Ye Are Gods?

In John 10:34, Jesus answers an accusation of blasphemy for suggesting He was the son of God by quoting Psalm 82:6:

[Jhn 10:34 KJV] 34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

What Jesus is saying is that not only is He a son of God, but that man was intended in the garden of Eden to be a son of God. That seems controversial to some, but Luke 3:38 calls Adam, a son of God. We know this is not on the same level as Jesus, for Jesus is the “only begotten” son, as John 1:18 tells us. What then is Jesus referring to when He quotes Psa. 82:6 that not only He but “ye are gods?”

[Psa 82:6 KJV] 6 I have said, Ye [are] gods; and all of you [are] children of the most High.

In the original quote in Psalms, the term “gods” is the Hebrew word “Elohim.” In Gen. 1:26, when God said “let us make man in our image,” the “us” in this passage employs the use of that same word “Elohim,” thus we identify it as one of the names of God. Interestingly, there is textual evidence that those who preserved the word of God for us (particularly the Old Testament) were known to seek out references to “Elohim” and redact them, replacing that term with “Jehovah.” Theologians speak of this as the “Elohist” and “Jahwist” controversy. The ancient scribes were nervous when they saw that term Elohim and wanted to marginalize it in favor of “Jehovah” in the ancient texts.

What is it about Elohim that made ancient scribes not care for it, and the Pharisees want to kill Jesus because He employed it? The most ancient form of the word “Elohim” means “The Creator EL and His Pantheon.” A pantheon is a group of demi-gods under a primary god, such as in Greek mythology (Zeus and the mythical gods under him). What does that have to do with the name of God – Elohim? The best way to explain this is that Elohim means (for us) “The Father and His family.”

When we read “Elohim,” we are not misusing the text to equate it as referring to “The Father and His Family.” When Jesus met Mary outside the tomb after His resurrection, notice what He said to her:

[Jhn 20:17 KJV] 17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and [to] my God, and your God.

Jesus is the sole figure in scripture who spoke of God as His intimate Father. In Jesus’ eyes, the most significant dividend of the Cross was opening the family of His Father up to all mankind who would accept Him as savior. Elohim is the family name of God, the tribal name of God, if you will. When you accept Jesus as your savior, you become part of the God-tribe. Pharisees don’t like that today any more than they did in Jesus’ day, but it is true nonetheless. In accepting Jesus, you are given the power to become a son of God:

[Jhn 1:12 KJV] 12 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:

When you accept Jesus, you are growing up into the full measure of the stature of Christ and a participator with the Father in the God-tribe on the earth. You are god-kind, a new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:7). One rendering of 2 Cor. 5:7 reads that you have become a “new species altogether.” Accept who you are in Christ today, not of yourselves but because of the work of Christ on the Cross for your redemption.

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