A human being is a person, whether male or female. Older English Bible translations often use “man” to refer to human beings in general, including both men and women.
The Bible’s teaching about human beings begins with a proper understanding of God, their Creator. Its teaching about human nature is closely connected to its teaching about God. Respect for God and an understanding of his greatness help us recognize the value and dignity of human beings. A poor understanding of God often leads to a mistaken view of people. We may give them either more or less importance than the Bible teaches. Neither view agrees with the Bible. To understand human beings, we must begin by understanding God, who created them.
Human Origins
Some theories explain human origins through natural processes and physical matter alone. The Bible teaches that the eternal God created human beings as the most significant of all his created works. Christians do not need to agree on a specific timeline for how God created humans.
Some Christians understand Genesis 1 to describe six days of creation, each lasting 24 hours (see Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, and so on). They believe humans were created suddenly, perhaps about 6,000 years ago. This date is associated with timelines such as the one Archbishop James Ussher published in Annales, 1650–1658. Some Christians who hold this general view, sometimes called “creation science,” believe humans were created about 10,000 years ago. They allow for possible gaps in the family histories listed in Genesis 5 and 11.
Other Christians interpret Genesis 1 and 2 more broadly. They believe God may have created humans much earlier, perhaps millions of years ago. They suggest that God used processes under his control and direction as an important part of his work of creation. This view is sometimes called “progressive creationism.”
In this approach, the Hebrew word for “day,” yom in Genesis 1 may refer to a long period of time. This interpretation is sometimes called the “day-age” theory. The repeated wording about evening and morning may be a way of organizing the account into stages of God’s work of creation over time.
Many Christians hold views about when humans were created that fall between these shorter and longer timelines. Despite these differences, a biblical understanding of human beings requires belief that God created them. This belief is central to Christian faith, as expressed in the words of the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.”
Human beings are God’s creation and the greatest of his created works. Long before modern scientific study, people in ancient times recognized similarities between human and animal bodies. Despite these similarities, the Bible presents humans as distinct from animals, with a special place in God’s creation. Genesis 1 describes God’s work of creation in a sequence that reaches its highest point when he creates human beings.
Human behavior includes language, making tools, and culture (the shared customs and ways of life of a community). Humans also reflect on themselves and their experiences, consider right and wrong, and seek beauty. They think about the past and ask questions about existence and the meaning of life. Together, these features help describe what makes human life distinctive.
Sociology, the study of human society, cannot fully explain human nature. For that, we need what God has revealed about human beings.
Humans share a connection with God's creation, as shown in Genesis 2:7 shows this connection by describing how God formed the first human from the dust of the ground. Yet humans also have a distinct place in creation. God breathed the breath of life into the man, and he became a living being (Genesis 2:7).
God created humans as male and female (Genesis 1:27). Therefore, general statements about human beings apply to both men and women. The relationship between men and women helps show the fullest meaning of being human. God gave both men and women the shared responsibility to have children and rule over the earth.
Both men and women rebelled against God and experience the consequences of that first sin. Christ came to redeem both men and women (to free them from sin; see Galatians 3:28). Many Christians see the distinction between male and female as part of God's design, though traditions differ on which differences were given in creation and which are shaped by culture. Some also understand the verse as saying that men and women together show God's image, while others stress that each person bears it fully (see Genesis 1:27).
Created in God's Image
The Bible’s most remarkable statement about human beings is that God made them in his image. The Bible does not say this about any other creature, even angels. Genesis 1:26–28 provides the basis for the description of humans in Psalm 8:5: "You made him [humans] a little lower than the angels."
The meaning of “the image of God,” sometimes called imago Dei in Latin, has been widely debated. Some understand it to mean that humans physically resemble God. However, this interpretation is doubtful because God is spirit (see John 4:24). Others believe it refers to the abilities humans share with God, such as thinking, feeling, and making choices. These abilities may be part of what it means to bear God’s image. However, other animals also have some of these abilities, so they are not unique to humans.
The Hebrew word for “image,” tselem, means a representation or likeness. By creating humans in his image, God gave them worth and dignity as his representatives in the world. Ancient Assyrian kings placed images of themselves in distant parts of their empire. These images reminded people that the king ruled those areas. In a similar way, God made human beings to represent his presence in the world he created.
The surrounding verses in Genesis 1 seem to support this understanding of God’s image. God created humans in his image and gave them responsibility to rule over and care for the rest of his creation (Genesis 1:26; see also Psalm 8:5). As God’s representatives, humans are also called to respond to him. Jesus taught that God is spirit and that those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:21–24).
