"YE SHALL BE AS GODS"
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 IN THE TEMPTATION of Eve, the devil said, "Ye shall be as gods" (Genesis 3:5), "knowing good and evil." Without a doubt, the New King James rendering of this is better, "You will be like God." Behind this is the Hebrew word Elohim, which is the plural for gods. But, like in Genesis 1:1, it is here used of Almighty God, being the plural of majestic reference (as the verb "created" is singular in Genesis 1:1). Eve knew nothing of "gods" (just the one God), that came about with time and mankind’s departure from God (Romans 1:21ff). Therefore, "God" best represents what is meant here.
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 The imagination of Eve was stirred. In some way beyond her immediate human experience she could be like God. The devil is pointing her in the route he had taken. The devil had taken his eyes off of God and placed them upon himself. The rest of it is history. The devil became the devil. Even in the temptation of Jesus, the devil wants to play the role of God (Matthew 4:9,10). Paul warns about falling into the same condemnation of the devil (1 Timothy 3:6; Jude 6). And so with mankind throughout history, it is not enough to be made in the image and likeness of God, men want to be God. The devil says, "Ye shall be as gods."
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 "Ye shall be as gods" is seen in the ancient concept of the "divine right of kings," emperor worship, and in the totality of the modern, socialistic state that replaces God to control the lives of its citizens from the cradle to the grave. This can be seen in apostate religious systems wherein a man would be called "the Lord God, the pope" (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4), others being unduly exalted, and men arrogantly asserting themselves as determining the eternal destiny of their fellow mortals. Then in saying that it doesn’t make any difference what a person believes, just so he is sincere, each person becomes his own god. Humanists in times past have subtly pushed religion aside in our society, but now dropping all subtlety, they have dethroned God with an intolerance that equals that of the radical religious zealots of the past. Legally God cannot be found in the public school system. Humanism sits enthroned. If a one-world government comes, there will be no place for the recognition of God in it.
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 We could go on. Man, in essence, wants to be God. He wants to determine and take life by abortion. Reportedly having successfully cloned animal life, he wants to clone human life. Then when certain DNA and genetic codes are cracked, attention is drawn to the great discovery. Just look at our learned men. How smart they are! But the great and intricate mesh of intelligence as see in the genetic reading points to higher and supreme intelligence. It points to God. But man, who in his mind has dethroned God, will not admit this. Euthanasia and assisted suicide are gaining acceptance, already being legally accepted in some parts of the world. Job said that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away (Job 1:21), but modern man would look upon this as his prerogative as he tries to play the part of God. We are thankful for the medical profession that traditionally is devoted to life, health and healing, (but death is another thing).
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 However, there are other thoughts. Perhaps all have agreed with what has been written so far. Now let us have a closer look. All of us were made in the image and likeness of God for the glory of God (Genesis 1:27; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 42:8; 1 Corinthians 10:31). That being the case, the Lord Jesus Christ said, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness…" (Matthew 6:33). God must have first place in our lives, or no place. Anything that comes before God, in essence, becomes God to us (as it has taken the place of God). Therefore, if we leave God out of our lives or put Him in second place, living selfishly, we have become our own god. Perhaps not consciously, or even intentionally, we have succumbed to the temptation of Eve, "Ye shall become as gods." How foolish!
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 In conclusion, let us be happy and content with the exalted honor and dignity God has placed upon us. Only doubts and thoughts inspired by the devil would make us feel otherwise. Man’s elevated position and dominion are first mentioned in Genesis 1:26-28, but this is dealt with more extensively in the 8th Psalm. Fittingly the Psalm starts out by drawing attention to God, "O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Who hast set thy glory above the heavens." Then the writer considers man and his favored position. Finally in ending the Psalm, lest too much attention has been given to man, he returns to words addressed to God, "O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!"
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 Having just now quoted the first verse of this Psalm, let us begin with the third verse and go through the last verse again. May we learn to think and respond accordingly. God has so wonderfully created us and placed us in our given domain. Why would we ever in any way want to try to usurp the position and glory that are His, or even think about doing so? He is the Creator. We are the creature.
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 "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsover passeth through the paths of the sea. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
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