The argument that Muslims, Jews, and Christians worship the same God is often based on their shared historical and theological roots as Abrahamic religions. This “same God” claim is further supported by 1) a shared monotheism, 2) overlapping attributes of God, and 3) the belief that God has spoken through prophets. Moreover, Muslims affirm the historical existence of Jesus as a prophet.
But are these points sufficient to conclude that New Covenant believers worship the same God as Muslims or Jews? The answer depends on how we define what it means to worship the “same God.” If God is known only as He has truly revealed Himself, then a false understanding of God is not merely incomplete—it is a misidentification of who He is. Therefore, He is NOT the same God.
Let us begin with the shared Abrahamic past. Scripture affirms that the promise of justification by faith was first given to Abraham: “And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6). New Covenant believers are rightly called sons and daughters of Abraham (Gal 3). Yet, this shared lineage does not settle the question. The issue is not shared history, but whether God is known as He has revealed Himself.
At this point, the differences are not minor—they are essential. Scripture teaches that God justifies sinners through faith in Christ while remaining just: “…so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:26). Both Judaism and Islam reject this. This is not a secondary detail about God; it is central to who He is as the one who saves. A conception of God that denies this directly contradicts God’s self-revelation.
Jesus makes this even clearer in John 8. Speaking to the most theologically orthodox Jews of His day, He declares, “If God were your Father, you would love me… You are of your father the devil” (John 8:42, 44). This establishes a necessary principle: one cannot reject the Son and still claim to know or worship the Father.
Jesus further teaches, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). These are not optional qualities of worship but necessary conditions. Yet both Judaism and Islam reject Christ—the one through whom the Spirit is given and through whom the truth about God is revealed. To reject Christ is not merely to differ in interpretation; it is to lack both the Spirit and the truth required for true worship.
The issue, then, is not whether people use the same name for God or share certain beliefs about Him. The issue is whether God is known as He has revealed Himself. Where the Son is denied, the Father is not known. Where the Spirit is not received, true worship does not occur.
Therefore, Muslims and Jews do not worship the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the one true and living God revealed in Scripture. The differences are not peripheral but essential, because they concern the very identity of God Himself.
