Anciently it was understood that a son had the same power as his father. The invocation of the father’s name automatically transferred his power to his son. In this sense father and son were considered “one.” Though this fact was known when Jesus walked the earth as a man and is stated repeatedly in the Holy Bible, it is believed by only a minutely few people today. As this study will show, the Jews of Jesus’ day knew this Truth but lacked the faith and holiness to live it. And because they lacked the wherewithal to become one with God, they hated anyone who claimed to have attained that status.

The following account of Christ’s conversation with some Jews involves a statement He had made centuries before He came to earth as Jesus of Nazareth. He had spoken the Words while He was the Word–the God of the Old Testament Who was with Adam and Eve in Eden, Who spoke face-to-face with them, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, et al. In his gospel the Apostle John identified Him as follows: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was (a) God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him (the Word), and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and Truth” (Jn. 1:1-4,14). This obviously refers to Jesus of Nazareth. Further proof of His Godship prior to coming to earth is found in chapter 17 verse 5 where Jesus is recorded as saying: “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was (created).” This further proves that Jesus of Nazareth, before He became God’s earthly Son, was a co-equal God with God. See Jesus of Nazareth–God, Man or God-man? for an explanation of Christ’s relationship with the Father before, during and after His earthly tenure.

In John 10:30-36 we find Jesus being confronted by a group of Jews who are furious because He has boldly stated that He and God are “one.” As if this were not infuriating enough, He tells them that He is in fact the Son of God. Believing that He has blasphemed God, the Jews are ready to stone Him, telling Him “… You, being a man, make Yourself (equal to) God.” Jesus’ response comes in the form of a statement He Himself had made to ancient Israel as recorded in Psalms 86:2: “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods? If He (referring to Himself when He was the Old Testament God of the Israelites) called them (Israelites) gods, to whom the Word of God came (and the Scriptures cannot be broken), do you say of Him (Himself–Jesus) whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world (as Jesus of Nazareth), ‘You are blaspheming’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?'”

Notice that Jesus said when referring to Psalm 82: “I (Jesus) said” (in Ps. 82). Again, one must understand that Jesus was referring to Himself (the Word) when He was the God of the Old Testament Israelites. By saying to the Jews of His day, “I said (anciently), ‘you are (can become) gods,'” Jesus was telling the Jews of His day that He had been the God of their ancestors and that He had told them that they could also become gods.

Jesus then identified Himself as God’s Son in human form by asking, “… do you say of Him (Jesus) whom the Father (God) sanctified and sent into the world ….” Here He leaves no doubt that God had sent Him to the world as a man, His Son, born of a woman like all other men. Note that the Jews were not angry because He told them that they could be God’s sons if they obeyed Him. However, they were ready to kill Him for saying that, because of His obedience to God, He Himself was God’s Son. By bringing this out Jesus was revealing their hypocrisy.

Jesus went on to say that, as a human being, the Father was in Him (in the form of the Holy Spirit) and He was in the Father, making them spiritually “one.” This is exactly what Jesus tells men today, that if they will believe and obey the Father’s Law (the Bible) they can join Jesus as gods, sit on His throne in the Father’s kingdom (Rev. 3:21) and rule, first the earth, then later the entire universe. He tells true saints that through the Holy Spirit they can become one with Himself and the Father NOW (Jn. 14:23), and can have all rights and privileges of sonship now as well as in the eternal future. This is born out in John 14:12 where Jesus tells us that true believers (obeyers) WILL do everything He did while on earth, and even greater things. Think about what He did while walking this earth as a mortal man. But that isn’t the best part. The most amazing part of God’s promises was given to me through divine revelation.  One day as I was studying a passage that I had read many times before He opened my eyes to its true meaning. That revelation shook me to my core. I look forward to sharing it with you next time. I will soon share this series of teachings on my YouTube site which can be viewed at proveallthingsofgod. I hope to see you there. L.J.