Have you ever contemplated whether it is fair to God for humans to become God? You probably haven't — it's a bold question. Being converted, your immediate response might be, "That's not the right kind of question to ask!"
Herbert W. Armstrong has often commented about how the truth of becoming God seemed at first so unacceptably bold to him that he could not bring himself to preach it. He thought it sounded blasphemous.
Sometimes people who are not converted run in where "angels fear to tread," so to speak. This question was actually asked some years ago by a Plain Truth reader when I was working in the Personal Correspondence Department. Believe it or not, it is a good question, and one we can learn from, once we get the wording squared away.
It is not a matter of what sounds fair, of course. That is applying human reason to arrive at doctrine and truth — an unsound approach. God says we will become God in many places in the Scriptures, and so we will, no doubt about it.
From the beginning, the two Beings in the God Family said, "Let us make man in our image" (Gen. 1:26). We are called the children of God, "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:17). All of God's sons and daughters have the promise, the hope of being brought "unto glory." The theme of the purpose for human life is unmistakable.
But do not dismiss this important question for the sake of its improper approach. The person was thinking this way: "There exists God and His Son. The two of them have great power, awesome authority and responsibility beyond any other spirit or life that we know of. The name God means supreme in all authority, the pinnacle of majesty in all existence."
So far, this reasoning is quite scriptural. "Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any" (Isa. 44:8). "I am the Lord and there is none else, there is no God beside me . . . Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else" (Isa. 45:5, 22).
But the questioner also picked up on the theme of the human potential from our literature. "The Church of God teaches that humans can become God," the reasoning continued. "So instead of two supreme Beings, there could conceivably be billions. Now, is that fair to God? He is now supreme, unchallenged. But you say there could be billions of other supreme Gods. That seems to lessen God's position."
How would you answer his question? Does it lessen God's position to add thousands and eventually billions to His Family?
God is called our Father. He is the Head of the Family called God. There is no other Father of the Family besides Him! Humans who become converted are begotten as the children of the Father. They will, for the most part, go on to become born into the Family of the Father.
Now, ask yourself, was your father's position as head of the family lessened or threatened when you were born? Indeed not. His family increased. Like as not the proud father was on the phone with the good news of a new son or daughter. Rather than a threat to your father's "supremacy," the birth of a child was a cause for celebration and joy!
When children are born to a father, his office is strengthened. The more sons and daughters there are, the larger the family is, and father is still father — more so than ever!
Is the father of a family of 15 children in a lesser position than the father of one child? Is he less of a father? Not at all. There are 14 more individuals, of equal kind, who all love. and respect their father.
So when our Father in heaven has first thousands and then billions born into His Family, added to His Son Christ, He will have that many more of equal kind who will for all eternity still look up to Him, and love and respect Him as Father of the God Family.
Once understood, the truth of the positive destiny of mankind complements the Father and Christ. No matter how many sons and daughters are added to the Family, the Father will always be the Father and Christ the eldest Son. That increases their authority, responsibility and position.
What a Family! There is no unfairness in that, but rather, as in the human family, cause for great joy.