Ye Are Gods…
“I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.” - Psalms 82:6
In an interesting interaction between some Jews and Jesus, the Jews picked up stones and as they were preparing to stone Jesus, the following took place:
“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.
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;
36. Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
37. If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
38. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.” - John 10:32-38
The Jew’s were going to stone Jesus for claiming to be God. He responded by quoting their scriptures that say, “Ye are Gods” and pointed out that the scriptures can’t be broken.
One of the verses he was referencing is found in Psalms and was written by Asaph the prophet and seer. Asaph wrote,
“1. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the 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.” - Psalms 82:1-7
What strange statements, “God judgeth among the gods. They, (the gods), know not, neither will they understand. They walk in darkness.” Who are these gods that walk in darkness? Asaph tells us, “Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High, but ye shall die like men.”
What was Asaph the seer talking about?
The Criteria for Being a God
When we think of what it takes to become a god, we figure that the most significant component is time. Lots of time. Some people estimate many eons of progression after this life.
We ask you, what do you think it takes to become a god? Take just a moment and ask yourself what you think is required to be a god.
Specifically, what do you think are the minimum requirements? What do you suppose are the very least requirements for you or anyone to become a god?
(Have an answer in your head before reading on.)
How long do you suppose it would take you to meet those requirements?
(Have an answer in your head before reading on.)
Maybe you listed being perfect or resurrected or time to master some thing or other. Whatever you answered, it probably included among other things, being resurrected into your final and perfected state.
But, how does your criteria match up to what we know about Gods? There are three main Gods that we know about. The Father, the son and the Holy Ghost.
Most people have created their criteria for being a god based on what they know about God the Father. But what about God the Son or God the Holy Ghost?
If your criteria for being a god requires us to have completed our progression, been resurrected or even to have gained a physical body, then it is inaccurate and such criteria would dismiss the Holy Ghost and the premortal spirit Jehovah from being Gods.
The Holy Ghost is a premortal God. It has progressed so far as to become a God but it still has not progressed to the point of gaining a physical body. In the Guide to the Scriptures we read,
“God the Holy Ghost
The Holy Ghost is also a God and is called the Holy Spirit, the Spirit, and the Spirit of God, among other similar names and titles." - The Guide to the Scriptures, "God, Godhead"
Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, was the premortal Jesus Christ who existed as an exalted spirit.
“Jehovah
The covenant or proper name of the God of Israel. It denotes “the eternal I AM” (Ex. 3:14; John 8:58). Jehovah is the premortal Jesus Christ and came to earth as a son of Mary (Mosiah 3:8; 15:1; 3 Ne. 15:1–5). Usually, when the word Lord appears in the Old Testament, it means Jehovah." - The Guide to the Scriptures, "Jehovah"
By these things, we know that premortal spirits can be exalted gods.
As spirits, these gods have a great deal of progression before them. They will progress to gain bodies, learn to use them, experience physical life and death and finally resurrection before moving on to greater growth and progression unknown to us now. They are eternally progressing gods.
Because the Holy Ghost and the premortal Jehovah were able to become gods without even being born with mortal physical bodies, our definitions for what is required to become a God must not include anything gained here in the physical world. It cannot include resurrection, or the physical judgement or any of the steps of progression that come after birth.
Reconsider your definition of the minimum requirements for being a god. Is it open enough to include spirits like the Holy Ghost and Jehovah as being gods?
Why Did We Want a Physical Body?
As spirits, we had progressed as far as we could without gaining physical bodies. We mastered our existence as spirits and needed bodies to enter a new level of experience and progression. Without physical bodies, our progression would have stopped.
The question is, how far can a spirit progress before it needs a body to progress further?
We know that a spirit can progress to be a god, just like the Holy Ghost and the premortal spirit Jehovah. If we progressed as far as we could progress as spirits, then we progressed to become gods just like the Holy Ghost. We were gods before we were born as mortals with physical bodies.
The next step of our eternal progression as gods was to gain physical bodies. These bodies would become the physical temple for our perfected spirits to dwell in.
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” - 1 Corinthians 3:16
“34. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
35. …he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken” - John 10:34-35
Perhaps now you understand the prophet and seer Asaph psalm when he wrote:
“1. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the 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.” - Psalms 82:1, 5-7