To Whom the Word of God Came
Jesus Himself explains that the "gods" of Psalm 82 are men to whom the word of God came, not heavenly beings.
Two other clusters build on this: The One God Is the Father and The Two Gardens.
Scripture shows this in two steps:
Once the Jews picked up stones to stone Jesus. They said, “thou, being a man, makest thyself God” (John 10:33). Jesus answered them from a psalm that calls certain people “gods.” Who were those “gods”? Some teach that they were spirit beings, a council of gods around the Most High. But Jesus tells us Himself who they were, and His answer settles it.
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?”
John 10:34-36
“I said, Ye are gods.” These words are found in only one place in the Old Testament: Psalm 82:6. So that is the verse Jesus is quoting.
Then He adds something that is not in the psalm. He explains who these “gods” are: those “unto whom the word of God came.” That is His own explanation. The word of God came to them. They received it. People receive the word of God. Spirit beings in a heavenly council do not.
And look at how His answer works. They said He was a man making Himself God. He answers: Scripture itself calls men “gods,” men who received God’s word. So why is it blasphemy for the one the Father set apart and sent to say, “I am the Son of God”? This answer only works if the “gods” in the psalm are men. If they were heavenly beings, it would not answer the charge at all.
Notice what Jesus claims. Not “I am God,” but “I am the Son of God.” The one “whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world.”
Psalm 82:6
“I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.”
Psalm 82:6
This is the verse Jesus quoted. Read on its own, someone might think these “gods” are beings in heaven. But Jesus has already told us who they are. They are the people to whom the word of God came: the judges of Israel. They were men who were given God’s word and set to judge His people. Jesus reasons from them to Himself.
What this means
Christ’s own reading of the psalm is the one that counts. The “gods” of Psalm 82 were human judges, not spirit beings. People receive the word of God. Heavenly beings in a council do not. And Jesus’ answer to the charge of blasphemy only works if those “gods” were men. So the idea of a council of gods in Psalm 82 cannot stand.
Jesus did not answer the charge by saying, “Yes, I am God.” He said, “I am the Son of God,” and He showed from Scripture that God Himself had called men “gods” before.
“The scripture cannot be broken.” When Jesus explains a verse, I do not need to look for a better explanation somewhere else.
Connected chains
This cluster goes hand in hand with Sons of God Are Believers, Not Fallen Angels and Israel Is Spiritual.