"I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God (Isaiah 45:5, NIV).
"Surely God is with you, and there is no other; there is no other god (Isaiah 45:14, NIV).
"There is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me (Isaiah 45:21, NIV).
"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other (Isaiah 45:22, NIV).
"... Before me no god was formed, or will there be one after me" (Isaiah 43:10, NIV).
(Note that Erich Fromm, noted psychologist, wrote the book, You Shall Be As Gods, to downplay the validity and meaning of sin, and claimed that if we get rid of that notion we will be free to be our own gods, as it were, quoting Satan from Genesis 3:5.
God reveals His Son in us (cf. Gal. 1:16), and through us as ambassadors of reconciliation (cf. 2 Cor. 5:20), and we are thus able to share in His divine nature (cf. 2 Pet. 1:4), but upon becoming sons of God, we do not become gods in the process! We are only "gods" in the sense that we rule over nature and are in the image of God. We represent God to the lost: "And whatever you do or say, do I as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father" (Col. 3:17, NLT).
These are the famous words and rationale of Satan to Eve (cf. Gen. 3:5), that her eyes would be opened, knowing good and evil; this would make her as one of the gods (or like God). We are not ever meant to be gods as the Mormons believe in their dogmatic theological axiom: "As man is, God once was, and as God is, man may become." This is the lie that has been perpetrated upon mankind since the beginning. God isn't looking for men who want to be gods, but who desire godliness (cf. 2 Pet. 1:6-7) and to share in His divine nature (cf. 2 Pet. 1:4). Jesus quoted from Psalm 82:6 (NASB): "I said, 'You are gods, And all of you are sons of the Most High.'" He did this to show their unreasonableness in begrudging Him to assume the title "Son of God."
He did this to make them realize that it wasn't farfetched that He claimed to be the Son of God, which was clarified in Psalm 2 as follows: "... He said to Me, 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You" (cf. Psalm 2:7). We are born from above or again from God and inherit the right to be called the children of God according to John 1:12. We are truly "children of God" by adoption and can claim as our privilege of God as our Father, but Jesus enjoys a unique Sonship that we don't, which is because of His deity. It would be hard to believe that man can become God, but our gospel tells us that God became man, this is easier to believe.
Our privilege entitles us to unique authority in prayer as we approach the throne of grace with confidence and boldness (cf. Heb. 4:16) and represent Christ in the world as His emissaries and missionaries. The problem with sinners is that they won't give up their authority over their lives (or others') to God in lordship. We have to stop being our own gods and controlling our own destiny and start trusting in God's providence to make it happen for us. It is never our prerogative to play God in someone's life or to lord it over God's sheep--we all answer to the same Chief Shepherd. As Christians, we do have spiritual authority from God to be used in our gifts in their rightful domain, but this doesn't come with the right to lord it over others; we are to commend them to the Lord's care.
Though man may see himself as a god, he shall die like a man and be humbled in Psalm 82:7 (NASB): "Nevertheless you will die like men And fall like any one of the princes." The glory of Christ is that His deity stood out the most at his death and He didn't die like a mere man. Great men of the past (in the world's eyes, that is) have often fancied themselves gods (just look at Augustus Caesar and his successors). Jesus wasn't deified by men but claimed this authority and there was no discrepancy between His behavior, works, words, and His claims, which were verified by multiple witnesses.
If Jesus were not God, and this was His claim, He was the most deceived (and biggest deceiver) of men ever to walk this earth. But He was no impostor and didn't beat around the bush with His claims. The Pharisees knew who He was claiming to be, even though the disciples didn't figure it out till after the fact of the resurrection. We have to commit ourselves to monotheism, and flee the sin of polytheism, which the Mormons have resorted to, and humble ourselves in the sight of God, that He may exalt us--for the way up is down in God's economy, just as John the Baptist said: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30, NASB). Note that John (John 3:27, NASB) said, "... A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven."
Jesus never exalted Himself, but depended upon God the Father to give Him back the glory He gave up by becoming man for our sake. Jesus via Scripture said in Isaiah 42:8 (NASB): I am the LORD, that is MY name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images." The ironic thing about John the Baptist's witness is that they thought he was the coming one and he had to bow to Jesus and His glory at His baptism or inauguration.
Now we are the icons of Christ, bearing His image to the world at large and the only Christ some will see is the one in us. God the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work is to perfect us into that image and to make us useful for His work among the lost. Paul summed it up well: "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (cf. Col. 1:27). That is, that others may see Jesus shining through you is the highest of compliments. Now, the only authority we have is as servants of the Lord and to do His will, not to glorify ourselves or for financial gain--that is, we don't cash in on spiritual gifts, but their fruits are free and available to the body (note that I'm not referring to those supported by the church in ministry, etc.).
In summation, we must all come to the realization that there is a higher power we are accountable to besides the so-called "God-within" as New Agers will have you think, and this recognition of authority is what heals us in the final analysis, because we are not sovereign over ourselves but God is in control as Lord of all, whether we acknowledge it or not (we may find ourselves fighting God!).
This is really either the first step to recovery or the step toward a chaotic, self-defeating life. We cannot control our own destiny but are subject to God's sovereignty, which is none the less limited because of our freedom. We must all come to the epiphany that God is real and we are His servants, not independent gods--there is no middle ground. Our glory is not that we are gods, but that we know God and have fellowship with Him! Peter adds (again cf. 2 Pet. 1:6) that we should add "godliness" to our faith (not god-ness!). Soli Deo Gloria!
