Was God a Man?
One of the more peculiar doctrines about God is found in the Mormon faith, which says He used to be a
human just like you and me. Their prophet, Joseph Smith, said, “God himself was once as we are now, and is an
exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret” (History of the Church, VI:305). “He
was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ
Himself did; and I will show it from the Bible.” “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's;
the Son also” (Doctrine & Covenants 130:22). They believe we each existed for thousands of years as a spirit
before we came to earth to possess a body. Our goal in life, they claim, should be to progress to the level of
godhood—where we’ll be as gods one day. “As man is, God once was; as God is, man may be” (The Life of
Lorenzo Snow, p. 46).
The Bible says God is Spirit (John 4:24), which Jesus said “does not have flesh and bones” (Luke
24:39). The godhead is not three separate Gods, but one God made up of three persons (1 Pet. 1:2; Matt. 3:1617). There is no chance of you and I “progressing” into deity one day. For one, God is eternal and has always
existed (Psa. 90:2); our existence began in this life (Gen. 1:27). Furthermore, even Jesus Himself will not become
as the Father. The Bible says, “Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be
subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28). If He’s not part of this
“eternal progression” into “godhood” (to become a Father Himself), and He’s God (Heb. 1:8), what makes us
think that filthy sinners as ourselves will accomplish it?
Was God a man? Will man become a God? Blasphemy! If you want to entrust your eternal soul to the
writings of men, have at it. I choose to put my faith in the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16-17), which warns, “Beware lest
anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic
principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:8). –Mike Thomas
Live Radio Program on Sundays at 10:15 a.m. on 106.3 F.M.
Beaver Dam Church of Christ
www.beaverdamchurch.com