RELIGIOUS

PERSPECTIVE OF
THE HUMAN
PERSON
 God fashioned man from the substance of creation that

preceded him - God took of the materials of the natural world

of creation that preceded man and shaped or formed him.
These materials need not have been only the things we call
matter, though the Bible uses the expression "dust of the
ground." Vegetative life and animal life, structure and
function, preceded man.
 Man's life-giving essence is the breath of God, or spirit -

God's "breathing into" has reference to his creative act of

making the human form a living being in whom the spirit
(breath of God) is the life-giving essence, the life principle.
Human life is the living spirit. Man is of vertical origin, from
God. He is spirit.
 He became a living being, an organic unity - Because man is

an organic whole, it is incorrect to say that soul and body, or

spirit, mind, and body, are separate parts of man. The Bible
clearly shows the unity of man.
 He is made in God's likeness - Man is made in the image of

Christ. In a way, this is true of all life, because it reflects the

strength and wisdom of God. Nevertheless man is the image
of God, because he is a spirit. It is only from man that it is
said that the breathing of God into him has made him a living
being.
 He was made lord of creation - Man was made master of

creation. He was made for conquest, to be the viceroy of the

handiwork of God. He is appointed to be the master of nature,
to order and to develop it to the glory of God under God.