Godhead In Jesus
This is an educational ministry dedicated to spreading the truth of one God whose name is Jesus. Besi
This is an educational ministry dedicated to spreading the truth of the one God whose name is Jesus. He is the Father in creation, the Son in redemption, and the Holy Spirit working in the Church today. "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:8). I have taught the Godhead locally and throughout the U,S, Studied New Testament Greek and Old Testament Hebrew and taught both at a local Bible college for many years. Wrote four books on the Godhead starting with "The Three Manifestations of Jesus (Biblical truth of the oneness of God)" in 1987.
THE SON WAS GIVEN THE ETERNAL NAME OF GOD THE FATHER
The Trinitarian Absurdity
I remember watching Tarzan, played by Johnny Weissmuller on television while growing up in the late 1950s to early 1960s. He and Jane had an adopted son named Boy. I was young then and did not realize the nonsensicality of that so-called “name.” You see, Boy does not answer the question “Who?” but “What?”
The question “who?” separates a person – an individual – from something nonhuman. The “name” of Boy identifies a young man as a thing, an inanimate object separating him from humanity. This introduction leads to what I call the trinitarian absurdity. Trinitarians have opened a “can of worms” from which they cannot ever hope to escape by any means short of a complete abandonment of the entire doctrine.
The doctrine of the trinity explains Matthew 28:19 as teaching the parroting or repetition of the titles Father, Son, and Holy Ghost in water baptism. This scripture reads:
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
Trinitarian pastors and seminary teachers understand Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as referring to “name” even though “name” is singular and being made to list three distinct titles. But despite that error, it is compounded by yet another problem. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost like Boy in my Tarzan illustration answers the question “what?” rather than “who?” (The question “who?” signifies that a proper name is being sought for while “what?” signifies that a specific title is sought.)
The complete misrepresentation and explanation of Matthew 28:19 by trinitarians is a good example of the appropriateness of this scathing condemnation by Jesus:
“14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:14.)
The “blind leaders of the blind” include church teachers and pastors and seminary and Bible institute instructors. The “blind” followers are the unfortunate and many times sincere believers who lack discernment and ability to discard blind faith in those who carry powerful religious titles.
This introduction was necessary to make certain that the readers of this lesson understand the difference between a name and a title. The name of the Son of God WILL NOT be Son or any other nonproper designation. It will answer the question “who?”
The Name of the Son
The Son of God was prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 9:6 and a multiplicity of other scriptures. But the name was not revealed until the time came for Him to be born. Matthew 1:20-21 reads:
“20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
The name is not mysterious to anyone who has at least attended Sunday School. The true mystery lies in what far too many Christians have not been taught correctly. Have you ever considered that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost of Matthew 28:19 includes no proper name at all even though that is what this passage explicitly calls for? Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are titles, generic designations that can refer to any number of operations or ministerial designations.
Matthew 1:21 declares that the Son SHALL SAVE His people from their sins. Yet the Old and New Testament says that Yahweh, the God of all creation, is the savior. Isaiah 43:11 reads:
“11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.”
Isaiah 45:21-22 read:
“21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. 22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”
Hosea 13:4 reads:
“4 Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.”
“And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together” (Genesis 22:8.)
One more scripture will suffice:
“28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28.)
Notice the wording of Acts 20:28. It reads that God purchased the church with His own blood. This aligns itself perfectly with Matthew 1:21. The Son born of the virgin Mary is to be somehow related to God. How is this to be? The scriptures, Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 9:6, prophesies that the Son will be in some yet unexplained manner the savior. These passages read, respectively:
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (God with us)” (Isaiah 7:14.)
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6.)
Acts 20:28 is easily understood when you realize that God “prepared” a sinless, flesh and blood body for Himself to shed blood. Hebrews 10:5 reads:
“Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me.”
The Spirit of God occupied this body:
“34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him” (John 3:34.)
“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9.)
We then learn from Hebrews 1:4 that the Son of God INHERITED His name:
“Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”
We learn that the Son inherited His name from God the Father (Joseph, Mary’s husband, is eliminated as is also all angels.)
Philippians 2:9-10 say:
“9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.”
This name Jesus is superior to all other names God was previously known as. This includes the name of Yahweh (Jehovah, LORD.) And we learn the following from Zechariah 14:9:
“9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name ONE.”
WRAPPING UP
Matthew 1:21 is a commandment from an angelic messenger to Joseph. He said:
“…thou SHALT call his name Jesus…”
This is based on Isaiah 43:11 that says besides Yahweh, “THERE IS NO SAVIOR!” The Son of God IS God manifest or revealed IN THE FLESH. Seeing the Son IS seeing the Father:
“Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” (John 14:9)
We have also learned that Jesus IS the Father as well as the Son. The name of Jesus was and is eternally the one name God. And when the fullness of time had come (Galatians 4:4,) He shared it (Hebrews 1:4) with His only begotten Son (John 3:16.)