"Surely God is with you, and there is no other; there is no other god (Isaiah 45:14, NIV).
"There is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me (Isaiah 45:21, NIV).
"Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other (Isaiah 45:22, NIV).
"... Before me no god was formed, or will there be one after me" (Isaiah 43:10, NIV).
God reveals His Son in us (cf. Gal. 1:16), and through us as ambassadors of reconciliation (cf. 2 Cor. 5:20), and we are thus able to share in His divine nature (cf. 2 Pet. 1:4), but upon becoming sons of God, we do not become gods in the process! We are only "gods" in the sense that we rule over nature and are in the image of God. We represent God to the lost: "And whatever you do or say, do I as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father" (Col. 3:17, NLT).
These are the famous words and rationale of Satan to Eve (cf. Gen. 3:5), that her eyes would be opened, knowing good and evil; this would make her as one of the gods (or like God). We are not ever meant to be gods as the Mormons believe in their dogmatic theological axiom: "As man is, God once was, and as God is, man may become." This is the lie that has been perpetrated upon mankind since the beginning. God isn't looking for men who want to be gods, but who desire godliness (cf. 2 Pet. 1:6-7) and to share in His divine nature (cf. 2 Pet. 1:4). Jesus quoted from Psalm 82:6 (NASB): "I said, 'You are gods, And all of you are sons of the Most High.'" He did this to show their unreasonableness in begrudging Him to assume the title "Son of God."
He did this to make them realize that it wasn't farfetched that He claimed to be the Son of God, which was clarified in Psalm 2 as follows: "... He said to Me, 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You" (cf. Psalm 2:7). We are born from above or again from God and inherit the right to be called the children of God according to John 1:12. We are truly "children of God" by adoption and can claim as our privilege of God as our Father, but Jesus enjoys a unique Sonship that we don't, which is because of His deity. It would be hard to believe that man can become God, but our gospel tells us that God became man, this is easier to believe.
Our privilege entitles us to unique authority in prayer as we approach the throne of grace with confidence and boldness (cf. Heb. 4:16) and represent Christ in the world as His emissaries and missionaries. The problem with sinners is that they won't give up their authority over their lives (or others') to God in lordship. We have to stop being our own gods and controlling our own destiny and start trusting in God's providence to make it happen for us. It is never our prerogative to play God in someone's life or to lord it over God's sheep--we all answer to the same Chief Shepherd. As Christians, we do have spiritual authority from God to be used in our gifts in their rightful domain, but this doesn't come with the right to lord it over others; we are to commend them to the Lord's care.
Though man may see himself as a god, he shall die like a man and be humbled in Psalm 82:7 (NASB): "Nevertheless you will die like men And fall like any one of the princes." The glory of Christ is that His deity stood out the most at his death and He didn't die like a mere man. Great men of the past (in the world's eyes, that is) have often fancied themselves gods (just look at Augustus Caesar and his successors). Jesus wasn't deified by men but claimed this authority and there was no discrepancy between His behavior, works, words, and His claims, which were verified by multiple witnesses.
If Jesus were not God, and this was His claim, He was the most deceived (and biggest deceiver) of men ever to walk this earth. But He was no impostor and didn't beat around the bush with His claims. The Pharisees knew who He was claiming to be, even though the disciples didn't figure it out till after the fact of the resurrection. We have to commit ourselves to monotheism, and flee the sin of polytheism, which the Mormons have resorted to, and humble ourselves in the sight of God, that He may exalt us--for the way up is down in God's economy, just as John the Baptist said: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30, NASB). Note that John (John 3:27, NASB) said, "... A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven."
Jesus never exalted Himself, but depended upon God the Father to give Him back the glory He gave up by becoming man for our sake. Jesus via Scripture said in Isaiah 42:8 (NASB): I am the LORD, that is MY name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images." The ironic thing about John the Baptist's witness is that they thought he was the coming one and he had to bow to Jesus and His glory at His baptism or inauguration.
Now we are the icons of Christ, bearing His image to the world at large and the only Christ some will see is the one in us. God the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work is to perfect us into that image and to make us useful for His work among the lost. Paul summed it up well: "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (cf. Col. 1:27). That is, that others may see Jesus shining through you is the highest of compliments. Now, the only authority we have is as servants of the Lord and to do His will, not to glorify ourselves or for financial gain--that is, we don't cash in on spiritual gifts, but their fruits are free and available to the body (note that I'm not referring to those supported by the church in ministry, etc.).
In summation, we must all come to the realization that there is a higher power we are accountable to besides the so-called "God-within" as New Agers will have you think, and this recognition of authority is what heals us in the final analysis, because we are not sovereign over ourselves but God is in control as Lord of all, whether we acknowledge it or not (we may find ourselves fighting God!).
This is really either the first step to recovery or the step toward a chaotic, self-defeating life. We cannot control our own destiny but are subject to God's sovereignty, which is none the less limited because of our freedom. We must all come to the epiphany that God is real and we are His servants, not independent gods--there is no middle ground. Our glory is not that we are gods, but that we know God and have fellowship with Him! Peter adds (again cf. 2 Pet. 1:6) that we should add "godliness" to our faith (not god-ness!). Soli Deo Gloria!