooted in turning away from the relationship which Yahweh initiated, and therefore from Yahweh Himself. Moreover, turning from Yahweh involves turning towards something else. This is usually the gods of the nations and the religious and social practices which they enforced. Therefore, just as humans are not isolated individuals, so sin is not simply individual transgression. Sin is participation in attitudes, social behaviors, and religious commitments opposed to God. Just as humanity's image is manifested most fully in Jesus, so sin was revealed most clearly in the opposition to Him. Jesus was opposed by the collective power of the Roman state, Israel's religious establishment, and the demonic forces behind them. Individuals were involved by supporting, or by refusing to oppose, these collective forces. In brief, just as God designed humans, made in His image, for positive relationships with others and with creation, rooted in dependence upon Him; so human sin is participation in distorted social and ecological relationships, rooted in commitments to other values and powers. Individual responsibility is involved, but it takes the form of turning from God towards something else. Humanity Participating in Salvation The fullness of human potential cannot be determined from Genesis, but only from texts, primarily in the New Testament, which describe humans as moving towards final glorification. Theologians have debated whether the will, apart from God's irresistible grace, is wholly bound to evil, or whether it can make some small movement toward God on its own. Through its many stories of people turning from God, Scripture insists that strong divine influence is needed to counteract sin; but Scripture may not provide a precise answer to the other side of the issue—humanity's ability to turn to God. The Bible does tells us the essential nature of freedom. It is not merely liberty to choose or not choose among various possibilities. Instead, true human freedom is initiated and empowered by the divine Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17 ; Galatians 4:6-7 ; Galatians 5:13 ,Galatians 5:13,5:16 ; Romans 8:2 ). It is not simply liberty to follow our own inclinations. It is the capacity to transform our drives and habits through the Spirit who raised Jesus bodily (Romans 8:11 ). It is not simply liberty to attend to our interests. It is freedom to participate in and suffer with the Spirit's transforming work throughout all creation (Romans 8:22-23 ). It is not freedom from involvement, but freedom for loving relationships with other people, the whole creation, and God. Just as sin involves participation in perverted social and religious relationships, so fulfillment of human potential involves participation in healthy ones. Since our “bodies” are channels which relate us to creation, to others, and to God, so participation in Christ's body is the primary means by which health is restored. The “body of Christ” is no pale metaphor for an ecclesiastical organization. It is a living organism where each member participates in the joys and sufferings of the others (Romans 12:4-8 ; 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 ; Ephesians 4:4-16 ). The church is not merely an organization for occasional worship, entertainment, or service. It is the primary community through which God wills that the relationships which constitute His image should be healed and through which the fullness which He desires for all humankind should be most clearly displayed. See Image of God ; Body ; Soul ; Spirit ; Creation ; Sin ; Freedom ; Spirit ; Church ; Body of Christ . Thomas Finger

Is his possessing a true human body, and a true human soul, and which he assumed for the purpose of rendering his mediation effectual to our salvation. See JESUS CHRIST.

The exercise of the social and benevolent virtues; a fellow-feeling for the distresses of another. It is properly called humanity, because there is little or nothing of it in brutes. The social affections are conceived by all to be more refined than the selfish. Sympathy and humanity are universally esteemed the finest temper of mind; and for that reason the prevalence of the social affections in the progress of society is held to be a refinement of our nature. Kaims's El. of Crit. p. 104. vol. 1:; Robinson's Sermons on Christianity a System of Humanity; Pratt's Poem on Humanity.

Jesus Christ as man was in every respect like unto us, except in sin and the consequences of sin. Christ could not have been mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2) and the head of humanity, He could not have called Himself "Son of Man," unless He was a true and perfect man. A complete human nature implies, in the first place, a rational soul. Christ's soul differed from ours only in the marvelous perfections and graces with which it was enriched. His human intellect did not possess infinite knowledge which belonged only to His Divine intellect, but it possessed in the highest degree the beatific vision, infused knowledge, and acquired knowledge. By the first He saw the Divine essence from the first instant of the creation of His human nature; by the second, He knew like the angels by means of infused ideas, without sensible images and reasoning; and by the third He apprehended by means of His senses and reason (Luke 2). By making use of the senses and reason Christ learned from experience what He already knew theoretically and supernaturally (Hebrews 5). Christ possessed not only a human intellect but also a human will: "Father, not my will (human will) but Thine (Divine will) be done" (Luke 22). Besides being impeccable, Christ's human will was in perfect conformity to His Divine will, because one and the same Divine Person operated through both. Christ also had a true and real body and not an imaginary or heavenly body, as certain heretics claimed. The view of the latter would imply that Christ did not truly suffer and die for us and that He deceived us. Since Christ's body was conceived miraculously by the supernatural operation of the Holy Ghost, it did not possess those infirmities which flow from sinful fallen nature. Christ's body was perfect, complete, and becoming His condition. Being fashioned directly by the Holy Ghost it possessed a beauty worthy of its Divine nature. Christ assumed only those infirmities which in the present order flow from the natural constitution of the body, such as hunger, thirst, sufferings, and death. Christ willed to experience bodily suffering in order to expiate our sins and to give us a superlative example of all virtues.

