Can man become God?
By Ivan Ho 8 Sept 2024
False teachers appeal to our souls and to our minds, leading us to all kinds of deceptions. Today, the biggest deception is one which tells us that we are all divine beings without being subservient to God.
Eve fell into sin because her soul was enticed by the serpent’s suggestion that she could become like God without obeying His words.
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
Adam and Eve were “created in the image of God“. By definition, a created being cannot be God but rather, man was created in the image (resemblance, likeness) of God. When God formed Adam from the dust of the earth, He breathed into the man the breadth of life and he became a living soul. Man was created with the spirit from God imparted into him but that didn’t make him divine. Man derives his life from God and needs to be totally dependent upon his creator. As long as man worships and is submitted to God, and walks in the spirit, he manifests the glory of God in him. In other words, he thinks like God, speaks like God (Acts 17:28a For in Him we live, and move, and have our being), but it doesn’t make him God.
There is a difference between being created in the likeness of God and wanting to be like God. The former describes who you are created to be whereas the latter is who you want to become. When a person desires to become what he or she is not created to be, there is a conflict between him and his Designer. For example, if one is created to be a male but he wants to be a woman instead for whatever reasons, he is violating the beauty and natural laws of creation. When a man wants to be a woman or vice versa, it isn’t a gender identity issue, but more than that, it is an issue of not wanting to accept the nature and essence of what the person is created to be. No matter how a person thinks, behaves and dresses oneself, a man will never be a woman, and a woman will never be a man.
Let’s say God puts His Spirit in a dog (He never puts spirit in animals), the dog would become a spirit filled dog but it is still a dog. In the same way, man will never be God even if he has the Spirit of God dwelling in him. Man is the only creation made in the image of God with spirit, soul and body in whom God will put His Spirit.
The reason why a man wants to become God is because he doesn’t want to submit to the most high God. Instead, man wants to be his own god and calls the shot in every decision he makes. Man was created to be the highest being amongst all of God’s creation but if he wants to go higher to become God, he would step out of order. It is like a disciple wanting to lead his master, or the back up singer wanting to override the voice of the lead singer. Such attitude is similar to satan who was created an anointed cherub but in his pride, he was not satisfied with his assigned position and wanted to usurp God’s authority and took over God’s highest position.
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Isaiah 14:12-15 KJV
Man was created in the image of God but when man fell into sin through disobedience of God’s words, he has lost his divine likeness so that the glory of God no longer manifests through him. What’s more, Adam and Eve were created to live eternally, but when they fell into sin, death came into the world which means that our life on earth becomes finite. Most of all, due to sin, man has lost his sonship relationship with God.
Jesus, on the other hand, does not just carry divine nature, He is divine. He is God the Son who came to our world as a man. Through His death on the cross and His resurrection, Jesus Christ makes it possible for man to be reconciled with God. The moment a person repents of his/ her sins and accepts Jesus Christ into his life, the Spirit of Christ dwells in him and he becomes born again into the kingdom of God. When a person becomes born again in Christ, the first thing God restores is his sonship relationship with Him. Not only that, his divine image is restored and eternal life is his portion.