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ETERNAL SON IS A LIE HAVING NEVER EXISTED
“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35.)
Having no foundation in the scriptures, it should be no surprise that the doctrine of the trinity has a vast supporting fictitious cast that includes God the Son also known as eternal Son, three-in-one, second person of the Godhead, etc. The very title God the Son and eternal Son should give anyone with critical thinking skills a reason to put on the brakes and exclaim, “Huh?”
Eternal Son and God the Son fit neatly in a special category known as an oxymoron. What is an oxymoron? An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which contradictory words appear side-by-side. I have heard the wrestling platform referred to as a “squared circle.” This is an oxymoron because a circle that is round is being described as a square. Likewise eternal Son and God the Son are oxymorons. God is eternal having always existed while Son signifies a date of birth.
Isaiah prophesied the coming of the Son of God in Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 9:6. They read, respectively:
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14.)
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6.)
When the time drew near for the prophesied fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 9:6, Luke wrote:
“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35.)
Matthew wrote:
“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21.)
The Isaiah prophecies of the future advent of the Son of God and the writings of Matthew and Luke are unmistakable. The Son would be a human child having a definite birth date which is impossible to be mistaken for any eternal existence or any suggestion of such.
(The doctrine of the trinity was birthed a couple of centuries after the demise of Jesus’ original apostles. Theologians who were the forerunners of Roman Catholicism proposed that one God existed in three distinct coexisting, coeternal, and consubstantial persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Locked in with that wholly unscriptural decision, the Son who was born had to be somehow understood to be Himself God (eternal.) Instead of the one God of Deuteronomy 6:4 having manifested Himself in the flesh, a fictitious eternal Son had to be invented who manifested Himself in the flesh. It is this made-up Son who is taught to be born of the virgin Mary.
Here is the unveiling of the triune God fantasy who allegedly existed as the second person:
(A) God the Son or eternal Son existing as the second person of God.
(B) The Word is sometimes mistakenly identified in John 1:1 by trinitarians as the eternal Son existing collaterally or side-by-side and revealed as God, the second person of a triune God.
If your head isn’t spinning by this time by this cockamamie (ludicrous, ridiculous) explanation, let alone that it is not the least bit grounded in the Bible, take a break, rest your mind and revisit this lesson later.)
Some trinitarians confuse the Word in John 1:1 with the Son as I stated above. This passage reads:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Let us now proceed to John 1:14. It reads:
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
Carefully consider the following phrase:
“And the Word WAS MADE flesh.” Many careless theologians and Bible teachers understand the Word to be synonymous with Son. IT IS NOT! “Was made” signifies a transformation – the Word which is Spirit “was made” OR “became” flesh. It was this flesh that was the Son of God. Consider the following illustration:
(A) Word IS God, i.e. eternally existing. Consider this parallel Old Testament passage “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth” (Psalm 33:6.)
(B) The Son is the “Word MADE flesh” AND God manifest IN the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16.)
Let me reiterate because I do not think that it can be overstated. The Son was God manifest or revealed IN the flesh. Consider the preposition “in” in the following scriptures:
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest IN the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (1 Timothy 3:16.)
God dwelt IN the flesh which is the Son.
“6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God IN the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6.)
God dwelt IN the face of Jesus Christ who is the Son.
“To wit, that God was IN Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19.)
God dwelt IN Christ who is the Son.
“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth IN me, he doeth the works” (John 14:10.)
The Father dwelt IN “me,” the Son.
“For IN him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9.)
The Godhead (deity, that which makes God, God) dwelt IN Christ (Colossians 2:8) the Son.
The scriptures plainly teach that the Son was totally dependent on the Father. Jesus admitted that it was the Father who did “the works” (John 14:10.) He also phrased this truth in the following manner:
“28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is GREATER than I” (John 14:28.)
John 5:30 reads:
“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”
Hebrews 10:5 labels the Son as “body”:
“Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me.”
John 14:10, 2 Corinthians 4:6, 5:19, Colossians 2:9, and 1 Timothy 3:16 all record God taking up residence in the body that was prepared for just this occasion. John 3:34 is also relevant here:
“34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.”
“Not the Spirit by measure” means that God did not invest a portion of His Spirit in the body that He had prepared. He placed ALL His fulness into it as we read in Colossians 2:9 (Read also Colossians 1:19.)
WRAPPING UP
The eternal Son or God the Son was invented to promote the Son of God to the status of God alongside the Father and Holy Ghost. Failing that you are left with only the first and third persons who are truthfully God in mixed company with a genuine person (human,) i.e. the Son who was born.