See Person, Personhood ; Soul ; Spirit ; Will

HUMANITY OF CHRIST.—The simplest fact about Jesus Christ, as we see Him pictured in the Gospels, is that He was a man. Whatever there was peculiar about His person, it did not destroy the reality of His humanity or take Him out of the genus ‘man.’ But this simple fact, seen in all its relations, admits of varied consideration, and indeed demands it. 1. His human body.—Jesus had a body, visible to the eye, giving the natural impression, as other bodies do, of reality. It came into life by the natural channel of birth (Matthew 1:25; Matthew 2:1, Luke 24:41-43); it grew as others do (Matthew 4:1-11,); was nourished by food as others are (Luke 7:34-36; cf. Luke 2:7); slept (Luke 8:23); was restricted by space as ordinary men are, and thus laboriously travelled about (Luke 8:1, John 4:4); was weary (John 4:6); suffered under the inhumanities attending the Trial and Execution (John 10:17-18,4; John 19:33), although, in the restraint of the Gospel narrative, no express mention is made of this fact; and truly died (as is made evident by the peculiar character of the phenomenon related in John 19:34, an unconscious testimony, by one not acquainted with the principles of anatomy, as to the reality of His death). See Body. With the reality of His body is closely associated the fact of the temptability of Jesus. The Epistle to the Hebrews lays emphasis upon this fact as a part of His qualification for the work of Saviour (Hebrews 2:18; Hebrews 4:15), The Gospel history contains a narrative of temptation (Matthew 4:1-11 ||) in which Jesus is assailed by solicitations addressed to His physical appetite, to His love of display, and to His ambition. As the reality of the human body is the presupposition of the reality of the temptation, so the character of the temptation confirms the proof of that body. Shrinking from physical pain may have been a part of the agony of the Garden (Luke 22:42; Luke 22:44, cf. the interpretation given in Hebrews 5:7, Hebrews 5:8). Naturally the sacred history, which is engaged with things done rather than with inner processes which are concealed from human observation, and which finds no occasion to trace the course of inner temptations which never result in outward sin, makes no mention of the appeal which alluring objects must have made to the sensibilities of the man Jesus Christ. But the Epistle to the Hebrews (‘in all points tempted like as we are,’ Hebrews 4:15) sustains the inference which must necessarily follow from the possession of a human nature, that there were such appeals to the humanity of Jesus. See Temptation. 2. His human soul.—Had Jesus a true human soul? The answer to such a question is to be obtained only by observing the phenomena of His recorded life, and drawing the necessary inferences from what we see. The statement of fact is, fortunately, very clear and copious. The moment we study the account of His independent life we find the evidences accumulating that in its inward, as well as its outward, processes it is a truly human life. In the temple we find the exercise of a desire—curiosity—and the acknowledgment of mental processes both like those of other men and commanding their respect (His ‘understanding,’ Luke 2:46-47). In His home in Nazareth He followed a life of obedience (Luke 2:51 ‘subject’). As He grew in stature, so He did in ‘wisdom’ (Luke 2:52 σαφία, ‘varied knowledge of things human and Divine,’ Grimm-Thayer). At His temptation He showed an intellectual knowledge of the Scriptures (Matthew 4:4; Matthew 4:7; Matthew 4:10). His discourses moved along according to the laws of human address, idea suggesting idea according to the laws of natural association. The lower ranges of reasoning are pursued by Him as by others, and once He even expresses His thought syllogistically (John 8:47). But the higher ranges of reason, the intuitive knowledge of the meaning of great truths, were peculiarly His, as is seen in the wider interpretation of the OT (Matthew 5:17; Matthew 5:21-48), and in the lofty ethical standard which He sets up, itself another instance of the larger interpretation of the OT, forming the still unsurpassed ideal of human conduct, more and more insisted upon in the social struggles for progress in our own time, the binding force and universal validity of the law of love (Matthew 22:37-40). To this standard He held Himself (John 10:30; John 17:21, Matthew 15:32; Matthew 20:34). Thus He manifested at every essential point the possession of an intellect characterized by the same faculties and working by the same laws as our own. The same was no less true of the sensibilities, even those which we are inclined to view as trivial, the undue indulgence of which we stigmatize as weakness. Traces may be found of the operation of every one of the distinct emotions. Thus, for example, He had a love for