Many Muslims and Jews (and even some Christians) claim that all three monotheistic Abrahamic faiths worship the same God. This question is more than academic; it has deep implications for interfaith dialogue, personal faith, and our understanding of God’s nature. Are we merely using different names for the same divine Being, or do our beliefs point to fundamentally distinct realities? From an Orthodox Christian perspective, the answer is not just about monotheism, but about how God has revealed Himself—and how that revelation shapes our worship, our prayers, and our lives. The short answer is no, we do not worship the same God. But the reasons why are rooted in history, scripture, and the very essence of Orthodox theology.
6 minutes
Clarifying the terms
To begin, it’s important to clarify what we mean by “the same God.” The question is not simply about the use of the word “God” or a vague belief in a higher power. It is about the identity, nature, and revelation of God as understood in the life and worship of each faith. The discussion is less about language overlap and more about profound differences in belief and experience.
While Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are monotheistic religions asserting there is only one God, they each understand God’s identity in profoundly different ways. For example, Christians proclaim God as Trinity, while Jews and Muslims insist on the absolute oneness of God. This divergence means that, even if similar language is used, the realities behind those words are not the same. Within Christianity itself, there are also differing emphases and theological approaches. Yet, the Orthodox tradition holds fast to the revelation of God as both transcendent and immanent, personal yet beyond comprehension. This foundational difference, especially concerning the Trinity, sets the Orthodox Christian understanding apart.
The Orthodox Christian understanding of God
In the Orthodox Christian Church, we worship the One True God, who revealed Himself to His people not as a distant or abstract principle, but as living, personal, and relational. The God of Orthodoxy is at once wholly other—transcending all creation—and yet comes near to us in love, inviting us into communion.
Related: Teachings of the Orthodox Church
Orthodox theology emphasizes this paradox: God is both unknowable in His essence and intimately accessible through His energies and grace. The defining difference between Christian and non-Christian monotheism is God’s revelation as Trinity, a truth that shapes every aspect of Orthodox worship and experience.
The mystery of the Holy Trinity
Orthodox Christians worship a single God who is at once one and three. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the Trinity is not a philosophical puzzle but a lived reality. Each divine Person (hypostasis) is fully and truly God, sharing one divine essence. Yet they exist in a relationship of perfect love and unity. It is through this communion of love that Orthodox Christians understand God. Not as an isolated monad, but as a dynamic community. We experience the Trinity in every aspect of Orthodox worship, from the opening invocation of prayers to the Church’s entire sacramental life. In the Eucharist, Baptism, and every blessing, the Church confesses and encounters the Triune God. When we meet the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit, we meet the One God whose very being is love shared eternally.
Judaism and Islam: Unitarian Monotheism
Modern Judaism and Islam both reject the Christian dogma of the Holy Trinity. Instead, they emphasize the indivisible unity of God. For Jews, God revealed Himself as the Lord of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. However, they claim He did not reveal Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For Muslims, God (Allah) is utterly one, without partner or equal. They consider the very idea of God having a Son blasphemous. Furthermore, neither Judaism nor Islam teaches that God entered into human history by becoming incarnate. Judaism rejects Jesus Christ as the Messiah and rejects his divinity. And while Islam honors Jesus (Isa) as a great prophet, it also firmly denies his divinity, crucifixion, and resurrection.
The absence of the Incarnation and Trinity means that the God encountered in Jewish and Muslim worship is fundamentally different from the God revealed in Christ.
The uniqueness of Christian faith
Christianity alone claims that God, out of love for humankind, became incarnate in Jesus Christ. This is not a mere theological detail—it is the foundation of Christian worship and hope.
Judaism reveres the God of Israel but does not see Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy or as divine. Islam acknowledges Jesus as the Messiah but only in a prophetic sense, denying any participation in the divine life. The Orthodox belief that human beings are invited to share, by grace, in God’s own life (theosis/salvation) is not only absent but rejected outright in both Judaism and Islam. Thus, the Orthodox doctrine of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, united in love, reaching out to creation—is utterly unique and non-negotiable.
