The Destiny of Man!

Copyright © March 1998 by Anthony Coore

It is written:

“…Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God”. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)

The truth is astounding! It is most amazing, and no doubt one of the most powerful teachings one can ever encounter. It is usually resisted, and thought to be blasphemous. And truly it does sound blasphemous on the surface. Therefore, before you dismiss it, remember these words:

“He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him”. (Prov 18:13)

As unbelievable as it may sound, the scriptural teaching is that man is to become God! This article is meant to show that this is the plain truth of the Bible. This is not derived from New Age teachings, nor from the doctrines of the Mormons, but from the Bible itself.

First of all, it might be helpful to understand what becoming God does not mean. It does not mean man will replace or displace God the Father, or Jesus Christ. It does not mean man will become the Father, or Jesus Christ.

WHO AND WHAT IS GOD?

Before one can grasp the truth of mankind’s destiny, one must first understand who and what God is. It is this lack of understanding that has caused many to stumble and deny their potential, and the power of God.

When the Bible refers to God, it is in most cases speaking of the being who is in supreme authority. This being is the Father of Jesus Christ. But the scriptures show that Jesus is also God. Obviously there can only be one being in supreme authority. Now Jesus is not the Father. The Father and Jesus are two beings.¹ So how then is Jesus God?

Jesus is God, not in the sense of being the ultimate authority, but in the sense of nature. He is the same kind of being as the Father. Just as in a human family, the son is not the father, but the son is a human being as is the father. Jesus is not the Father, but He like the Father, is a God being.

Let us look at John 1:1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God…”

Here two beings are spoken of. One is called the Word, and the other is called God.

“…and the Word was God”.

This is not saying that the Word is the same being referred to as God before. It is simply showing what the Word is – what the nature of the Word is.

In the Greek text (from which the New Testament is translated), there is the definite article before the word “God” in the first instance it is used in John 1:1. In the second instance, there is no definite article. This confirms that the meaning of the verse is not that the Word is the same being referred to as God first, but that the Word is God in nature.

Philippians 2:6 supports this.

“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God”

Here it is plain that Jesus, before he became human, was God in nature.

Now notice the following scriptures.

Hebrews 1:3

“Who [Christ] being the brightness of his [the Father’s] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high”.

2 Corinthians 4:4

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them”.

Colossians 1:15

“Who [Christ] is the image of the invisible God…”

These scriptures say plainly that Jesus is the image of God the Father. Being the image of the Father, who is God, He represents the Father completely, and has the exact nature of the Father. If one acknowledges that the Father is God, then one must also acknowledge that Jesus is God, since He and His Father are completely alike. The only difference is in authority. But in regard to the kind of being Jesus is, He is of the same kind as God the Father, being the exact image of God.

It should be clear then why Jesus could say the following:

“…he that hath seen me hath seen the Father…” (John 14:9)

He was still human when he said this, so He is essentially saying that His personality and character were representative of the Father’s. But Jesus returned to His former state, the state He was in before His birth, when He was resurrected (John 17:5). Therefore He is completely like God the Father now, not just in character, but in form and substance. He is no longer human, but is now God.

Is Jesus another God?

Whenever the bible speaks of other gods, it is talking about beings, or objects, or whatever that divert worship from the true God.

Jesus does not divert worship from the Father. Since He is the image of the Father, whatever honour He receives, naturally goes to the Father also. Jesus is a true and complete representation of all that the Father is. He is in complete submission to His Father, so He does not stand in opposition or as a rival to God the Father. So Jesus is not another God, but He is another God being.

It was necessary to establish who and what Jesus is, because it is evident that whatever Jesus is, is what man will become. So if you can see that Jesus is God (ie. a God being), then you should be able to see that man can become God.

GENESIS REVEALS POTENTIAL

In the book of Genesis, the awesome potential of man is revealed, but few ever grasp it.
God created plants after their “kind” and the various animals after their “kind”. Notice now when it is time for the creation of man what God says.

Which kind did God make man after?

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Gen 1:26)

First of all, notice the plurality. Notice that there is more than one involved in the creation, and that these beings are of the same kind.

John 1:1-3 reveals that these beings are the Father, and the one who became Jesus Christ. Ephesians 3:9, and Colossians 1:16 also confirm this.

Again, which kind did God make man after?

You might ask why the words “image” and “likeness” are used as opposed to the word “kind” as used in the previous verses. Understand that mankind is not Godkind yet. When God made Adam, God did not create another God being. What was created was a potential God being. Man is now in the image of God. If God was to be translated from the spiritual realm, to the physical realm, His natural appearance would resemble that of a human being. Before man can be translated into the spiritual realm and be fully of the Godkind, he must first bear the image of God in character.

Genesis 1:26 does mean that God made man to be like God.

DOCTRINE OF THE DEVIL??

While we are in the book of Genesis, let us examine one common objection. Some refuse to accept the truth of man’s destiny, because they think it is a doctrine of Satan. They say the teaching that man is to become God originated with Satan, and since Satan is the Father of lies, then it cannot be true.

Well, let us see what Satan said. Notice first though, that Gen 1:26 took place before the Devil’s discourse with Eve. So even if it is true that Satan said we can become God, the concept did not originate with him.

Genesis 3:4-5

“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil”.

It is true that Satan is a liar. But he is also the greatest deceiver. He does not come with an outright lie, or else he wouldn’t be too effective. He mixes truth with lies, so that his teaching seems right.

Now he said to Eve that she would become “as gods”, knowing good and evil, and that she would not die. His lie is that she would not die. That was a direct contradiction of what God had said (see Gen 2:17). That she would become as God knowing good and evil, was a true statement however. If you doubt this, just look at what God said.

