ARE CHRISTIANS EQUAL WITH GOD?
by David McAllister
Last Updated 2/5/02
[c] The Belfast Berean 2002


          Sounds all so familiar? As we move back down through the corridors of time and remind you of the
          very first created being who ever dared to think such a though! "How thou art fallen from heaven, O
          Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground....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." [Isaiah 14:12-14]

          Whilst Lucifer believed he could be like the most High. There are those within the church who teach
          we are already like the most High. These teachers Messrs. Creflo Dollar and Kenneth Copeland
          encourage Christians to quit belittling themselves, and the Almighty God with a 'filthy rags' mentality
          and recognize their equality with Jesus and God. Dollar and Copeland not only claim that man is an
          exact duplicate of the image of God, but a exact duplicate including size and shape, who has an
          ability to create with words as God did.

          They reason that because Jesus Christ said that God was His Father and claimed to be equal with
          God, that Christians are also equal with God. Why and How you may think? Because God is our
          Father, and we are sons and daughters of God through our faith in Christ Jesus, so we also have the
          same equality with God that Jesus Christ has.

          What teachers like Dollar and Copeland don’t seen to understand is that God is a Spirit, and invisible
          [Rom 1:20; Col 1:15-16; 1 Tim 1:17; Heb 11:27] how then could man be made exact duplicates of the
          image of God including size and shape? Yet the Bible could not be more clearer in Isaiah 43:10 that
          no god or little god has ever been formed. The Bible could not be more clearer in Isaiah 46:9 when
          God says "I am God and there is none like me". However Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar
          somehow seem to miss this. How no one can tell?

          Yes it is true that in this world there are those who call themselves 'gods' or 'little gods', and there are
          those who are called 'gods' and 'lords' in this world by others. But to the true evangelical 'Born-Again
          Bible Believing Christian', their is but ONE GOD and they would totally reject these teachings as the
          same lie of the serpent in the garden of Eden to the Woman in Genesis 3:4-5.

          Dave Hunt in his book Occult Invasion, page 345 writes "To teach that man is God, a god ,or equal to
          God, and that faith is a force that works according to certain laws, differs little from atheism. Either way,
          there is no being in the universe who is man’s superior."

          The God of the Bible through His prophet Isaiah makes it abundantly clear that He alone is the only
          true and living God, and their is none like unto Him, and their are no other 'gods' or 'little gods'
          beside Him. It is written "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen;
          that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed,
          neither shall there be after me." [Isa 43:10] It is written in 1 Cor 8:5 "For though there be that are called
          gods, whether in heaven or in earth, [as there be gods many, and lords many,] but to us [Christians]
          there is but one God the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by
          whom are all things, and we by him." The only true and living God says "I am the first, and I am the
          last; and beside me there is no God....Is their a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any."
          [Isa 44:6-8] and again "I am the Lord, and their is none else, there is no God beside me....I am the Lord,
          and their is none else....and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none
          beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God and their is none
          else" [Isa 45:1-22] and again "Remember the former things of old: for I am God; and there is none else; I
          am God and there is none like me;" [Isa 46:9]

          Faith teachers like Creflo Dollar and Kenneth Copeland reject the counsel of the Almighty. We
          received the following e-mail from the ministry of Creflo Dollar in response to the above article
          'KENNETH COPELAND and CREFLO DOLLAR EQUAL WITH GOD?' In the E-Mail we are told 'We pray
          that the following information will bring you even greater understanding concerning the subject of our
          equality with God.' However as one reads down the list of pretexts used to support this teaching, one
          can quickly see how faith teachers like Dollar are apt at talking a biblical text out of its context, whilst
          paying scant heed to the context of the passage it has been lifted from. Below we will look carefully at
          each text that Dollar has used and show within the context of that passage that what Dollar is teaching
          is wrong.

