YOU ARE GODS? / JOHN 10:34

START YOUR DAY RIGHT DAILY DEVOTION

(KJV) John 10:34

Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

Demystifying John 10:34: What Did Jesus Mean by “You Are Gods”?

When reading through the Gospel of John, few statements stop us in our tracks quite like Jesus’ words in John 10:34: “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’?” At first glance, this verse can sound shocking, leading some to mistakenly believe that Jesus was teaching that humans can become divine or should view themselves as minor deities. However, looking closer at the context reveals a completely different, and far more humbling, truth.

Jesus was not giving His followers permission to elevate themselves to divine status. In fact, scripture is clear that those who declare themselves to be gods, or who live as their own highest authority, face God’s severe judgment. As the prophet Jeremiah warned, the gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth. Living as our own god is not a spiritual promotion; it is a dangerous deception.

To understand what Jesus meant, we have to look at what He was quoting. Jesus was referencing Psalms 82:6, a passage directed at the human judges, leaders, and rulers of Israel. God had appointed these individuals to specific tasks and granted them the authority to carry out justice and responsibilities on His behalf. In the ancient Hebrew context, the term “gods” (elohim) was sometimes used representatively for these human magistrates because they stood in the place of God to execute His law.

The tragedy, however, was that these rulers were corrupt. In Psalms 82, God addresses leaders who were biased toward ungodly people and cruel to the vulnerable, including children. Though they possessed immense earthly power and acted as if they were untouchable deities, God reminded them of their mortality. He declared that because of their wickedness, they would eventually suffer judgment and die like ordinary men.

Far from elevating humanity, Jesus used this verse as an “argument from the lesser to the greater” to defend His own true divinity. If God called flawed, corrupt human judges “gods” simply because they were vehicles of His word, how much more should Jesus be recognized as the true God? He is the One whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world to fulfill the ultimate mission of spiritual justice and salvation.

Claiming divinity for oneself is the ultimate sin of pride—the very mark of the antichrist described in Thessalonians. True faith does not look inward to find a spark of divinity; it looks upward to the only One who is truly divine. John 10:34 is not an invitation to self-deification, but a powerful reminder of the supreme authority of Jesus Christ, our righteous Judge and Savior.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we come before You acknowledging that You alone are God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Forgive us for the times we try to sit on the throne of our own lives, acting as our own gods and seeking our own will above Yours. We thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, who holds all authority, justice, and salvation in His hands. Help us to live in humble submission to His truth, protecting the vulnerable and honoring Your word in all that we do. Keep our hearts guarded against pride, and anchor our faith securely in Christ alone. In His holy name, we pray. Amen.

Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Bible Study Tools I Use

• NIV Bible
• King James Bible
• www. biblegateway.com
• www.biblestudytools.com
• Map Pencils
• College Ruled Spiral Notebook
• Ballpoint Pens
• Some links may be affiliated. By purchasing an item from an affiliate link, I receive a small commission – but you are not charged more or less by clicking or purchasing through the link. Thank you for supporting me!

