Ye are gods?

One of the major blunders theologians made in Christian doctrine was the conclusion that somehow or another we are gods. At the turn of the 1980's, several different Christian TV personalities were claiming that the Lord showed them that we were just like Jesus in every way, and more. Those who promoted this idea kept company with all sorts of other false beliefs (we are not making these up): God is about six to eight feet tall; Adam could fly; Jesus died spiritually and is therefore the first born again man; anyone could have died on the cross for our sins all it took was a man who was born again. We should be suspect of this belief in our godhood if it is connected to all of these non-biblical beliefs. We want to briefly explain why we are in fact not gods. We are nowhere near God. We are, however, better than some fictitious god (Isaiah 44:6), we are the children of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.

We are false gods

There is no biblical justification for the belief that we are gods. There are only the conclusions of people who want to read something into the Bible that is not there. Why would anyone want to claim to be a god if there are scriptures like the following? "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me" (Isaiah 43:10). "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God" (Isaiah 44:6). And finally, "For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens" (Psalm 96:4-5). All of this leads to this conclusion: "As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him" (1 Corinthians 8:4-6). There is only one God and no other god was formed. This means, for those who suggest that in the Garden of Eden that we were formed into little gods, there is a huge problem. How could we be gods if the Lord himself said he never formed one nor was there never ever one formed? Well, the elementary answer many would give is that God called us gods and so we are. Let us look at this confusion many people have:

Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. (John 10:34-38)

The proponents of the doctrine say, "See! Jesus said we are gods!" but careful study of this text shows that Jesus was up to something else in this passage. In order to understand it, we must go back to the very scriptures he was quoting,

God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked. They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations. (Psalm 82:1-8)

Well this passage does not seem to shed any more light until we get to this one: "Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people" (Exodus 22:28). This verse is a parallel statement meaning that it is saying the same thing in different ways: the "gods" parallel the "ruler of thy people." The words "gods" is from the Hebrew word 'elohiym which, in this instance, is translated as judge. "Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment" (Deuteronomy 16:18). We are now able to understand what God was saying in Psalm 82: God stands and judges the rulers. This is why the verses describe the role of the ruler after calling them gods. It is clear: those who were rulers were called 'elohiym, gods, or people with authority. In this case, their authority mirrored a kind of divinity thereby making them quasi-gods. Psalm 82 is not saying that we (Christians) are little gods but that these rulers were quasi-gods but subject to the God of gods and would have to meet the same fate as everyone else despite their semi-divine authority. "And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet" (Exodus 7:1).

With this in mind, we are now able to understand what Jesus meant. Jesus was doing a very powerful comparison. He's saying if these guys—who were not exercising proper authority—were called gods, and it is clear they were not gods, and the scriptures make no mistake in using the word god to refer to them, then what is the problem with him, who has done all he has, calling himself the Son of God. In other words, if the scriptures, which make no mistake, refer to fallen people as gods, then why is there a problem with Jesus believing and calling himself one with God? For he, like no other man, did miracles and showed the power of God on earth. He was greater than any ruler; he could exercise divine justice by being able to heal the sick and raise the dead. He had ultimate authority. If men who had limited earthly authority could be a god, what is the problem with a man who has divine authority (above their earthly authority) calling himself the Son of God? The issue he was addressing was his own ability to truly show who he was. He was in the Father and the Father was in him: this was more than just being a little god; he was God himself: "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30).

The power of God is not found in being a little god. That makes us idols. The power of God is found in us being in God and God being in us through Jesus Christ. He said, "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you" (John 14:18-20). This is the divine connection God offers us. We are able to be vessels created by God, bearing his image, and able to have him dwelling on the inside of us. Moreover, he guarantees that: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together" (Romans 8:16-17). As sons and daughters of God, let us be content with our place. For as gods and goddesses, we rival him for he said beside himself there is no god. If there are no gods beside him, then we must believe that our position as his children is the greatest blessing of all because we are given the power to reign beside him, even to share the throne of Jesus Christ (Revelation 3:21). We should not take this privilege lightly. When we claim to be gods, we do it because we are not satisfied with our position as children of God. We want something more. We want to replace him because we think we can do a better job of being God. By claiming we are gods, we claim to have authority, a power which God himself cannot touch. It is our own power, our own position, our own calling. It is the belief that supports the pursuit of selfish Christianity because it rests on the belief that we have to be gods to ourselves and not trust the one true and living God. Jesus, our example, our savior, himself did not do this. He was concerned about doing the work of the one who sent him: "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me" (John 6:38). He was not concerned with his own mission, his own kingdom, but his Father's. If he, God himself, did this, we can do no less. Our concern must be the kingdom of God in Christ Jesus first and last, above everything else in our lives, anything else is idolatry.

DRAFT V2010-06-28T4:47:26 PM