Christ proclaimed, “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). For Orthodox Christians, this is more than an exclusive claim—it is the heart of Christian revelation. The fullness of God’s self-disclosure is given uniquely in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son, who reveals the Father by the Holy Spirit. To know God in the Orthodox sense is to be united to Christ in faith, worship, and sacrament. The God confessed in Orthodoxy cannot be reduced to the unitary conceptions of Judaism or Islam, for He is known only in and through the Trinity.
The implications for worship and life
The Triune God is both Creator and Redeemer. He is Love incarnate, who enters human history not only to reveal Himself, but to heal, save, and transform. In Christ, God sets the pattern for our own lives: turning the other cheek, loving enemies, and serving the least among us. Orthodox spirituality is rooted in this divine-human relationship, calling believers to ascetic struggle, repentance, prayer, and acts of charity. Through the Holy Sacraments, Christ unites us to His death and resurrection, giving us a foretaste of the Kingdom and the promise of eternal communion. The doctrine of the Trinity is not abstract speculation but the foundation of Christian hope and joy: through Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection, we are lifted from corruption and death into participation in God’s own life.
Conclusion
To worship the Triune God—the God revealed in Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for the life of the world—is to embrace a unique and transformative relationship. This worship is not merely the rejection of other gods, but the joyful affirmation of the One God who is love, who invites all people into communion. In doing so, Orthodox Christians affirm the absolute distinctiveness of their faith, even as they seek to engage the world with humility and compassion.
Keep Reading: Is God Faithful to Israel?
12 Responses
Hi there It says that muslims are look for al masih as their messiah, I dont believe they say that as they dont except Dajjal As a prophet
Jesus christ is god fully man and fully god the god man who died for our sins to redeem us and forgive us and make a way for us to go to heaven by his works on the cross and not by what we can do or our good deeds
We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. islam has gotten it wrong. Mohammed did not even write the Koran he had others write them down since Mohammed was a illiterate man and could not read or write
As a muslim I have questions for you:
1. Did Moses write the Torah? He didn’t because Qur’nn informed Torah was revealed in a physical book when Moses went to Mt Sinai, after he escaped from Egypt with the children of Israil.
2. Did Jesus himself write the bible? How can you still convinced that all bible are really the teaching of Jesus himself?
3. Yes Prophet Muhammad can’t read or write as God’s wanted to showed humanity he is not talking from his own tongue but only by God’s permission through Angel Jibril. The qur’an was revealed for at least 23 years. Written, read and also memorized by many of the Companion. As a way to preserve it. We muslim not just can trace the authenticity of the ayah in the quran but also the authenticity of the hadith (words/actions of the hadith). How can you guys preserve the authenticity of your own scriptures?
Fan,
Christ is in our midst. He is and ever shall be! Allow us to address your questions:
1. Moses, indeed, was the primary author of the Torah. There were other authors in addition to Moses, who made updates to the Torah as the Hebrew language developed and continued the texts after Moses’ death in Deuteronomy 34.
2. We assume here by “Bible” that you mean the New Testament. In either case, no, Christ Himself did not write the New Testament or any books of the Bible. We can confirm that the New Testament contains the authentic teachings of Christ through several lines of evidence, including the accuracy and abundance of ancient manuscripts, the historical reliability of the four Gospels as eyewitness accounts or accounts based on them, and the internal consistency of the message across different New Testament books. Additionally, external sources like archaeological evidence and the testimony of non-Christian historians confirm the existence of key figures and locations in the books of the New Testament, and the transformative power of Jesus’ teachings themselves is seen as evidence of their authenticity.
3. The Church preserves the authenticity of the Scriptures, as the Body of Christ that compiled and canonized them. We won’t even get into how many sahih hadiths there are in the Islamic faith that flat out contradict the Qur’an.
May the One God in Trinity bless you and keep you.
