PAULINE UNDERSTANDING OF THE HUMAN PERSON (ANTHROPOLOGY)
Introduction
The Pauline understanding of the human person (anthropology) is foundational for Christian theology, ethics, and spirituality. Paul is not a systematic anthropologist, yet his letters contain some of the most profound reflections on human identity, constitution, purpose, and destiny in the New Testament. His anthropology is forged in a matrix of Jewish monotheism, Hellenistic cosmology, and early Christian experience of Christ and the Spirit.[1] Paul’s experience of the risen Christ radically reshaped his understanding of humanity, shifting it from a primarily covenantal and ethnic identity to a transformative and eschatological participation in Christ. Scholars observe that Paul’s anthropology cannot be reduced to a simple dichotomy of “body versus soul,” as in Greek dualism, nor merely “flesh versus spirit” in gnostic terms; rather, Paul articulates a relational, covenantal, and participatory understanding of the human person in the light of Christ’s redemptive work and the indwelling Holy Spirit.[2] In Pauline theology, humans are not isolated individuals but relational beings embedded in communities, cosmic realities, and divine purposes.[3] Therefore, his anthropology is ultimately teleological—defining the human person by their vocation to reflect God’s glory and participate in God’s new creation in Christ.[4]
1. The Human Person as a Unified Whole
Paul’s anthropology emphasizes the human person as a psychosomatic unity rather than a dichotomy of soul and body. Unlike Platonist dualism, Paul views “body,” “soul,” and “spirit” as dimensions of a single holistic life rather than separate substances.[5] Terms such as sōma (body), psychē (life/soul), and pneuma (spirit) are used not to divide the human being but to describe the person in relation to the world, God, and the Spirit. Scholars like James Dunn note that Paul consistently rejects any notion that the material body is inherently evil; instead, the body is the sphere through which humans’ express obedience or disobedience.[6] The body is also central for expressing faithfulness and participation in God’s purposes, as it becomes the “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 6:19). Paul’s integrated anthropology reflects his Jewish roots, where humanity is seen as a unified living being animated by divine breath, created for relational communion with God and others.[7] Therefore, Christian transformation is not merely spiritual or intellectual; it is embodied, communal, and eschatological, leading toward full participation in the resurrected life of Christ.[8]
2. The Concept of Flesh (sarx) and Human Weakness
One of Paul’s most debated anthropological categories is sarx (“flesh”), a term expressing human weakness, fallenness, and vulnerability to sin. Sarx does not refer to the physical body per se but to the human condition under the power of sin, marked by rebellion, mortality, and misdirected desire.[9] Paul uses sarx to describe the enslaving patterns that govern human behavior when alienated from God’s Spirit. As Dunn and Käsemann emphasize, Paul’s language of flesh highlights the structural and cosmic dimensions of sin: humanity under sarx is entrapped in a power that exceeds individual moral failure.[10] The “works of the flesh” signify not merely personal vices but social and relational brokenness—hostility, divisions, and oppression (Gal 5:19–21).[11] In this sense, Paul’s anthropology diagnoses the human problem as a complex mixture of internal inclination and external domination. Yet, Paul does not present sarx as the final word; the Spirit offers liberation and the reorientation of human desires toward Christ.[12]
3. The Human Person Under Sin: Bondage and Moral Fragmentation
Paul’s anthropology portrays humanity as enslaved under the power of sin (hamartia), a cosmic force that fractures human agency and disrupts relationships. Romans 7 is a paradigm text for understanding this condition: human beings desire the good but find themselves unable to accomplish it due to sin’s enslaving power.[13] Scholars such as Michael Gorman argue that Paul understands sin as both a personal and supra-personal force—one that enslaves individuals and structures of society alike.[14] This bondage manifests in distorted desires, broken relationships, and moral incapacity. Human beings under sin are alienated from God and each other, unable to achieve righteousness through their own efforts.[15] Therefore, Paul’s anthropology is fundamentally relational: sin is not merely a violation of law but a rupture in the relationship with God that leads to disintegration of self and community. Paul’s emphasis on the incapacity of the human person under sin accentuates the necessity of divine intervention through Christ and the Spirit.[16]
4. The Human Person in Christ: A New Creation
Paul’s anthropology centers on the transformative reality of being “in Christ,” a phrase expressing the believer’s new identity, participation, and belonging. For Paul, to be human as God intended is to be reconstituted in Christ, whose death and resurrection inaugurate a new humanity.[17] This new identity transcends ethnic, social, and gender distinctions (Gal 3:28) and reconfigures human relationships on the basis of grace rather than status or power.[18] Scholars have emphasized that for Paul, the new creation (2 Cor 5:17) is not merely ethical transformation but participation in Christ’s resurrected life. Thus, the believer experiences a radical reorientation of desire, purpose, and identity.[19] The anthropological implications are profound: humanity’s true identity is revealed not in Adam but in Christ, the “last Adam,” who inaugurates a redeemed and Spirit-filled humanity capable of reflecting God’s image.[20]
5. The Role of the Holy Spirit in Paul’s Anthropology
Paul’s anthropology is incomplete without understanding the role of the Holy Spirit (pneuma), who animates, transforms, and empowers the believer. The Spirit restores human agency by enabling participation in the life of God and empowering ethical transformation.[21] Paul interprets the Spirit as the down payment of eschatological life, the inner witness of adoption, and the source of gifts that enable communal flourishing.[22] Scholars like Gordon Fee and Luke Timothy Johnson emphasize that for Paul, the Spirit is not merely a doctrine but an experiential reality shaping the daily life of Christian communities.[23] Through the Spirit, believers are liberated from the power of sarx and reoriented toward Christ like living. The Spirit enables discernment, solidarity, and moral integrity, forming the basis of Christian identity and vocation.[24]