It is unfortunate that so many sincere believers have been duped into placing their hope in a fictitious triune God whose existence lies only in the warped minds of ungodly scriptural academicians and theologians trained by money-hungry seminaries.
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IF THE ONENESS OF GOD IS TRUE, WHO DID JESUS PRAY TO?
“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him” (John 17:1-2.)
I have discovered through the course of time that many trinitarians have an erroneous conception of what oneness teaches. Towards correcting the prevailing false belief, I offer the following explanation of the oneness of God doctrine.
Oneness teaches that one God SIMULTANEOUSLY manifests Himself AS the Father, IN the Son, and AS the Holy Ghost. 1 Corinthians 12:6 expresses these manifestations as “diversities of operations,” i.e.:
“6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.”
Note that this scripture records the one God of Deuteronomy 6:4 as “the SAME God.” (“One” in Deuteronomy 6:4 is synonymous with “same” in 1 Corinthians 12:6.) Let me now explain why I used “as” in reference to the Father and Holy Ghost but “in” with respect to the Son.
The use of “as” signifies that the Father IS God and that the Holy Ghost IS likewise God. However, the scriptures DO NOT teach that the Son is God. He is, rather, God MANIFEST IN the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:19.)
Contrary to the prevalent but false doctrine of the trinity, the Son IS NOT eternal, i.e. God the Son or eternal Son. The Son is the physical son of the virgin Mary who was conceived supernaturally which is to say without any s*xual relationship. Isaiah 7:14 bears this out. We read:
“14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
As should be obvious, “virgin” and “bear” are oxymorons (contradictory words.)
John 1:1, 14 and 1 Timothy 3:16 present the relationship of God to the Son. John 1:1, 14 and 1 Timothy 3:16 read, respectively:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1, 14.)
“16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory” (1 Timothy 3:16.)
The Son is God dwelling in or inhabiting the Son while walking on earth in His first advent. The Son was a human being – a man – with all the limitations of the first man, Adam (Romans 8:3.) And like all men then and now, the Son had to depend on and pray to God the Father.
When Jesus prayed, it was man praying to God. This is no more unusual than you or me praying to God. John 17:1-2 quoted above is an example of this.
WRAPPING UP
The confusion among believers when it comes to understanding Jesus praying to God the Father arises from the preponderance (majority) who consider themselves to be Christians having a triune God (trinitarian) viewpoint.
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AS THE ANGELS OF GOD
“30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:30)
Believers will experience a radical change in all aspects of their current life including family, memories, feelings, knowledge, etc. upon glorification. Matthew 22:30 records Jesus’ response to the Sadducees’ (who did not believe in a resurrection) hypothetical scenario of a man who died prematurely leaving his wife without child. Here is how the scriptures present this:
“24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 27 And last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her? (Matthew 22:24-28)
Angels have no family life – no familial relationships – because they were not born being eternal spirits (Hebrews 1:7.) They have no need to procreate. When Jesus descends from heaven with a shout in His second and final advent (1 Thessalonians 416-17,) the natural life of the sons of God, i.e. all who have obeyed Acts 2:38 and 2:42, will come to an end. We will be “like the angels of God in heaven” never marrying.
With the demolishment of all carnal family life and relationships comes the abolition of one of two primary reasons men and women will be eternally damned to hell – unlawful and compulsive s*x and everything that it brings along with it such as fornication, adultery, homos*xuality, lesbianism, be******ty, transgenderism and po*******hy. You may find it difficult to understand, but the love of God will replace the physical feeling of s*x to the extent of what the following scripture says:
“30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart, and with ALL thy soul, and with ALL thy mind, and with ALL thy strength: this is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30.)
Practically speaking, most people tend to attempt to love their children or husband or wife with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and love God with whatever is left.
ALL family ties will cease eternally. This means that all marriage and family relationships will be eradicated. It will be as if they have never existed. Husband and wife ties, parent and child ties, brother and sister ties, and all other family ties will not exist when Jesus returns.
This applies to all current memories and experiences too. Revelation 21:4, 5 reads:
“4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
Even now I fervently pray that my entire family be saved to avoid God’s judgment of the ungodly. No one wants to be burdened with the memory of a loved one eternally damned. But once Jesus returns for His bride (body, church) all memories will cease to exist. Once we are changed from mortal to immortal, from corruptible to incorruptible, from terrestrial to celestial, from earthly to heavenly, there will be no care on our part for unsaved family members because we will have no memory of the family having ever existed.
When God promises to make all things new, He means everything. This includes death, sorrow, and crying and worrying too. If you were to be brutally honest, you would have to admit to placing family members ahead of God when it comes to love. We may say God first then family, but deep down in the heart it is the opposite. We often tend to place children, mother, father, husband, and wife ahead of God. But remember these cautious words of Jesus:
“37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37.)
