Quote from FerdinandAlx:
John 10:34 (New International Version)
34Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'[a]?
There is one God and we are part of Him:
[a] ref. to Psalm 82:6
Quote from Epiphany:
I knew you would pick out that verse - occultists and New Agers love to use John 10:34.
The key is to make sure everything is taken in context. Now in verse 34 you quoted, there is a little footnote denoted as [a] which refers back to psalm 82:6 - let's revisit Psalm 82 as a whole to get some context
God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the 'gods.' How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. 'They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, 'You are "gods" ; you are all sons of the Most High.' But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler." Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance. ~ Psalm 82, Holy Bible
'Gods' clearly refers to people in positions of power - and judgment is pronounced on them as the next verse says:
'But you will die like mere men, you will fall like every other ruler.'
Clearly 'Gods' is not refering to divinity but to the leaders and rulers of the world
Quote from I am...:
The context is that I was being accused of blasphemy...
"For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy because you, being a man, make yourself out to be God".
I replied by including myself among the "gods" to whom the scriptures are written:
I said, 'You are "gods" ; you are all sons of the Most High.'
This means that if I am the Son of God, then so are you.
All are sons of the Most High.
But you are using your powers to make yourself out to be a man, to die like mere men.
And you seek to drag your brethren with you to the bottom of the sea...like a millstone around their neck.
And this is what passes for Christianity.
Now you must twist scripture out of context to maintain death in your experience.
You make "gods" apply to earthly rulers...mere men.
If that is true, then I too am an earthly ruler...a mere man.
Where is the blasphemy in that?
But in context I emerge as the Son of God, making myself out to be God.
It was not considered blasphemy to think oneself an earthly ruler.
Why then do you take the passage I cited and make it mean earthly ruler?
Jesus
Let's put it all together. Here is the full passage:
Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[d]; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'[e]? If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came â and the Scripture cannot be broken â what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." ~ John 10:25-38, Holy Bible
First off, who is Jesus talking to? He is talking to the Pharisees - the high teachers of the law who knew everything about the old testament and become proud and boastful cause they followed the letter of the law (too bad they did not follow the spirit of the law).
Focus on this verse: 'Is it not written in your Law, I have said you are gods? If he called them 'gods' to whom the word of God came...'
In other words 'gods' in this verse specifically refers to the PROPHETS. If you remember from old testament, the prophets are the ones the Lord God spoke to (the word of God came to them), and the prophets in turn told everyone else.
So Jesus is essence saying: 'You Pharisees who supposedly know the old testament inside out, you had no problem with the Prophets being called 'gods' (lowercase 'g'), and you being teachers of the law have obviously heard of the coming Messiah in the prophecies, so then why do you have issue with me because I say I am the savior? (the Scripture cannot be broken, it was already prohesized a savior would come). Then Jesus goes on to say: 'Now if you do not believe I am the savior, there is an easy way to test - just look to see if I do the works of my Father.'
Of course the Pharisees didn't even try to see if he was the saviour or not, they just saw Jesus as a threat to their power - they were the Teachers of Law and had power over the masses.
