Dangers of the “Little gods” Doctrine Exposed | Apply His Will

Beware of the false prophets, [teachers] who come to you dressed as sheep [appearing gentle and innocent], but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Matthew 7:15

The definition of beware means to be cautious and alert to risks or dangers. This passage is instructing us to be alert to not only false doctrines, but also false teachers.

Why it’s important to expose false teachings:

We are to be aware and alert because these false doctrines and false prophets are very subtle at deceiving – they won’t just blatantly deny the word of God (otherwise every Christian would know to run away from their teachings). Instead, they will twist scriptures and God’s word to slowly and subtly lead Christians astray.

Many Christians are not aware that they are being taught something that goes against the very word of God because many pastors are twisting the Word and taking scriptures out of context in order to fit their narrative.

Paul even warns in Romans 16:17 to “watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”

In order to avoid someone you must know who they are. To avoid a false teaching you must know what it is. My point in making this article is to expose and warn against the dangerous false teaching of this “little gods” doctrine that has been taught not just by the Word of Faith movement, but by many other prosperity gospel teachings. This not only brings disunity in the church, but more importantly it is leading many Christians astray.

What is the “Little gods” Doctrine?

The “little gods” doctrine basically teaches that we are gods in our own right and as “little gods” we have much power and therefore we can ask something of God in faith and He is compelled to fulfill our requests (kind of like a genie). Part of the logic used to support this heresy comes from a distorted view of creation.

GotQuestions.org explains it very well: “The basic idea behind the controversy is that humans are actually divine, created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27) not only in having a soul, having dominion over the earth, or living in relationship with others, but by being of the same “spiritual class” as God Himself. Biblical theologians decry this concept as misguided at best, and heretical and cultic at worst.”

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them

Genesis 1:27

What preachers of the little gods doctrine will do is apply the following logic to the verse:

We have the creation narrative which shows God is a creator of things that will begat, or pro-create, other things in their same nature. For example, a cow will always give forth a cow, etc. So when they reach the point of God creating man they teach and make the claim that, because everything was begat in its own nature, therefore since God is God then we must be little gods because we have his DNA.

Now it almost sounds pretty logical if it weren’t for the complete distortion of scripture and taking it out of context (once again, it happens very subtly).

Here’s the issue with that:

Let’s start with the definitions of the words create and pro-create.

Create means to put into existence. Pro-create means to beget or conceive.

God created us. We, humans, don’t create our offspring. We begat (conceive) our offspring, or pro-create them, there is a genetic passing on, but we do not create them.

It’s vital to understand that create is vastly different than pro-create. Pastor Bernie Felix gave a great example of this: “I can draw and create a picture right now, but the piece of work that I create won’t become human. I created a piece of work, but it is less than I am. What I created doesn’t have what I have because by nature a creator is never the same as the created thing.“

When God created us in His likeness and image (that’s a whole other subject we can get into), He didn’t create something of the same essence as He is, He created something less – humans. That is not the same as pro-creation where you are literally passing on your genes to someone that is just like us.

Once again, notice that this incredible distortion is very subtle. It sounds like: “You know if a dog gives birth to a dog, what did God give birth to? Mankind! Therefore we must all be little gods like he is.” It’s such a huge deception yet it is so subtle. As the Bible mentions we are to beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing because they will very subtly try to deceive believers.

The Bible says we were created. Mankind procreates. Animals procreate. When God created it was different. So, as persuasive as their false logic sounds, it is incredibly off with what the word of God actually says. When we actually pay attention to the words being used in the Bible the whole idea (little gods) becomes dismantled. The only thing God has ever begotten is His son Jesus Christ.

Where did this idea of us being “little gods” originate?