Even born-again believers struggle with doing all that God desires and commands of us. Part of the reason is that even with water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ and the baptism of the Holy Ghost, circumstances sometimes arise that try our determination. The reason is because we yet have the “old (Romans 7) man” present. But our future glorification will solve that problem. Look at John 8:29:
“And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”
We too will “do always those things that please him” because we will have the mind of Christ in its fullness (1 Corinthians 2:16.) We will literally think God’s thoughts after Him.
All that Jesus Christ was able to do especially regarding having had complete love for the Father and obedience to His commandments we will be enabled to do with resurrection bodies and minds patterned after His. Our glorification will so perfect our hearts, minds, and souls that we will be WHOLLY holy, as holy as Jesus was even prior to His resurrection. Remember, He was born without sin:
“3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3.)
Our celestial bodies will retain the exact physical likeness of our present bodies with the following exceptions. Those of us who will have died at an advanced age suffering the normal physical degradation due to age with accompanying muscle deterioration, hormonal changes, failing eyesight, heart problems, etc. will be made perfect. No one will suffer the normal effects of aging such as gray or white hair or hair loss, wrinkles, sagging skin, muscle loss, or any mental deterioration such as memory loss or forgetfulness or “senior” moments.
Medical science has determined that men and women reach their various bodily peaks between the late teens and early thirties. If you are curious as to how you may look in your resurrected body and you are currently between the ages of fifty and above, find a photo that was taken when you were in your late teens or early thirties. This may be an indication of what you will look like when you are resurrected (minus, of course, eyeglasses, healed wounds, any hair loss, etc.)
The scriptures reveal that the resurrected body will be easily identified by anyone who had known you in this life. 1 Corinthians 13:12 reads:
“12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
This proves that we will all look eternally at our peak physical age obtained in this life without the inherent weaknesses of an earthly body. Jesus’ resurrection proves this. Matthew 28:1, 5-6, 9 reads:
“In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre… 5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay… 9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.”
Note that the women recognized the glorified Jesus by immediately grabbing His feet and worshipping Him.
Mark’s version says:
“9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils 10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept” (Mark 16:9-10.)
WRAPPING UP
The scriptures teach that Jesus was made a little lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:7.) Upon glorification, He ascended above their level with a spiritual (flesh and bones) body. He rose above them because man was made in the image and likeness of God. Angels were not! Glorified man will be above all angels because we will be heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. In terms of rankings under God, intelligent creatures will look like the following:
(A) Resurrected man.
(B) Angels.
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YE ARE GODS
“34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?” (John 10:34)
I remember several decades ago a guest preacher told a congregation which happened to include me that we will be “little gods” when the Lord returns. Upon hearing that statement I became highly offended. The reason was that I was studying false doctrines including secular humanism, eastern mysticism, and the tenets of the Word of Faith movement led by Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyer, Benny Hinn, and Kenneth Copeland. One of its many unscriptural beliefs is that we are “little gods” having been made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26.)
After having studied the scriptures for over forty years, I have learned to not build a belief system or doctrine from a passage isolated from its context. And context should not be restricted to verses immediately surrounding a particular scripture. When appropriate, context can and often does include scriptures in other books of the Bible.
On one occasion Jesus opened a scriptural “can of worms” when he told the Jews:
“30 I and my Father are one” (John 10:30.)
The following actions then occurred:
“31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God” (John 10:31-33.)
The Jews interpreted or understood Jesus having claimed to be God, i.e. “makest thyself God.” Jesus resorted to scriptural authority in His claim. He went to the Jews’ Old Testament scripture located in Psalm 82 which they were well acquainted with. We read:
“34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:34-35.)
Psalm 82:1-7 reads:
“God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. 2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. 3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. 4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 82:1-4.)
These men are undoubtably Jewish judges. They have been given authority to lawfully judge the people. This is the signification of the label “gods.” What Jesus explained to the Jews is that He had every right to claim to be “God” (John 10:30) because Yahweh Himself labeled Jewish judges who were mere men “gods.”
5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. 6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. 7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes” (Psalm 82:5-7.)
Jewish judges were regarded as gods because they were delegated authority by God to judge the people. But verse 7 reminds them that they are only men who “should get off their high horse” because they will one day die.
Here is another scriptural example where a man made in God’s image and likeness was called a god by God:
“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.)
God commissioned Moses to lead the children of Israel out of the bo***ge of Egypt. He was made “a god.”
WRAPPING UP
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12.)
New Testament believers are known as sons of God. When Jesus returns in His second advent we will be given glorified bodies. We will then become immortal not ever again subject to death. No scripture ever implies that we will be known as gods even though we will have greater authority than any Old Testament Jewish judge along with eternal life.
We should all keep our egos in check and be satisfied by being joint heirs of Christ and heirs of God:
“17 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 8:17.)
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