esteem, manifested in His notice of the omission of certain acts of courtesy in Luke 7:44-46; He displayed the natural affections, such as love of friends (John 15:15), of family (John 6:50-516), of country (Matthew 23:37-39); He exercised complacent love (Mark 14:8), moral indignation (Luke 11:46, John 8:44); His spiritual background was that of joy and peace (John 14:27, Luke 10:21). The will was moved by appropriate considerations as ours is (John 7:1; John 7:10), and displays the same sort of activities, being sustained by the operation of the same forces as in ordinary men. Thus the struggle in time of temptation is to maintain His spiritual ideals (Luke 2:40 John 12:27), and Jesus concentrates His attention, as men who will be victorious in time of temptation must, upon the proper object of human attention, upon the great purpose for which He has come into the world (John 18:37; John 19:11). The virtues which may be particularly called the virtues of the will arc exemplified, such as persistence, shown in His repeated healing upon the Sabbath (John 5:16, Mark 3:2-3), in His teaching sustained amid the constant evidence that the Jews were inclined decisively to reject Him (cf. the discourses in John 5 and foll. chapters). Even the more mysterious operations of the sub-conscious, or better of the supra-conscious, self are to be noted in Him, not merely in the displays of genius which He, as no other man, possessed, but in the manifestations of a power the operations of which first brought it to His empirical consciousness (Mark 5:30 Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885). In fact, the better psychologist a man is, the more clearly he can see, in the simple narratives of the Gospels, the operations of every fundamental faculty and law of the human soul. 3. The necessity of Christ’s humanity.—To one who sees no Divinity in Christ, the question of the necessity of His humanity is meaningless, not to say impertinent. Of course, He must be human, says such a one, since this is the only path to leadership. God has committed His work for men in the world to men. Apart from those mysterious communications of revelation which selected teachers of men have had, the only possible teacher of men is a man who can approach them with messages which they can understand, in words appropriate to their nature. However true these general principles are, the standpoint here assumed is not that of the Gospels. To them, Christ’ came’ to the earth (see Divinity of Christ); and the question arises why this is so, why He took upon Himself humanity and ‘became flesh’ (John 1:14). Did this question arise in the minds of the Apostles? and is there trace of speculation, or of interest as to it, in the Gospels? There are indisputable traces of both in the Epistles, especially in that to the Hebrews. It is represented in this Epistle that the object of Christ’s coming in the flesh was particularly to offer His body a sacrifice (John 10:5; John 10:10, cf. John 2:9; John 2:14); but not merely this, for the possession of humanity itself affords Him a spiritual qualification for His priestly work, in that He shares the lot of men, and learns thereby how to sympathize with them in their temptations and their failures (John 2:17-18, John 4:15-16, John 5:2). There is also the suggestion of an idea which is brought out more clearly in the Fourth Gospel,—the same as that suggested above,—that the humanity was the necessary medium of the revelation of God, since it is through Jesus that God ‘speaks’ (John 1:1; John 3:11). This form of presentation covers the point why the humanity was a necessity when once God had determined to enter upon the stage of human history as Redeemer. But St. John pushes the matter a little farther back. He begins with the eternal ‘Word,’ which was in the beginning with God and was God, and sets forth His appearing in the world under the figure of light shining into darkness (John 1:9, John 3:19, John 8:12), and needed because of the darkness. The ground of the Incarnation is found in this need, in the existence of sin, and the necessity of salvation through faith (John 3:16). It is to produce ‘children of God’ (John 1:12) that Christ comes. The coming is the manifestation of the glory of God (John 1:14), but that glory is the moral glory of ‘grace and truth.’ The culmination of the whole work of redemption is, however, the cross (John 3:14, 1619168892_70 John 15:13, cf. Hebrews 10:5; Hebrews 10:10), and it is the human body and soul of Christ that suffered there (John 19:28). This is the central idea of the Fourth Gospel; but other elements are not lacking, as the necessity of the humanity to the work of instruction, which was a main element of Jesus’ work (John 3:11; John 3:19; John 3:31-32), and which culminated in the revelation of the Father, which needed humanity as the medium of communication to human beings (John 14:9, John 12:45, John 16:15). Union with the Father was also essential to Christ’s work (John 14:11 etc.), because this consisted in the manifestation of God’s name (John 17:6). The necessary spiritual sustenance, finally, was gained through the body and blood of Christ (John 6:35; 1619168892_19), that is, through what His humanity alone was capable of doing for man. 4. Unique elements of this humanity.