You are gods?

My title triggers Internet heresy hunters of all shapes and sizes into paroxysms of hysterical ranting. Whenever you encounter mention of the Word of Faith (WoF) movement on antisocial media, you will almost always hear the phrase “you are gods” mentioned in the same breath to “prove” WoF believers are a bunch of wild-eyed, gibberish-spouting, idol-worshipping heretics. From even a cursory scan of the prevalent histrionics on this topic, you would think WoF believers were sacrificing innocent children to the demon Moloch.😱

Oh, wait, that’s abortionists and child-mutilators who do that. Oops!😇

Before I continue, let me hasten to reassure you I don’t have a dog in this fight — on either side. Until now, I’ve never once taught on this topic during my entire 50+ years of serving Christ. If I’ve ever heard a sermon about it, that occasion is lost in the sands of time. So please rest assured this article is neither a rehash of someone else’s teaching nor my tooting someone else’s horn.

Truth be told, I’m eager to see where the Scriptures actually lead us here!😎

My Approach

As our regular readers here already know, the only doctrinal axe I have to grind belongs to Jesus. I am convinced the Scriptures say what they mean and mean what they say. For me, that settles the issue, no matter what the topic, where it leads, what theologians from the distant past have to say about it, or how far outside my or anyone else’s comfort zone the end point may be.

Also, anyone familiar with my writings here knows that, while I embrace many principles taught within the WoF movement, I’m absolutely no fanboy — I’m intimately acquainted with its many flaws. John Foster and I wrote an entire series of essays entitled The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly awhile back where we explored the WoF’s doctrinal positives/negatives as well as some of its attitudinal miscues and behavioral abuses.

I now invite you to join me in some scriptural spelunking through what the Bible actually has to say on this topic. We’ll then let the doctrinal chips fall where they may.

Laying the Foundation

There are some huge pitfalls inherent to what I’m undertaking here. The foremost of those dangers is being labelled a heretic by the knee-jerk, theological thought-police who patrol antisocial-media because I wasn’t perfectly and abundantly clear about where I stand personally on some foundational Christian doctrines. Just so no one reading here can accuse me of burying the lead, let me be perfectly clear about the following tenets of our faith:

From all this and more, we can also include the following fundamental truths:

1. Almighty God is the Supreme Ruler of the universe. Because He is uniquely qualified to judge His creation, all moral accountability in heaven and on earth is ultimately vested in Him, specifically the second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ (see Philippians 2:9-11).
2. While the glory of God is revealed through His creation, He absolutely refuses to share any of His glory with it. He is the only One worthy of praise and honor. We can only adore Him with our praise and love Him through our obedience. Those who try to take credit for any of His works are in for an extremely painful and humiliating comeuppance for their arrogance. Trust me, I speak from personal experience here!😩
3. He cannot lie because deception is a violation of His character. On the other hand, Satan is the father of lies; deception is inherent to his very nature. Therefore, because of God’s love for us us, He cannot and will not permit the lies we either speak or believe to go uncorrected.
4. Humans, though eternal, cannot achieve personal godhood through good works and personal holiness as the Mormons proclaim. We have always been — and always will be — created beings indeed made in God’s likeness and image, but never attaining/possessing any of the godhead attributes found in the list I’ve just provided above.

The Term’s Origins

Usage of the term “gods” within the Scriptures as applied towards human beings is all over the map. Where you see it depends entirely upon the Bible translation you are using.

Exodus 22

We find the term “gods” with a “g” first applied to human beings in Exodus 22:

Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
Exodus 22:28 KJV

gods (elohim)

a) rulers, judges‭
‭‭ b) divine ones‭
‭‭ c) angels‭
‭‭ d) gods‭
‭‭ e) God

Since the Hebrew lexicon seems to indicate the meaning of elohim is context-dependent, let’s examine how some other translations deal with that same verse:

You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.
New King James Version

You shall not revile God [the judges as His agents] or esteem lightly or curse a ruler of your people.
Amplified Version

You shall not curse God, nor curse a ruler of your people.
New American Standard Bible

You must not dishonor God or curse any of your rulers.
New Living Translation

You shall not blaspheme God, nor curse a ruler of your people.
World Messianic Bible

Do not despise God, or curse a ruler of your people.
Tree of Life Version

Thou shalt not revile Elohim, nor curse the nasi of thy people.
Orthodox Jewish Bible

Don’t curse God; and don’t damn your leaders.
The Message

Based upon the overwhelming consensus here, I think it’s safe to say — especially when taking all the Jewish translations into account — “elohim” is referring here to the Almighty rather than human beings.

Also please note that phrase concerning earthly leaders completely omits the clauses “unless we respect them,” or “if they agree with us doctrinally and/or politically,” or even “unless they are righteous by our standards.” God’s attitude towards our rebellion against ecclesiastical and earthly authority hasn’t changed one iota simply because He changed covenants along the way. People labelling themselves Christians who love taking lurid potshots at church leaders and secular politicians alike should take serious heed of this particular command — and repent!

Just sayin’…🧐

Psalm 82

We find the next instance of “you are gods” in a psalm with only 8 verses:

A psalm of Asaph.

 God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods .

How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?

