Man as Creature and Person

What is man? Theologians call the doctrine of man Anthropology. There are zillions of ideas as to what man essentially is because of the endless unbiblical worldviews we see today. But what is man according a biblical anthropology? Here are some helpful thoughts that I believe take theology to humility and responsibility.

Anthony Hoekema in his book Created in God's Image says, "The human person does not exist autonomously or independently, but as a creature of God" (Gen 1:1, 27). Quoting Werner Foerster, Hoekema says, "Thus in becoming, being, and perishing, all creation is wholly dependent on the will of the Creator." God "gives all men life and breath and everything else," and "in him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:25, 28).

He goes on, "Man is not only a creature, however; he is also a person. And to be a person means to have a kind of independence--not absolute but relative." This relative independence means that we have freedom to make decisions, set goals, and move toward them. We have options in life and we have the power to decide where we will go.

But do we have a contradiction in terms? Can man truly be a created person? Wholly dependent on God for life yet relatively independent to move in life as we see fit?

Filling these roles out further, Hoekema says, "To be a creature means that I cannot move a finger or utter a word apart from God; to be a person means that when my fingers are moved, I move them, and that when words are uttered by my lips, I utter them. To be creatures means that God is the potter and we are the clay (Rom 9:21); to be persons means that we are the ones who fashion our lives by our own decisions (Gal 6:7–8)."

Whole point: we must keep both of these truths clearly in focus. All worldly anthropologies of man will imbalance these two concepts in some form. Some more drastically than others. We have absolutely no existence without God who is central to all creation. AND at the same time we are not puppets or robots.

May our hearts be full of gratitude for God's sovereign grace in our lives, in creating and re-creating us in His image. And at the same time, may we "be imitators of God" as we have the responsibility to be conformed to His image.

"Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil 2:12, 13).

"For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me" (Col 1:29).