—The humanity of Christ, in order to satisfy the conditions now before us, must be a reality. No ‘phantom,’ or merely phenomenal body, could perform the offices required in these Scripture passages of the humanity. But other elements also appear which give a new aspect to the human nature. Among these need not be reckoned the origin of the body of Jesus by miraculous conception, as related in the First and Third Gospels; for however the process of development from the first cell might be initiated, the resulting development must be in any case that of a human body. Side by side with evident human limitations, such as ignorance (as of the day and hour of His own return to the earth, Matthew 24:36), there exist phenomena of a like nature altogether transcending humanity, such as the knowledge by which He not only ‘knew what was in man’ (John 2:25), read the thoughts of men often as an open book (Matthew 9:4; Matthew 12:25, Luke 6:8; Luke 9:47), but, above all, knew perfectly the will of the Father and the mysteries of Divine truth. He walked laboriously from Judaea to Galilee (John 4:4), but He could suddenly appear upon the surface of the sea in the storm, walking upon the water (Matthew 14:25 ||). These and other such considerations (see Divinity of Christ) raise the question how these things could consist in Him, that is, the question of the nature of the Person of Christ, a question belonging to dogmatics, and thus lying outside of the scope of this article. But—this is the main point—whatever more than humanity there was in Christ, the evidence already cited is decisive as to the reality of His humanity. 5. The unity of Jesus’ consciousness.—Christ was, then, a man. Does this word comprehensively express the Gospel teaching as to His person? He had a personality as men are persons. He had a consciousness which expressed itself by the pronoun ‘I.’ Was this a human consciousness, so that when asked as to Himself Jesus would have replied: ‘I am a man’? There are two elements in the answer to this question. (a) Jesus’ consciousness was a unity. He passes easily from the consideration of earthly to heavenly things, from walking upon the water to sitting quietly in the boat, as if both of these things belonged to Him equally. The impression made upon the unsophisticated reader of the Gospels is that of a single consciousness. In fact, in order to be explicable at all, the Gospels must convey such an impression. But pivotal passages, even those which have seemed to give a basis for the idea that He spoke now ‘as God’ and now ‘as man,’ do not justify such an inference when carefully considered. He did not mean in Matthew 4:10 ‘Thou (Satan) shalt worship the Lord thy God (me),’ and not I thee. He meant that the law of worship for any one, and for Him as bound to fulfil all righteousness (Matthew 3:15), was the worship of the Lord only. In Matthew 8:23-27 and parallels He was not in one capacity asleep in the boat and in another watching over the disciples in that storm, but He was totally asleep as He appeared. He did not chide them for lack of faith in such a waking providence of His own, of which they had no knowledge, but for their lack of faith in God (cf. Mark 4:40), whose messenger Christ was, and who would care for both Him and them. In Mark 5:30 and parallels it is not Jesus in one personality healing the woman and in another inquiring what had happened, that is brought before us; but God the Father made use of Him to answer the petition, unknown to Him but known to God, and He became conscious in this use of Himself that He was so used (‘having come to perceive that the power which ^[1] went forth from him had ^[2] gone forth,’ cf. Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885). (b) The centre of this personality, the Ego of this undivided consciousness, is God. Whenever He speaks of His coming into the world, it is always God that speaks, not less in Mark 10:45 and parallels than in John 3:13; John 10:10. This fact stands side by side with such facts as the confession of ignorance. They are never allowed to get far apart. When we have the passage Matthew 24:36 confessing ignorance, it is preceded by the glorious description of the return of the Son of Man in Divine majesty (Matthew 24:30), and followed by the Judgment scene of Matthew 25:31-46. There is no trace of a sense of transition or of shock in passing from one form of consciousness to the other, because there is no such shock, no transition (see Kenosis). The solution of this problem, of the unity of the consciousness in the midst of such apparent contradictions in the contents of consciousness, is, again, a problem of dogmatics. 