          The E-Mail reads: '....The Bible states that Jesus Christ called God His Father thus making himself
          equal with God (John 5: 17-18). As sons and daughters of God through our faith in Christ Jesus, we also
          have equality with God. (I John 3:2). a.) John 5:17-18 Jesus called God "Father " thus making himself
          equal with God b.) Ps.82:6 You are gods and children of the Most High God c.) John 10:34-36 Jesus
          quoted Ps. 82:6 and The Jews wanted to stone him for blasphemy d.) Ps 8:4-5 Man was created a little
          lower than the angels (angels-Heb. word "Elohim"- God - The Creator of all Physical things.) e.) Gen.
          1:26-27 Man was made in the image and likeness of God f.) "It's understood that you and I are not God.
          There is only one God. However, as His children, we are like him. He's the big "G", and we're the little
          "g". (Dr. Creflo A.. Dollar from his new book-The Image of Righteousness-pg.91). g.) "You are an exact
          duplicate of the image of God. This does not mean that you are God. It means that you are made in
          God's image and His likeness, with an ability to create with words as God did. (Dr. Creflo A.Dollar from
          his new book-The Image of Righteousness-pg. 83)....'

          John 5:17-18
          John 5:17-18 "But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews
          sought the more to kill him because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his
          Father, making himself equal with God."

          This is the first instance were Creflo Dollar pays no heed to the context of the passage in question,
          and he fails to understand what Jesus Christ was claiming when He said God was His Father making
          himself equal with God!!

          J.Sidlow Baxter explains "He [Jesus] claims equality in seven particulars: [1] Equal in working: "What
          things soever he [the Father] doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise" [v 19]. [2] Equal in knowing: "For
          the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth" [v20]. [3] Equal in resurrecting:
          "For as the Father raiseth up the dead.....so the Son quickeneth whom he will" [v 21 with vv.28,29]. [4]
          Equal in judgement; "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgement unto the Son" [v.
          22 with v. 27]. [5] Equal in honour. "That all men should honour the son even as they honour the Father"
          [v23] [6] Equal in regenerating: "He that hearth my word, and believeth on him that sent me....is passed
          from death unto life" [vv. 24, 25]. [7] Equal in self existence: "For as the Father hath life in himself; so
          hath he given to the Son to have live in himself" [v. 26].".

          Hopefully faith teachers may now understand what blasphemy it is to claim to be equal with God in the
          context of this passage, or any other for that matter? Is Creflo Dollar Equal with God in Working? Equal
          in Knowing? Equal in Resurrecting? Equal in Judgement? Equal in Honour? Equal in Regenerating?
          Equal in Self Existence? Of course not!
 

          Philippians 2:5-6
          Philippians 2:5-6 "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Who being in the form of
          God, though it not robbery to be equal with God"

          This passage does not encourage Christians to think they are equal with the Almighty, the passage
          deals with the deity of Jesus Christ and warns that just because Jesus Christ made himself of no
          reputation, becoming a servant made in the likeness of men, does not mean He became less than
          deity. Is not the key to this passage in v[6] 'Who being in the form of God'? The reason that Jesus
          Christ though it not robbery to be equal with God due to the fact he is God? As the text suggests?
          God is not telling Christians to have the like mind of Christ when He thought it not robbery to be equal
          with God, but instead to have the like mind of Christ when He humbled Himself and made Himself of
          no reputation becoming a servant to all.

          In the Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible [KJV] we read "What is to be understood here is that Christ
          merely relinquished His glory which he had due to the fact that He was deity. Prior to His death, He
          asked the Father to glorify Him in a position next to God with the glory which He had even before the
          world was created [John 17:5].... The Lord lacked recognition and glory by men while He was on earth
          as the Incarnate God. However, as far as God was concerned, Christ never lost His position before
          God."
 

          Psalm 82:6 & John 10:34-36
          Psalm 82:6 "I have said, ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most high. But ye shall die like
          men and fall like one of the princes"

          John 10:34-36 "Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, ye are gods? If he called them
          gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken: Say ye of him, whom the
          Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest: because I said, I am the Son of
          God?"

          We ask the simple question was Jesus Christ confused? Is their another god beside him? Is their
          really another like unto him? Is Jesus Christ contradicting himself because he had already taught to
          the Jews beforehand that there is only one God in Mark 12:29?

