Are We Gods?

The Jews gathered around [Jesus], saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

“We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, `I have said you are gods’? If he called them `gods,’ to whom the word of God came–and the Scripture cannot be broken–what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, `I am God’s Son’? Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does.”

[John 10:24-37]

If you read this story without knowing what the rest of the Bible says, you might think that Jesus was saying that everyone is actually God or at least equal to God. But if you look up the passage that Jesus was quoting (Psalms 82:6), it is evident that this is not what he meant. Psalms 82 makes it clear that, while everyone is divine in the sense that we were all created by God and that we are all children of God, we are nothing in comparison to Him.

Psalms 82:6-8 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.

The Hebrew word used here for “gods” can mean “rulers, judges, divine ones, angels, or gods.” It is a form of the same word used to refer to the one God. Since the Psalms were written as songs or poetry, the writer probably specifically chose this word to represent the contrast between the creation and the creator. He was addressing the leaders of mankind. Even though they were great lords among men and even though God himself gave them their power, they are still accountable to Him for their treatment of the poor and needy. It is a warning against undue pride and an admonition to humble, godly rule. Don’t set yourself to be like God because He can take you down as easily as He put you up. The desire to become like God is one of the gravest sins the Bible describes. This was the sin which tempted Eve and caused the fall of mankind. This is also the sin which brought about the fall of the civilization of Babel and the division of all mankind. It is also the sin which caused God to exile Satan and his angels from Heaven.

With obvious sarcasm, God said to Job, “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?…Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? Do you have an arm like God’s, and can your voice thunder like his? Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty. Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at every proud man and bring him low, look at every proud man and humble him, crush the wicked where they stand. Bury them all in the dust together; shroud their faces in the grave. Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you.” But we know from Psalm 82 that Job could not do these things. It is God who grants and who rescinds power, not man. Job repented of his presumption. He said, “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. [You asked,] `Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. [You said,] `Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” God rewarded Job for his repentance.

When Jesus quoted Psalm 82:6, he was making fools of his questioners. The Psalter called all leaders of men representatives of god. Jesus said that if he lived up to the standards he set by calling himself “the Son of God”, who were they to dispute it? If they objected to him referring so to himself, they had not been paying attention. By referring to Psalm 82, he justified his own claim and challenged them to live up to God’s standards. In effect he was saying, “You claim to be leaders chosen by God, yet you don’t do the minimum that God says his leaders must. I claim to be the Son of God, and I can back up my claim with my actions.” He did not say that everyone was God or could even become like God.

Far too many false doctrines come about by reading our own desires into the Scriptures rather than letting them say what God intends.