6. The Body (sōma) as the Site of Redemption
Contrary to dualistic philosophies, Paul views the body (sōma) positively as the site where salvation is embodied and enacted. The body is not discarded but transformed in the resurrection; thus, the human body has eschatological significance.[25] Paul’s insistence on bodily resurrection (1 Cor 15) affirms the goodness of creation and the continuity between present bodily existence and future glorified life.[26] The human body is also the means of ethical living: believers present their bodies as “living sacrifices” (Rom 12:1), signifying their whole-person devotion to God.[27] Scholars argue that Paul’s embodied anthropology challenges both Greek spiritualism and contemporary disembodied spirituality by emphasizing that human identity is inseparably tied to bodily life, community, and moral responsibility.[28]
7. Relational Anthropology: Community, Love, and Mutual Responsibility
Paul’s anthropology is profoundly relational. Humans are created for community, and the church becomes the context where the new humanity in Christ is lived out.[29] The metaphors of the “body of Christ,” “temple of the Spirit,” and “new family” illustrate that human identity is constituted through relationships of mutual love and responsibility. Scholars note that Paul’s ethical instructions are inseparable from his anthropology: the believer’s new identity in Christ demands transformed communal relationships characterized by love, humility, and service.[30] Human personhood in Paul is not an autonomous self but a relational being shaped by belonging to Christ and to one another.[31] This stands in sharp contrast to modern individualistic anthropology and highlights Paul’s vision of a communal and participatory identity grounded in divine love.[32]
8. Eschatological Anthropology: The Human Person in Glory
Paul’s anthropology is ultimately eschatological. The human person will be transformed into the likeness of Christ through resurrection, glorification, and participation in God’s future.[33] The “inner person” is renewed day by day even as the “outer person” wastes away (2 Cor 4:16), pointing toward a final transformation where mortality is “swallowed up by life” (2 Cor 5:4).[34] Paul’s eschatological vision reveals the ultimate purpose of humanity: to share fully in the life of God and reflect Christ’s glory in resurrected embodiment. Scholars such as Wright and Gorman emphasize that Paul rejects both disembodied immortality and purely spiritual eschatology; instead, he presents a holistic transformation of the whole person in communion with God.[35] This vision affirms the dignity and destiny of humanity as participants in God’s new creation.[36]
Conclusion
Paul’s understanding of the human person presents a rich and holistic vision integrating body, spirit, community, and eschatological hope. His anthropology challenges dualistic philosophies, modern individualism, and reductionist views of human identity. For Paul, the human person is a unified, relational being created for communion with God, distorted by sin, liberated by Christ, empowered by the Spirit, and destined for bodily resurrection and participation in God’s glory. This anthropology continues to inspire contemporary reflections on personal transformation, communal ethics, and human dignity in the face of social injustice and fragmentation.
FootNotes
James D. G. Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 32. ↑
N. T. Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013), 121. ↑
Richard B. Hays, The Moral Vision of the New Testament (San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1996), 45. ↑
Michael J. Gorman, Becoming the Gospel (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015), 67. ↑
Luke Timothy Johnson, Religious Experience in Earliest Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998), 173. ↑
Dunn, Theology of Paul, 54. ↑
Gordon D. Fee, God’s Empowering Presence (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1994), 89. ↑
Gorman, Inhabiting the Cruciform God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), 102. ↑
Ernst Käsemann, Commentary on Romans (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 114. ↑
Dunn, Romans 1–8, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word Books, 1988), 271. ↑
Ben Witherington III, Paul’s Narrative Thought World (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1994), 199. ↑
Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 234. ↑
Käsemann, Romans, 188. ↑
Gorman, Participation in Christ (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019), 144. ↑
Hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 214. ↑
Wright, Justification (Downers Grove: IVP, 2009), 167. ↑
Dunn, Theology of Paul, 317. ↑
Wright, Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians (Louisville: WJK, 2004), 58. ↑
Gorman, Becoming the Gospel, 102. ↑
Wright, Resurrection of the Son of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003), 346. ↑
Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 412. ↑
Johnson, Religious Experience, 265. ↑
Fee, Pauline Christology (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2007), 544. ↑
Gorman, Participation in Christ, 166. ↑
Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God, 1034. ↑
Barrett, The First Epistle to the Corinthians (New York: Harper & Row, 1968), 291. ↑
Dunn, Romans 1–8, 420. ↑
Witherington, Conflict and Community in Corinth (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 288. ↑
Hays, The Moral Vision, 115. ↑
Gorman, Pauline Spirituality (Hershey, PA: Christian Publishing, 2011), 87. ↑
Wright, Paul and His Recent Interpreters (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2015), 204. ↑
Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, 705. ↑
Wright, Resurrection of the Son of God, 372. ↑
Martyn, Galatians (New York: Doubleday, 1997), 353. ↑
Gorman, Inhabiting the Cruciform God, 124. ↑
Dunn, Theology of Paul, 612. ↑
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