          Again Dollar pays very little heed to the context of the Psalm in question. In fact God has nothing
          good to say about those 'gods' in Psalm 82. God is clearly unhappy and warns "How long will ye
          judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the
          afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked." [v2-4] Would
          these same judgements by the Almighty apply to ‘god’ Dollar and ‘god’ Copeland?

          In the book of Jeremiah 10:11 we read "Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods [Dollar and Copeland]
          that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under the
          heavens." We need to remind Creflo Dollar that he like other faith teachers only quote half of Psalm
          82:6 and leave out the other half "But ye shall die like men and fall like one of the princes."

          In the book Christianity in Crisis, page 115, Hank Hanegraaff gives some good advice "...if Faith
          propents want to take Jesus literally when He makes His ironic statement about being gods, why not
          take Him literally when He calls the Pharisees "snakes"[Matthew 23:33]?"

          As a Christian pointed out to me If it really were true that we are gods, why then did the woman not
          rebuke the serpent in Paul Crouch style by saying "I am a little god! Critics, be gone!" Creflo Dollar
          explains? Dollar says that the real deception of the serpent was not in telling the woman she would be
          like God, but to blind the woman from the truth that she was already like God. Dollar warns that this
          deception still runs rife in the church today by those who do not want people to understand that they
          are already gods. In fact the real truth is that serpent tempted the Woman promising "ye shall not
          surely die....ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."

          In the book Occult Invasion by Dave Hunt, page 352, we read "It was Satan, not God, who had
          promised godhood to Eve and not that she would be God, "but as [the] gods" [Genesis 3:5]. Ah, there
          was the catch! There is only one true God. The gods are all false, They are the pretenders after
          godhood, the followers of Satan, who have believed his promise of godhood."

          While the serpent promised the woman "ye shall be as gods", Faith teachers like Dollar and Copeland
          say "we are gods". Whilst Lucifer believed he could be like the most High. Copeland and Dollar teach
          we are already like the most High. What’s the problem then? We just need to realise we are gods.

          In fact this very teaching is found at the heart of the New Age Movement. We are all gods, but have
          forgot that we are gods and through Transcendental Meditation [TM] a form of Yoga one can realise
          that they are god. Through TM one experiences that they are god and can structure their lives the way
          they want creating reality with their minds.

          In the book of Acts some of those who witnessed God heal the impotent man through the Apostle
          Paul cried "The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men." Unlike Copeland and Dollar the
          Apostle Paul rebuked those who were about to do sacrifice with the people and said "We also are
          men of like passions with you" and preached "that...[they] should turn from these vanities unto the
          living God, which made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein" Acts [14:11-15]

          In the Believers Bible Commentary by William McDonald [Edited by Art Farstad], page 675, we read
          "In Psalm 82, rulers and judges are addressed by God as gods. Actually they are not divine, but
          because of their position as God's ministers, they are dignified with name of gods. Their greatest
          distinction is that the word of God came to them, that is they were officially ordained by God as higher
          powers concerned with government and justice [Rom 13:1]. If the name gods could thus be loosely
          applied to men like them, how much more fully and accurately can the name God be applied to the Lord
          Jesus."

          In the HEBREW-GREEK STUDY BIBLE [KJV], page 760, we read the following: "Some people attempt
          to explain the phrase 'ye are gods' to mean that human beings can be gods as equal to God in His
          essence. The solution to this misinterpretation of these words is found in the proper interpretation of the
          word 'god' in Hebrew. It is the word Elohim [430] which is used of God referring to His office as a Judge
          and Diviner of justice. In the establishment of the office of judge in the OT, men were given the
          responsibility of representing this office of God. Thus, the usage of the term Elohim would not be
          confusing to one who understands that the man merely represents God. In this psalms, however, God is
          condemning those who had perverted justice and had abused their God-given privilege to hold the office
          of a judge. The warning given in verse seven is that though they be 'gods,' though they hold this
          honourable office among men to rule over them as God's representative, yet they are but men and will
          die like all other men."