Some of our Post That Might Interest You, All Out of the Current Book / Chapter

1. THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH / JOHN 10:28
2. MY SHEEP LISTEN TO MY VOICE / JOHN 10:27
3. I KNOW MY SHEEP / JOHN 10:14-15
4. I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD / JOHN 10:11
5. THE THIEF COMES … I HAVE COME / JOHN 10:10
6. I AM THE GATE / JOHN 10:9
7. JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD / JOHN 10:1
8. THOSE WHO SEE WILL BECOME BLIND / JOHN 9:39
9. THEY THREW HIM OUT / JOHN 9:34
10. WORK OF GOD MIGHT BE DISPLAYED / JOHN 9:3
11. BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS BORN, I AM / JOHN 8:58
12. WILL NEVER SEE DEATH / JOHN 8:51
13. HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES / JOHN 8:44
14. IF GOD WERE YOUR FATHER / JOHN 8:42
15. YOU WILL BE FREE INDEED / JOHN 8:36
16. EVERYONE WHO SINS / JOHN 8:34
17. THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE / JOHN 8:32
18. IF YOU HOLD TO MY TEACHING / JOHN 8:31
19. I PASS JUDGMENT ON NO ONE / JOHN 8:15
20. I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD / JOHN 8:12
21. NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU / JOHN 8:11
22. IF ANY ONE OF YOU IS WITHOUT SIN / JOHN 8:7
23. JESUS HAD NOT YET BEEN GLORIFIED / JOHN 7:39
24. AS THE SCRIPTURE HAS SAID – STREAMS OF LIVING WATER / JOHN 7:38
25. GAIN HONOR FOR HIMSELF / JOHN 7:18
26. IF ANYONE CHOOSES TO DO GOD’S WILL / JOHN 7:17
27. IT HATES ME / JOHN 7:6-7
28. FEAST OF TABERNACLES / JOHN 7:2-3
29. JESUS HAD KNOWN FROM THE BEGINNING / JOHN 6:64
30. EATS MY FLESH AND DRINKS MY BLOOD / JOHN 6:54
31. THE FATHER … DRAWS HIM / JOHN 6:44
32. MY FATHER’S WILL / JOHN 6:40
33. I WILL NEVER DRIVE AWAY / JOHN 6:37
34. I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE / JOHN 6:35
35. DON’T BE AFRAID / JOHN 6:20
36. JESUS PRAYS ALONE / JOHN 6:15
37. THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND /JOHN 6:7
38. MIRACLES / JOHN 6:1-2
39. DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT HE WROTE / JOHN 5:47
40. ACCEPT PRAISE FROM ONE ANOTHER / JOHN 5:44
41. YOU DILIGENTLY STUDY / JOHN 5:39-40
42. YOU HAVE SENT JOHN / John 5:33
43. THOSE WHO HAVE DONE GOOD – RISE TO LIVE – THOSE WHO HAVE DONE EVIL / JOHN 5:29
44. HAS GRANTED THE SON TO HAVE LIFE IN HIMSELF / JOHN 5:26
45. HEARS … BELIEVES / JOHN 5:24
46. MAKING HIMSELF EQUAL WITH GOD / JOHN 5:18-24
47. PERSECUTED HIM / JOHN 5:16
48. STOP SINNING / JOHN 5:14
49. THE MAN WAS CURED / JOHN 5:9-10
50. THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS / JOHN 5:5
51. SIGNS AND WONDERS / JOHN 4:48
52. CROP FOR ETERNAL LIFE / JOHN 4:36
53. LOOK AT THE FIELDS / JOHN 4:35
54. SURPRISED TO FIND HIM TALKING WITH A WOMAN / JOHN 4:27
55. TRUTH / JOHN 4:24
56. WORSHIP … IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH / JOHN 4:23-24
57. SAMARITANS WORSHIP WHAT YOU DO NOT KNOW / JOHN 4:22
58. WATER … ETERNAL LIFE / JOHN 4:14
59. SAMARITAN WOMAN / JOHN 4:7
60. WHOEVER REJECTS / JOHN 3:36
61. GIVES THE SPIRIT WITHOUT LIMIT / JOHN 3:34
62. LOVED DARKNESS INSTEAD OF LIGHT / JOHN 3:19
63. GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD /JOHN 3:16
64. JUST AS MOSES LIFTED UP THE SNAKE / JOHN 3:14-15
65. THE WIND … THE SPIRIT / JOHN 3:8
66. BORN OF WATER / JOHN 3:5
67. BORN AGAIN / JOHN 3:3
68. TEMPLE / JOHN 2:19
69. DROVE ALL FROM THE TEMPLE AREA / JOHN 2:15
70. SIGNS / JOHN 2:11
71. CHOICE WINE – HAD TOO MUCH TO DRINK / JOHN 2:10
72. WINE – THEY HAVE NO MORE WINE / JOHN 2:3
73. YOU SHALL SEE HEAVEN OPEN / JOHN 1:51
74. CEPHAS … PETER / JOHN 1:42
75. THE FIRST THING ANDREW DID / JOHN 1:41
76. THE TENTH HOUR /JOHN 1:39
77. WILL BAPTIZE WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / JOHN 1:33
78. LAMB OF GOD / JOHN 1:29
79. PHARISEES / JOHN 1:24
80. GRACE AND TRUTH / JOHN 1:17
81. THE WORD BECAME FLESH / JOHN 1:14
82. BORN NOT OF … HUMAN DECISION / JOHN 1:13
83. RECEIVED … BELIEVED / JOHN 1:12
84. THE WORLD DID NOT RECOGNIZE HIM / JOHN 1:10
85. GIVES LIGHT TO EVERY MAN / JOHN 1:9
86. HIS NAME WAS JOHN / JOHN 1:6
87. LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS / JOHN 1:5
88. LIFE WAS THE LIGHT OF MEN / JOHN 1:4
89. WITH GOD IN THE BEGINNING / JOHN 1:2
90. THE WORD / JOHN 1:1
91. CREWS N AWAY: ANCHORED IN GRACE

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! I love having you here. If this post resonated with you, please drop a comment below and share your thoughts. See you in the next post!

Blessings, Margarita & Stace