Selah

Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked.
They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness;
All the foundations of the earth are unstable.

I said, “ You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes .”

Arise, O God, judge the earth; for You shall inherit all nations.
Psalm 82

Contextual Overview

• In verse 1, Almighty God, speaking through Asaph, proclaims how He stands in an assembly of the mighty and is Judge among the gods. He gives us no insights — or even clues — about who “the mighty” or “the gods” are.
• The Lord goes on to take Israel to task for judging unjustly, favoring evildoers over the righteous.
• He instructs his readers to think long and hard about His assessment. He makes it pretty obvious His desired end for their thought processes would be personal and national repentance.
• God then commands his listeners to defend the poor, the needy, the orphaned and to free them from the oppression of the wicked. He further states those victim groups lack knowledge and understanding; they are walking in darkness, and the very foundations of the earth are tottering because of it.
• The Lord addresses this psalm’s audience as little-g gods, His children. He goes on to pronounce judgment over them, saying that they would die like mere men, even as one of the rulers.
• Asaph concludes with a prayer for God to arise and judge the earth because He will inherit all nations.

My Analysis

The Hebrew word in this psalm used for both Big-G God and little-g gods is our old friend, “elohim.”

A Cross-Reference to Job

The first verse of this psalm calls to mind two others from the Book of Job where it says:

Now there was a day when  the sons of God  came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. Job 1:6

Again there was a day when  the sons of God  came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.
Job 2:1

In both instances, the term “sons of God” is translated from the Hebrew phrase ben elohim.

The fascinating part comes when we examine the Hebrew word for “Lord” in both places. Instead of elohim as used in Psalm 82:1, here we find the name YHWH.

According to these verses, Big-G God presides as Judge over some kind of heavenly council of little-g gods to conduct the business of Almighty, Inc. Prior to Jesus’ death and resurrection (see Revelation 12:10), Satan had access to that council as the accuser where he prosecuted various members of mankind for their sins. But I digress…

The only other Old Testament references to the “sons of God” I can find occur in Genesis 6 where, in the second and fourth verses, it says ben elohim married and had sexual relations with human women.

In each of these instances, those little-g gods were clearly supernatural beings who were separate and distinct from Big-G God. Who those gods are specifically (angels?) is yet another of those pesky divine mysteries I keep referring to in my articles here, all of which rot our Greco-Roman-worldview socks off.🧐

Back to Psalm 82

Let’s examine what other Bible versions have to say regarding verses 6-7:

I said, “You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High.” Nevertheless you will die like men and fall like any one of the princes.
New American Standard Bible

I said, You are gods [since you judge on My behalf, as My representatives]; indeed, all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die as men and fall as one of the princes.
Amplified Version

My decree is: “You are elohim [gods, judges], sons of the Most High all of you.” Nevertheless, you will die like mortals; like any prince, you will fall.
Complete Jewish Bible

I appointed you judges, each one of you, deputies of the High God. But you’ve betrayed your commission and now you’re stripped of your rank, busted.
The Message

Didn’t I commission you as judges, saying, “You are all like gods, since you judge on my behalf.
You are all like sons of the Most High, my representatives.” Nevertheless, in death you are nothing but mere men! You will be laid in the ground like any prince and you will die.
The Passion Translation

Here again it seems the Lord is labelling some human beings as little-g gods.

Jesus Cites Psalm 82:6

This event takes place in the last half of the 10th chapter of John’s Gospel:

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”

Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”

The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”

Jesus answered them, “ Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”?’ If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?’  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”

Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.
John 10:22-39

This passage is unequivocally and irrefutably declaring Jesus is divine. It completely demolishes skeptics’ insipid assertions Jesus was merely a good teacher or a great philosopher. This very sort of citation is why atheists spend so much hot air and wasted time trying to undermine the credibility of the Bible.

This also completely removes any and all confusion about whether the Father was addressing human beings as little-g gods in Psalm 82. Jesus Himself said He was!

So Where Does That Leave Us?

Based upon what we’ve just read, we can safely conclude the following about little-g gods:

• They are authority figures appointed by — and subordinate to — Almighty God
• Apart from being eternal beings themselves, they possess none of the attributes of deity
• They can either be human or angelic
• They’re all held accountable by the Most High for their dispensing of justice or injustice

We’ve already established Almighty God has absolutely sovereignty over the earth. We are now left with another question requiring an answer: who wields spiritual authority in the earth?

1. Is it God alone, or;?
2. Are there certain folks to whom He has delegated some of His authority with the goal of bringing salvation, healing, and deliverance to a lost and dying humanity?

I believe I’ve answered that question quite thoroughly 14 years ago in a previous essay on spiritual authority. There, I discussed what the Scriptures have to say on that topic: what is it, where it comes from, who has possessed it in times past, and who has it now.

My take on the matter remains unchanged.

Assuming my position on spiritual authority is right on the money, then it logically follows those who are authorized to wield it (i.e., all Christ-followers) indeed qualify as little-g gods according to the Scripture passages we have examined here wherever the term elohim has been applied to human beings.

This is my take on the matter and you are under no obligation to agree with me. In fact, if anyone can point out any flaws in either my exegesis or logic here, I would love to hear about it in the comments section below. Respectfully, please!😎

Thanks for reading!