Dearly beloved,
There is a stupid and foolish doctrine that says that we human beings are gods, and people who have such a high opinion of themselves, but have no life in themselves and don’t even know what the day brings forth, like to believe they are gods. Worse of all they mislead people who are not well-versed in the Scriptures to believe this lie. Even there are some who believe that at some future time, they would have their own planets to rule over, and yet such people cannot even create a fly! Here in America, I have heard some preachers peddle this lie; they twist and misapply the words of the Lord and they deceive themselves and mislead the people who believe them.
One of these preachers is Kenneth Copeland who said:
“You don’t have a god in you, you are one.” He also said, “God’s reason for creating Adam was His desire to reproduce Himself. . . He was not a little like God, He was not almost like God. He was not subordinate to God even.”
And here is what Jim Jones, that false prophet, who claimed to be a god and led nearly a thousand people to their untimely deaths in Guyana in 1978 said:
“It is written that ye are gods, I’m a god and you’re a god. And I’m a god, and I’m gonna stay a god until you recognize that you’re a god. And when you recognize that you’re a god I shall go back into principle and will not appear as a personality. But until I see all of you knowing who you are, I’m gonna be very much what I am – God, Almighty God.”
These people pervert the gospel of Jesus Christ. They do not preach the true gospel, but another gospel (2 Corinthians 11:4). They are of their father Satan, the father of lies, who first proclaimed this doctrine of demons (1 Timothy 4:1), in the Garden of Eden: “And the serpent said to the woman, you shall not surely die…………then your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as gods……..(Genesis 3:4-5).”
False prophets and false teachers really love to be like God, not to emulate God’s righteousness and holiness, but to exalt themselves before people who sheepishly and ignorantly adore them as “men of God.” The idea that we are gods does not only come from false teachers in the church, but is also a New Age doctrine and a doctrine of spiritualists and occultists who like to draw people to themselves instead of to the one and only true God.
Now let us go into the Scriptures to see how people got this satanic idea that we are gods. Indeed, the Scriptures say, “You are gods” in Psalm 82:6 and in John 10:34. But as with every biblical interpretation, we need to consider the whole counsel of God, rightly dividing the word of truth, in our application of the Scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15).
To those who stupidly imagine that they are gods, the word of God states clearly that God created man (Genesis 1:26-28). Unlike God, who is uncreated, man did not create himself and does not have life in himself and that is why men die, but God does not die. God has all wisdom and all power and all knowledge, but man is limited in every way, yet man imagines he is a god? How stupid could man be? Those who imagine they are gods are just living in a fool’s paradise and need to wake up! They need to humble themselves and realize they are mere mortals who don’t even know their days or appointed time on this earth.
Now let’s look at the Scriptures in context. Take your Bible and read from John 10:22-42. Jesus was involved in a debate with the Jews regarding His sonship. He claims to be the Son of God, for which the Jews charge Him with blasphemy and wanted to stone Him. To defend His claim as the Son of God, Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, I said, You are gods (Verse 34)?”
Now let’s go to the law, to Psalm 82:6, where Jesus referred to. Here again, we have to read in context. Beginning from verse 1 of the Psalm, we see the Lord God standing in the congregation of the mighty, judging among the gods. As the Scripture states clearly, this is not an ordinary congregation, but of the mighty, who are also called gods. These gods are not ordinary people, but judges, by whom the word of God came (verse 35), who were vested with authority to judge God’s people. And the Lord is judging these corrupt judges, for accepting bribes and judging unjustly. And for their corruption, the Lord says they would fall and die like the mortal men that they are (verses 6-7).
Now these judges are called gods, only in the sense that they represent God to carry out His will to judge His people righteously and not wickedly or unjustly. Even today, we still refer to judges as “my lord,” but we all know that there is only one Lord, who is the Almighty!
What Jesus is saying here is simple. If the Scripture, which cannot be broken, calls mortal judges, “gods,” why do the Jews have problem with Him, for claiming to be the Son of God, the One whom the Lord God had set apart and sent into the world? In other words, if the Scripture called mortal judges, “gods,” what’s the big deal if Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, for being set apart by God and doing the works of God? Jesus was simply defending His claim as the Messiah and as the Son of God, and this statement that “you are gods,” has nothing whatsoever with deifying mortal man. Mankind was made out of the dust of the earth and into this same dust shall we return, unless we live to see the return of the Lord (Ecclesiastes 12:7).
Now that you know the truth, would you get that arrogant and conceited and satanic idea that you are a god out of your mind? Do yourself a favour and accept that you are a mere mortal and that the only gift of eternal life comes from the Author of life, who has life in Himself and lives from everlasting to everlasting.
We would continue to expose the lies and correct the errors, not only with tithing but with other issues as well. And for those of you who are still interested in my tithing book, let me inform you that the books are on display at the Ghana International Book Fair taking place at the National Theatre, Accra, from 19-21 August. Till we meet again, this is your Brother Amartey, writing from Atlanta, Georgia, U. S.A.