6. The significance of the humanity of Christ for religion.—The interest of dogmatics in the humanity of Christ lies in the doctrine of a true Incarnation, which is the foundation of the doctrines of Atonement and Forgiveness. The interest of religion in Christ’s humanity is the interest of believers in the forgiveness of sins, who need to feel the identification of their Redeemer with themselves. It is not without profound significance that it is said that judgment is committed to the Son of Man (John 5:22). Whatever else of deepest truth there may be in it, there is this, that the sinner needs to feel the identification of his Judge with himself by the possession of a common human nature. When the Judge knows both the persistency and depth of sin on the one hand, and the weakness and temptations of man on the other,—then only will the sinner be assured that the proffered forgiveness is for him. It is, again, the interest of believers in God, who get higher ideas of God’s goodness from the greatness of the condescension involved in His ‘becoming flesh.’ It is, further, the interest of believers in Jesus, who, when they understand that Jesus is identified with us by the possession of our common humanity, feel a new confidence; are stimulated to more frequent prayer; become conscious that He truly draws near to them; regard their varied lot in life, which He has shared, as sanctified thereby; bear with greater equanimity their sorrows, which He also bore; find in Him their pattern of life (see Obedience, § ii.); and thus see in Him not an abstraction, but a real, objective, and personal Redeemer and object of faith, a Captain, and the Head of the Church. See, further, Incarnation, Son of Man. Literature.—Dale, Christian Doctrine, 45–73; Stalker, Imago Christi, passim; Ullmann, Sinlessness of Jesus, 52 ff.; Wendt, Teaching of Jesus, ii. 136 ff.; Fairbairn, Christ in Modern Theology, 347 ff.; F. W. Robertson, Sermons, i. 99 ff.; |Expositor, v. iv. ^[3] 388 ff. On the union of the human with the Divine in the Person of Christ see the Christological sections of standard works on Christian Doctrine. Frank Hugh Foster.

This article is concerned with what is referred to today as humankind, and in former times as mankind or man; that is, humanity as a whole, human beings, the human race. Concerning the distinctiveness of men and women within that race see MEN; WOMEN. Made in God’s image Basic to any study of the nature of human beings is the fact that God created them in his own image (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 9:6; James 3:9). They are therefore unique among all God’s earthly creatures. They have a God-given authority over the material world in which they live (Genesis 1:26; Psalms 8:3-8) and a God-given capacity for fellowship with the unseen, sovereign, eternal God (Acts 17:26-27). Because human beings exist in God’s image, the Bible makes no attempt to divide them into different ‘parts’, such as physical, spiritual, moral, mental, emotional and the like. The human being is not a collection of components, but a unified whole. The whole person exists in God’s image (see IMAGE). The Bible uses words such as ‘body’, ‘mind’, ‘soul’, etc. not to indicate the number of parts that make up the human being, but to indicate different aspects of human life as it appears in different contexts. For example, we must not think that, because Jesus told people to love God with all their heart and soul and mind and strength, they are made up of four parts (Mark 12:30); or that, because Paul prayed for the Thessalonians to be kept blameless in spirit, soul and body, they are made up of three parts (1 Thessalonians 5:23); or that, because Jesus spoke of the destruction of soul and body, they are made up of two parts (Matthew 10:28). Some of these words are used in different ways by different people at different times. Sometimes two words may have virtually the same meaning; other times they may have quite different meanings. Aspects of human life Both ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’ have a range of meanings in the Bible. The basic meaning of ‘soul’ (Hebrew: nephesh; Greek: psyche) has to do with a person’s (or animal’s) existence as a living being. It is often translated ‘life’ or ‘person’ (Genesis 1:21; Genesis 1:24; Genesis 2:7; Exodus 1:5; Ezekiel 18:4; Ezekiel 18:27; Matthew 16:26; Acts 2:41; Acts 2:43; Philippians 2:30; see SOUL). The basic meaning of ‘spirit’ (Hebrew: ruach; Greek: pneuma) has to do with that unseen, life-giving force that comes from God – the ‘breath of life’ that he gives to all persons (and animals), that belongs to him, and that he takes