Misunderstood Scriptures
In John 10:34 Jesus said: “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are gods’?“
Some people have surmised, based on this verse, that we are gods. There are false teachers teach that we are little gods because we are God’s offspring. They argue that if a dog has offspring, those offspring are dogs, cows give birth to cows, etc. So, if God has children, they must also be gods. Nothing could be further from the truth. God did not ‘have children’ in the traditional sense, He created human beings in His own image. So, we share certain characteristics of His, but we are not gods. God is transcendent. He is perfectly holy. God is unique, He exists in a category of His own. That is why Hannah prayed: “There is no one holy like the Lord. There is none beside you. There is no Rock like our God” (1 Samuel 2:2).
So then, what did Jesus mean when He said, “you are gods”?
As always, the answer is found by stepping back and reading the verse in context. Jesus had just claimed to be one with the Father, equal to God. The religious leaders were outraged. Accusing Him of blasphemy, they picked up stones to kill Him. Jesus then defends His claim by quoting from the Old Testament. He says: “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods“‘? (Psalm 86:2).
By ‘in your law’ Jesus means, in the Old Covenant. The Law here refers to the OT. Jesus is arguing from lesser to greater, from the old to the new. If God could say, in the Old Testament, ‘you are gods’, how is it blasphemy for me to say that I am the Son of God? Jesus quickly goes on to say, if you don’t believe me, look at my works. Examine the things I do and you will soon see that I am doing the works of my Father.
You might be wondering:
Well, why does the Old Testament call us gods in the first place? The truth is, it doesn’t, except in a metaphorical sense. Even then, it does not call all human beings gods. The psalmist is saying that judges and magistrates, who have power to make decisions and punish wrongdoers, are like God, in the sense that they act on His behalf. They are mandated by God to rule over the people and so they act like god. They are doing the work of God.
Romans 13:1-4 sheds some light on this.
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”
Rulers are God’s servants.
They are appointed by God and act on His behalf. Of course, there are many rotten rulers in the world, but even they are only there because God has allowed it. The concept of people acting on behalf of God was not foreign to those who wanted to kill Jesus. In Exodus 7:1 God had said to Moses: “I will make you like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron will be your prophet.” Again, it is metaphorical, and the religious leaders in Jesus’ day would have known that.
Now let us look at Psalm 82.
Psalm 82:1 – “God presides in the great assembly; he renders judgment among the “gods”.”
The Hebrew word is Elohim which usually refers to Almighty God, but on a few occasions, it is also used to mean earthly rulers. The next few verses in the psalm make it clear that, in this case, the word ‘gods’ refers to judges, magistrates and those in authority. The point of Psalm 82 is that human rulers, as God’s representatives, must be impartial, they must judge fairly, like God does, because one day they will stand before God, the Perfect Judge.
Then in verse 6-7 we read of these earthly rulers: “I said ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’ But you will die like mere mortals; you will fall like every other ruler.”
God is not paying them a compliment by calling them gods. He is warning these rulers that they are no better than anyone else, they too, are accountable to God. All Jesus does, in John 10:34, is borrow this Old Testament metaphor. He simply said: What is the big deal? How is it blasphemy for me, the one doing the works of my father, to call myself the Son of God? Even your Law called people who act on God’s behalf, ‘gods’. Get over yourselves!