The Word of Faith movement and other similar “movements” (Prosperity Gospel, Health & Wealth, Name It & Claim It, etc.) may be new, as in acquire a new name, however, what they are teaching certainly isn’t. It goes all the way back to the beginning when Eve first bought into Satan’s original lie and promise:

Genesis 3: 4-5 says “Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God…'”

That was a lie! Man will never be like God. The lie that it’s possible for man to be like God or “little gods” has always been the original Satanic lie from the beginning. It was the very lie that brought the devil himself down!

Isaiah 14: 12-15 explains the process of Satan’s thinking which led to his fall.

I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.

Isaiah 14:14

Why the “little gods” Doctrine is wrong and dangerous:

The basis for the “little gods” doctrine is found in 2 key scriptures: Psalm 82:6 and John 10:34.

In order to get to the bottom of this teaching and understand why it’s wrong and dangerous, we must look at the context of these scriptures. Once again, you’ll notice that by looking at the actual context of these scriptures it becomes evident that the issue stems from twisting the word, taking things out of context and singling them out in order to support a false theology.

“I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.'”

Psalms 82:6

Psalms 82:6: I said, you are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.

This is the scripture most of the advocates of the “little gods” doctrine use to say “See! God even says we’re all gods!” However, a simple understanding of the context and a reading of the Psalm says something very different…

Here is the full Psalm:

Psalm 82

A psalm of Asaph.

¹ God presides in the great assembly;
    he renders judgment among the “gods”:

² “How long will you defend the unjust
    and show partiality to the wicked?
³ Defend the weak and the fatherless;
    uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
⁴ Rescue the weak and the needy;
    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

⁵ “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.
    They walk about in darkness;
    all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

⁶ “I said, ‘You are “gods”;
    you are all sons of the Most High.’
⁷ But you will die like mere mortals;
    you will fall like every other ruler.”

⁸ Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
    for all the nations are your inheritance.

If you take a close look at the Psalm you will notice that it was spoken and directed to ungodly rulers who were on the brink of judgement… I’ll let that sink in for a moment.

Let’s take a look at verse 7, “Nevertheless you will die like men And fall like any one of the princes.” (AMP) followed by verse 8 “Rise up, O God, judge the earth”

Can you see the irony? God is looking at these rulers and princes who have been giving unfair judgements (back in verse 2) and God is basically telling them to “Look in your own eyes, you think you are so powerful, you think you are gods, but you will die like men.”

As John MacArthur put it: “How can we ever single out the 6th verse and take it completely out of context and use it as an affirmation that we as Christians have become a god? On the contrary, far from confirming and affirming our “godhood” God is actually CONDEMNING them for thinking they are gods!”

Then, they point out their second go to scripture which is John 10: 34 (which is basically the repeated words from Psalms 82:6).

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”

John 10:34

Once again, to understand the meaning of this particular singled out verse we must read prior to it to understand the context.

John 10:33-34

³³ “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” ³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’?

It’s important to notice the reason and purpose behind why Jesus chose to quote this particular verse to the Jews. This verse would have been very familiar to the pharisees and they would have understood that this verse served as a condemnation for wicked rulers. So Jesus is actually echoing the irony of the original Psalm.

Walter Martin explains this very well: “Jesus mocks the people as if to say you all think you are gods yourselves, what’s one more God among you?” The irony… Jesus is basically telling them “You want to stone me for claiming to be God when you’re all claiming the same thing. What’s one more God?” It’s sarcasm.

Walter Martin also commented that “Irony is used to provoke us not to inform us. It is not a basis for building a theology.” In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Jesus is not calling them God in the true sense, He is rather using irony to tell them that they made a “god” out of themselves just like the people in Psalms 82 did when they felt the blast of God’s judgement.

I’ll end with the message God gave to the rebellious Israelites. He told them that they turn things around. Shall the potter be considered equal to the clay? Does the clay think it is equal to the potter? (Isaiah 29:16). Well, according to the “little gods” doctrine and the Word of Faith Movement (Prosperity Gospel, Name It & Claim It, Health & Wealth, etc.) the answer is yes.