Martin Luther’s Early Theological Anthropology: From Parts of the Soul to the Human Person as One Subject

Abstract

In Luther’s early Biblical Lectures (1513–1521) we can see a process in which the Scholastic and Mystical tripartite anthropology (body – soul – spirit) is transformed into a bipartite model of flesh and spirit. According to Luther, flesh and spirit are tied to opposite objects (visible – invisible), are in constant conflict, and experience things contradictorily to each other, almost as two distinct anthropological systems. In order to preserve the unity of the subject, Luther introduces a model borrowed from Christology, where the conflicting properties of two natures are ascribed to one person. The term person is thus brought to the center of anthropology. The model also has consequences for how Luther perceives the actions of the Christian person, which spring from the divine reality present in faith but are realized through the flesh, which resists them and makes the external deeds imperfect.