          In the book Christianity in Crisis, page 113, Hank Hanegraaff writes "One thing is certain: A literal
          interpretation of the term "god" in Psalm 82:6 is clearly ruled out by the context. It is hard to miss that
          this passage opens with a strong denunciation of the injustices perpetrated by the judges of Israel [v2].
          As representives of God [cd.Exodus 4:15,16; 6:28-7:2], they should have been just; instead, they were
          dishonest. How unlike God men are!"

 

          I John 3:2
          1 John 3:2 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we
          know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

          Some time in the future, [and not now] all Christians will receive the same glorious resurrection body
          that Jesus Christ received at his resurrection. Our vile bodies shall be made like unto his glorious
          body and Christians will be morally like Jesus Christ.

          Psalm 8:4-5

          Psalm 8:4-5 "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For
          thou has made him a little lower than the angels, and has crowned him with glory and honour."

          The text says it all, God made man a little lower than the angels. The truth is man is not even equal to
          the angels, never mind being equal with God. Again we must take the time to remind Copeland and
          Dollar of very first created being ’Lucifer’ a angel who dared to think in such a way! "How thou art fallen
          from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground....For thou hast said in
          thine heart....I will be like the most High." What will happened to Lucifer? God says "Yet thou shalt be
          brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit"! What do you think the most High will do with any other
          wannabes like Copeland and Dollar?

          Gen. 1:26-27
          Genesis 1:26-27 "And God said. Let us make man in our image, after our likeness....So God created
          man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

          Creflo Dollar teaches that man was made in the image and likeness of God, and is a exact duplicate
          of the image of God with an ability to create with words as God did. Kenneth Copeland teaches that
          man is an exact duplicate of God, including size and shape, and he can speak things and they come
          to pass. Faith teachers like Copeland could not possible be correct, as God is a Spirit and therefore
          invisible [Rom 1:20; Col 1:15-16; 1 Tim 1:17; Heb 11:27] Paul in the book of Romans warns about
          those who would changed the glory of the incorruptible God, into an image made like to corruptible
          man. Romans 1:21-23.

          Creflo Dollar states "It's understood that you and I are not God. There is only one God. However, as His
          children, we are like him. He's the big "G", and we're the little "g". We ask Creflo Dollar the question
          again is God confused? Is their really another god beside him? Is their really another like unto him?
          Creflo Dollar "You are an exact duplicate of the image of God. This does not mean that you are God. It
          means that you are made in God's image and His likeness, with an ability to create with words as God
          did." Creflo Dollar seems to be talking in forked tongues. In one hand he says ‘you and I are not God.
          There is only one God....’ and then on the other ‘we are like him. He's the big "G", and we're the little
          "g".’

          Hank Hanegraaff in the book Christianity in Crisis, page 115, writes ".....Satan is also referred to as a
          "god" in 2 Corinthians 4:4. But surely no one assumes that this means that Satan is an exact duplicate
          of God."

          Is it not written "Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any." [Isaiah 44:8] Dollar
          and Copeland say the Almighty is mistaken!

          Is it not written "Remember the former things of old: for I am God; and there is none else; I am God and
          there is none like me;" [Isaiah 46:9] Dollar and Copeland would say the Almighty is in error we are like
          Him!

          Is it not written "...there is no one like me in all the earth"? Dollar and Copeland say OH NO wrong
          again! We are exact duplicates of you!

          Is it not written Exodus 9:14 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
          saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher that your ways, and
          my thoughts than your thoughts." [Isaiah 55:8-9] Dollar and Copeland respond in Paul Crouch like
          fashion with "I am a little god! Critics, be gone!"

          Finally Creflo Dollar makes the very mistake that the Apostle Paul warn about in Romans 1:21-23
          "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God neither were thankful; but became
          vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they
          became fools, And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible
          man."

          The truth is that man was made to reflect certain aspects of the image of the invisible God! Love,
          justice, truth, holiness. mercy, morality, knowledge...etc. Man is not divine or can he ever be! Man is
          not omnipresent, omniscient or omnipotent like God, and neither does he have an ability to create
          with words! Only God has these abilities. May Creflo Dollar and Kenneth Copeland reject these silly
          notions once and for all.