Sir you are saying do as you please as the “God Man” died for your sins and not even good deeds are required…
Forget about others, I would take a serious look into what you are preaching friend Murders, rapist etc get a free pass according to your statements???
Joey,
Christ is in our midst. We are not saying “do as you please”. Belief in Jesus Christ requires repentance of the sins one has committed; that means changing your life, feeling genuine remorse, and actively working to never commit those sins again. Belief in Jesus Christ also requires that we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him (Matthew 16:24). Christianity calls us to be like Jesus Christ, to love others and serve them, and when we commit a sin, to repent of that sin. God bless.
I think this is commonly misunderstood. We are given the chance to saved from all of our sins (translated as mistakes) but, it’s not a free ride. Repentance and turning away from sin is the critical element of this forgiveness. Simply put, you can’t keep sinning and receive the atonement of Jesus. Repentance is the hinge, truly being sorry for your sins and turning from them is where the forgiveness is available.
Ti’s true and it says the son shall not pay for the sins of the father nor the father pay for the sins of the son. It says in Jeremiah chapter 7 that Adonoi did not teach sacrifice to the children of Israel when the cam out of Egypt. Which means someone else did. It also means that all the verses in the old testament that says repent and be saved is all he ask. Sacrifice could never save because Adonoi expected men to change to become like him. King David said take not thy holy spirit away in psalms the breath of Adonoi is our life and if the Lord takes it we are no longer his. We are dead. The message has always been clear it’s repent humble yourselves love your neighbor it’s all in the old testament. The way of salvation has never changed nor has the redeemer changed his spiritual self to human. For God is spirit and man must have the spirit that is the holy spirit to be alive. The breath of Adonoi. One sins he must repent to stay in connection with the Creator. Works has always shown who a man is. Righteousness is morally good works. The word righteous means moral so the unrighteous are immoral. The Roman’s have given man a man to worship. Get you a concordance and get on your knees before the Lord and say I need wisdom truth and understanding for the world is wicked and quick to deceive.
https://www.oca.org/reflections/fr.-john-breck/whats-in-a-name
You’re contradicting my spiritual father and the OCA
Deborah,
Christ is in our midst! Thank you for your comment. We must make an important distinction before we address Father John’s comments in the article you shared: one priest’s article on the OCA website does not equate to the doctrinal position of an entire diocese. At most, this discrepancy entails that our article contradicts the opinions of two priests (possibly one if Father John happens to also be your spiritual father).
Regardless, Father John is correct in his assessment of Islam and its stark differences from Christianity; we have not contradicted him in that regard and agree with all he has said. What he says regarding Judaism, however, is not quite correct. The “God of Moses, Isaiah, and John the Baptist” is indeed the God of Jesus, the Apostles, and all Orthodox Christians: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our God has always been One and Three, but Judaism rejects this concept. They believe God is One, but not Three. They reject Christ as the Messiah and as the Son of God. They reject the divinity of the Holy Spirit. Jews themselves will assert that our God and their God are not the same. We cannot possibly worship the same God when the Jews fundamentally reject who God is. We hope this helps clear things up for you. God bless.
Could we say that we worship and know God in fullness of the Trinity. So we know Him fully. That these other faiths know God partially, incomplete, imperfectly?
Sam,
Christ is in our midst! In a sense. However, such a statement muddies the waters, as though the God of Christians is the same as the god of Jews and Muslims. Indeed, when we say this, many Muslims and Jews may respond by saying that we do, in essence, believe in the same One True God and just disagree as to His nature/character/etc. However, Jesus Christ is God. Therefore if one believes in a god that is not Jesus Christ, regardless of the “face” that god wears, that god is not the One True God in Trinity. It is not even an imperfect or incomplete rendition. Such might be said of the Jesus Christ we see in many Protestant circles, or even in Roman Catholicism. But Islam and Judaism utterly reject the divinity of Christ, and so doing, reject the One True God. Does this make sense? God bless!