Human Nature
People may think of human beings as having separate parts, but the Bible emphasizes the whole person. Christians debate whether humans have three parts (spirit, soul, and body; see 1 Thessalonians 5:23) or two parts (physical and nonphysical). The Bible seems to support both views. However, the unity of the person matters more than the number of parts.
A biblical understanding of human nature recognizes that a person has both physical and nonphysical aspects. The theologian Karl Barth described this close connection by saying that humans are both a soul with a body and a body with a soul. A person is more than a body alone. Life without a body is also incomplete, except as a temporary state between death and resurrection.
The Hebrew word nephesh, often translated as “soul,” can refer to the whole person. The Hebrew word ruach can mean “breath,” “wind,” or “spirit.” It and the Greek words pneuma (“spirit”) and psuche (“soul”) often refer to the nonphysical aspect of a human being. This aspect is just as real as the body. A view that treats humans as only physical is incomplete. But a view that gives too much importance to the spirit and too little to the body is also unbalanced.
This hope can be expressed in personal terms: “My life now depends greatly on my physical body, but I am more than my body. When my body dies and decays, I will continue to exist. One day, I will live in a body again. Life without a body does not fully express what it means to be human. God intends me to live in a new body. As I look forward to eternal life, I believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.”
A biblical understanding of human nature must consider the fall (humanity’s first rebellion against God). Genesis 3 suggests that before the fall, humans would not die, childbirth would not involve pain, and difficulties would not hinder work in the natural world.
After the fall, all these aspects of life changed. Humans experienced changes within themselves, in the relationship between men and women, in their interaction with nature, and in their relationship with God.
Because of the fall, sin affects the whole person. Different Christian traditions agree that sin has damaged human life and relationships, but they describe the extent of that damage differently.
Human beings remain made in God’s image after the fall (Genesis 9:6; James 3:9). They therefore continue to have dignity and worth. Scripture describes God’s work to save sinners as an expression of his love (see Romans 5).
People have long debated whether humans are basically good or inclined toward evil. Genesis speaks to both sides of the question. God created humans in his image, to represent him in the world. Yet the first humans chose to disobey their Creator, and all people since have also sinned. Without God's grace, people remain bound by sin. Sin affects the whole person and shows itself in pride, selfishness, and harm to others.
This rebellion damaged God's image in humans but did not destroy it. As people trust in Christ, God's Spirit begins to renew that image in them. Through this work, God reconciles them to himself and restores their relationships with others.
God created humans good. Their rebellion brought sin into human life, but they still bear God’s image and have value in his sight. Through God’s power, they can be renewed. The life of Jesus shows what it means to be fully human and offers humanity a new beginning. Jesus is therefore called the new Adam. His example establishes a new pattern of human life to replace the old one.
Human Destiny
A biblical understanding of human beings must consider that God created them, that they rebelled against his grace, and that they face his judgment. It must also include the hope of redemption through the Savior, Jesus Christ, and his promise of eternal life.
Human life has a beginning but continues forever. This belief differs sharply from views that explain life only through natural processes and treat death as its final end. Without hope in God or eternal life, people may encourage one another to accept the body’s decline and death as the end of human existence. The Bible, however, presents human death as a result of sin rather than God’s original purpose for human life.
Death entered human life because of sin; it was not humanity’s original destiny. Christians have traditionally taught that the body dies and decays but that the person continues to exist. Those who belong to Christ are with him after death (Philippians 1:23). They look forward to receiving new bodies at the resurrection and living forever (1 Corinthians 15:35–49).
The major Christian traditions teach that Scripture speaks of a final judgment and warns of lasting separation from God for those who die apart from Christ. They differ over who will face final punishment, what it will involve, and how long it will last.
One of Scripture’s most remarkable teachings about human beings is that God acted to save them by sending his eternal Son to become human. After his resurrection and return to heaven, Jesus Christ took his place in glory and majesty. He remains fully God and fully human forever.
As God, Jesus shares all the divine qualities of the Father and the Holy Spirit. As a human, he shares our humanity. He has a risen body, and his resurrection is the beginning and guarantee of the resurrection of all who belong to him.
The incarnation (the Son of God becoming human) shows the great value God places on human beings. The eternal Son took on human nature and remains human forever. Hebrews 2:14 explains that because God’s children share flesh and blood, Jesus also shared their humanity.
The fullest purpose of human life is to worship God and enjoy God's presence forever. Even the angels who have remained faithful to God and worship him with joy do not share the same relationship with him as humans whom he has redeemed. Hebrews 2:16 emphasizes that Jesus came to help Abraham’s descendants, not angels.
What does it mean to be human? In Christ, humans become all that God intended them to be, sharing in glory and dignity and living with joy in his presence forever.
See also Image of God; Natural Man, Natural; Old and New Self.
Aquifer Open Bible Dictionary © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.