back at death (Genesis 7:22; Numbers 16:22; Ecclesiastes 12:7; Hebrews 12:9; James 2:26; see SPIRIT). With regard to these meanings, we might say that people are nephesh (living beings) because they have ruach (the life-force that comes from God). However, the Bible uses both nephesh and ruach (and their Greek equivalents in the New Testament) to refer to certain aspects of human life where human beings are different from other animals. Human emotions, will-power and understanding may in some cases be linked with the soul (Genesis 42:21; Deuteronomy 6:5; John 12:27; Acts 4:32), in others with the spirit (Exodus 35:21; Psalms 77:6; Mark 2:8; Mark 8:12; 1 Corinthians 14:14-15). More importantly, the higher and spiritual aspect of human life that other animals do not share may be called the soul (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:11) or the spirit (Romans 8:10; 2 Timothy 4:22). The physical and non-physical aspects of humans may be referred to as body and soul (Hebrews 2:14-15) or body and spirit (1 Corinthians 7:34; 2 Corinthians 7:1). That aspect that continues in a bodiless existence after death may be referred to as a soul (Acts 2:27; Revelation 6:9; Revelation 20:4) or a spirit (Hebrews 12:23; 1 Peter 3:18). Such bodiless existence is only temporary. God’s purpose is not that people should live endlessly merely as souls or spirits. His purpose is that they find their full salvation as whole people in resurrected and glorified bodies (1 Corinthians 15:35-54; see BODY). Soul and spirit are not the same. Yet it is not easy to distinguish between them (Hebrews 4:12). We should not think of them as two ‘parts’ which, put together in a certain proportion, make up the inner life (as hydrogen and oxygen, put together in a certain proportion, make up water). It is probably better to think of them as the inner life viewed from different aspects. The Bible most frequently refers to this inner life as the heart. Depending on which aspect of the inner life is emphasized, the heart may refer to the soul (Deuteronomy 4:29; Acts 4:32), the spirit (Psalms 51:10; Psalms 51:17; 1 Corinthians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 2:11) or the mind (1 Samuel 2:35; Hebrews 10:16; see HEART; MIND). Failure and triumph The story of the Bible is the story of human failure and God’s gracious salvation. God intended people to live in harmony with their Creator, their fellow human beings and their physical environment, and to have peace within themselves. But because of sin, all these relationships are in a state of conflict instead of harmony, tension instead of peace (Genesis 3:8-24; see SIN). People have become, so to speak, infected by the disease of sin, and this infection affects every part of their nature. The tendency to do wrong is within the nature people are born with. This ‘diseased’ human nature is commonly called ‘the flesh’ (Psalms 51:5; Romans 5:12; Romans 8:7; Romans 13:14; see FLESH). Through their sin, people have placed themselves under God’s judgment. They are guilty before a holy and just God, and can do nothing to escape condemnation (Numbers 32:23; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:3; Hebrews 10:31). God, however, has provided a way of salvation. God took human form in the person of Jesus Christ, who lived the human life perfectly and finally died to bear sin’s punishment on behalf of his fellow human beings (Romans 8:3; Hebrews 4:15). Through Jesus Christ, the human race can regain what it lost through the man Adam. Human beings can enjoy what God intended for them from the beginning – harmony with their Creator, their fellow human beings and their physical environment, along with peace within themselves. The image of God that was spoiled by sin can be restored through Christ (1 Corinthians 15:22; Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10; see IMAGE, sub-heading ‘The perfect man’). The evil consequences of human sin may be summarized under the word ‘death’ (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1). Christ reverses all those evil consequences. The salvation that he has achieved includes even the conquest of physical death (Acts 2:24; Matthew 10:28; see DEATH; LIFE). Those who trust in Christ for their salvation can look forward to the fulfilment of that salvation when Christ returns and raises the dead (Romans 8:18-25; 1 Corinthians 15:49-57). Whatever glory God intended for the human race will be experienced by those who are united with Christ. Their whole person will experience this glory, and therefore they must, in their whole person, remain devoted to God and blameless in behaviour till Christ returns (Mark 12:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; see RESURRECTION). For those who refuse Christ’s salvation, there is nothing to look forward to but fearful judgment (Hebrews 9:27; Hebrews 10:27; see JUDGMENT).