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Can man become a god?
The Mormon Church teaches that God was once a man and that man can become a God: “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man … he was once a man like us…. and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves… the same as all Gods have done before you…”- Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., “King Follett Discourse,” Journal of Discourses, v. 6, pp. 3-4, also in Teachings of the Prophet of Joseph Smith, pp. 345-346.
But the Bible teaches that man can’t ever become a god simply because God is Divine (2 Peter 1:3). He is a Spirit being (John 4:24) Man is a physical being. God is immortal “who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6:16) while a human is mortal (Job 4:17). God is the infinite Creator and man is a finite created being (Genesis 1; Colossians 1:16). At the Judgement Day, God will grant eternal life to all who believe and obey Him (John 3:16; 1:12).
One God – The Creator
The Scriptures also declare that beside the Lord there are no other gods: “Thus says the Lord… I am the First and I am the Last; besides me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6); “… Before me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after me” (Isaiah 43:10).
The lie that man can become a god was first told by Satan to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan enticed Eve to eat of the forbidden tree promising, “you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). Contrary to his promise, when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they lost paradise and were sentenced to eternal death. This lie reveals the blasphemous nature of Satan’s words and the full gravity of his deception.
Before his fall, Satan was the most beautiful and the wisest of all the angels of heaven. He felt proud in the honor God had bestowed upon him and even sought greater honor for himself. For he said, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:14). Lucifer aspired to be like God in position, power, and glory, but not in character.
Although he was just a created being, Satan desired for himself the worship that angels gave to God the Creator. Instead of seeking to make God supreme in the affections of the angelic host, he sought for himself first place in their affections. He even dared to ask Christ to worship him saying, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9). Today, Satan continues to spread his lies through false doctrines such as man can become a god, so we must shield ourselves with God’s truths and reject his lies.
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In His service,
BibleAsk Team