“And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil…” (Gen 3:22)

So then part of what Satan said was true. One need not fear that the truth of man’s destiny sounds close to what Satan said, for we can trust God.

BROTHERS OF JESUS CHRIST

Let us now return to examining the scriptures concerning man’s destiny.

Romans 8:29 is probably the clearest text that shows what man will become.

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren”.

Did you grasp it?

We are to be conformed to the image of Jesus (who is the image of the Father). We are already in the image of God in one sense, but this shows that we still need to have the character of Christ, who has the character of God the Father. The latter part of the verse is even more revealing. It is clear that those who are conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, will be siblings of Jesus, with Jesus being the firstborn. This not only shows that a family relationship exists among Jesus, the Father, and those conformed to the image of Christ, but that there will be more beings added to the God kind. Jesus being the firstborn, implies that the others will have the same nature; they will be the same kind of being.

Remember that Jesus being the image of the Father, is the same kind of being as God the Father, and portrays the Father completely. Therefore when we are fully conformed to the image of Christ, we will be the same kind of being as are Jesus and the Father, and we will portray the Father completely.

Verse 17 of the same chapter adds support to this, as it shows that we will share the inheritance and glory of Christ.

Hebrews chapter 2 also bears the truth of man’s destiny. Verses 5 through 7 show that man is now a little lower than the angels, but the world to come is not for the angels, but for mankind who will then be elevated. Verse 8 shows that all things will be in subjection to us!

Now read carefully verse 10

“For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings”.

So we see then that there are to be more beings just like Jesus Christ.

“For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren” (vs 11).

It is plain that we are to really become of one nature with Christ, and so ultimately the same kind of being that He is. Go through the entire chapter of Hebrews 2 yourself, and observe that whatever Jesus is, that we can be.

PARTAKERS OF DIVINITY

The apostle Peter testified that those called of God do share in the divine nature of God and Christ now.

“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”. (2 Pet 1:4)

Verses 5 through to 11 show that we must continue to grow in the divine nature to make our calling and election sure, so we will be granted entrance into the Kingdom of God.

The ultimate result of partaking of the divine nature is the transformation from human to God. Other scriptures make this clear.

See Philippians 3:21 for example.

“Who [Jesus] shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself”.

As shown previously, man is to be conformed to the image of Christ. We are meant to have the same character as God. Now the above scripture shows that even our body will be changed to be just like Christ’s own, and Christ is in the form of God (see also 1 Cor 15:49). If our character is to image God’s, and our appearance and substance is to be changed to be just like God’s, then what will be the difference between the kind of being God is, and what we will become? Absolutely nothing!

SONS OF GOD

Let us now examine a scripture that has meaning that very few catch.

John 1:12:

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name”.

Amazing as it might sound, this scripture is saying that those who receive Christ are given power to become God beings!

As so many other scriptures bear out, we are to become sons of God in the same sense that Jesus is a son of God. It is true that angels are referred to as “sons of God” (Job 38), and Adam is called “the son of God” (Luke 3:38). The reason for this is that they were all created by God directly; they did not come about by reproduction.

Jesus however is a son of God in a different sense. The following scriptures should suffice to show Jesus is not a son in the sense that the angels are sons.

Mark 12:6

“Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son”.

(The above is from a parable Jesus spoke. But the son represents Jesus, and the one who sent him, the Father. Notice it speaks of his “one son”.)

Hebrews 1:4-5

“Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son”

See also verses 6 to 14.

Clearly Jesus is a son in a far superior way than the angels.

Jesus being a son means that He is of the same kind as the Father. When the Father sent Jesus into the world, He was sacrificing the only other being of His kind (His only begotten son). So those given power to become sons of God, are given power to become God beings, as it is clear from the overall testimony of scripture, that they (those given the power) are to be sons in the same sense that Jesus is a son of God.

But doesn’t the Bible say christians are already sons (children) of God? Are christians then God beings now?

True, christians are said to be children of God now. But no, christians are not yet God beings. The Father-son relationship already exists between God and christians, but we have not yet reached our ultimate state.

John makes this clear.

“Beloved, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God…

“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” (1 John 3:1-2).

(This scripture also shows that we will be just like Christ who is just like God the Father. It also shows that we are to be sons in the same sense that Jesus is.)

Paul also shows that now we are the children of God (Rom 8:16), yet the creation awaits the manifestation of the sons of God (Rom 8:19)

It seems obvious, in the light of all these scriptures, that God is indeed reproducing Himself.

There are certainly more scriptures that testify to the truth that man is to become God. If you are able to receive this truth now, you will undoubtedly spot them the more you study the Bible.

CONCLUSION

Let us just recap a few of the important points.

The Father and Jesus are God. Jesus is God in that He is the same kind of being as His Father. Human beings have the potential to become the sons of God in the same sense that Jesus is. Those who become sons of God will share the glory and inheritance of Christ. They will be conformed to the image of Jesus who is the image of God, making them the same kind of being as the Father and Jesus are.

The conclusion is inevitable. God is reproducing Himself; man was made to become God. To deny this is to deny the testimony of God. To reject this, is to reject a vital message of the Bible.

Is not the truth most inspiring?
Why should anyone settle for less than God life? No religion can possibly offer anything better than what God offers as expounded in this article. For there is no possible offer that can exceed the offer of God life. The best any religion can do is equal it. May God help you fulfill your potential.

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1. Scripture is very clear that Jesus and the Father are two distinct beings. See the following scriptures for example: John 8:17-18, John 15:24, Rom 1:7, 1Cor 1:3, 2Cor 1:2-3, 1John1:3. But didn’t Jesus say that He and His Father are one? Yes, but He also prayed that His disciples be one as He and His Father are one (John 17:11)!

All scriptures were taken from the King James version, unless otherwise stated.

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