The One God: Divine Oneness Across the Abrahamic Faiths
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all confess one sovereign Creator. Their scriptures share a powerful monotheistic foundation, but they divide over whether Jesus and the Holy Spirit belong within the identity of the one God.
The foundational confession of the Abrahamic faiths is not that God is one option among many. God is the sole Creator, without rival, and therefore alone deserves worship. The central disagreement begins only when Christianity includes Jesus and the Holy Spirit within that one divine identity.
The confession at the center: God is one
The most important comparison begins with the Shema, continues in the teaching of Jesus, and appears again in the Quran.
“Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
Deuteronomy 6:4 can also be rendered “the LORD alone.” In its immediate context, divine oneness is not an abstract number. Israel must love God with the whole heart, soul, and strength and must not follow other gods.
“The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!’”
In Mark 12:29–34, Jesus identifies the Shema as the first commandment. The scribe answers that God is one and that there is no other, and Jesus approves his understanding.
Your God is One God, there is no god but He; the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.
Al-Baghawi explains “one” here as having no peer and no partner. Al-Wasit connects God’s oneness to His exclusive right to worship. The verse joins majesty to mercy: the one God is the Most Merciful and Most Compassionate.
| Torah | Gospel | Quran |
|---|---|---|
| The LORD our God, the LORD is one or alone (Deuteronomy 6:4). | Jesus repeats the Shema as the first commandment (Mark 12:29). | Your God is One God; there is no god but He (Quran 2:163). |
| Love God with all the heart, soul, and might. | Love God wholly and love one’s neighbor. | Serve the sole Creator, who alone possesses divinity. |
Judaism: unity without division or incarnation
“Before Me no god was formed, and after Me none shall exist.”
Isaiah 43:10–11 excludes a divine predecessor, successor, or competing savior. Isaiah 44:6 similarly declares that God is the first and the last and that no god exists beside Him. Isaiah 45:5–6 repeats the same claim to the nations.
Maimonides later formulates this unity philosophically. God is not one member of a class and not a body divisible into parts. His unity is unlike created unity. Classical Judaism therefore does not treat God’s word, wisdom, spirit, or presence as additional persons within God, and it does not include Jesus within the divine identity.
Christianity: one God understood as triune
The New Testament preserves the Jewish confession of one God. Jesus repeats the Shema; John 17:3 calls the Father “the only true God”; 1 Timothy 2:5 declares one God and one mediator; and James 2:19 says that believing God is one is correct.
Other New Testament passages give Jesus extraordinary divine language or place Father, Son, and Spirit together. John 1 calls the Word God and says that the Word became flesh. Thomas addresses the risen Jesus as “My Lord and my God.” Matthew 28:19 names Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in baptism. First Corinthians 8:6 names one God, the Father, and one Lord, Jesus Christ.
Mainstream Christianity eventually interpreted these passages through the doctrine of the Trinity: one undivided divine essence existing as three genuinely distinct persons. Christianity therefore rejects the accusation that it worships three gods. In its own theological grammar, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit do not divide the divine being among themselves.
Islam: one, unique, self-sufficient, and incomparable
Say: “He is Allah, the One and Unique; Allah, Who is in need of none and of Whom all are in need; He neither begot any nor was He begotten, and none is comparable to Him.”
Al-Wasit interprets this surah as affirming God’s oneness in His essence, attributes, and actions while denying composition, dependence, parentage, and any comparable being. Al-Baghawi records explanations of al-Samad that emphasize complete perfection, enduring independence, and the dependence of creation upon God.
Such is Allah, your Lord. There is no god but He - the Creator of all things. Serve Him alone - for it is He Who is the guardian of everything.
The Quran makes creation the basis of worship: because God alone creates and sustains all things, worship belongs to Him alone. Quran 21:22 and 23:91 also argue that multiple gods would produce rival sovereignty and disorder.
Quran 4:171 calls Jesus the Messiah, God’s messenger, His word conveyed to Mary, and a spirit from Him. It then rejects saying “Three,” declares that God is one, and denies divine sonship. Al-Baghawi and Al-Wasit interpret “His word” as Jesus being created by God’s command and “a spirit from Him” as a spirit originating by God’s command—not a portion of the divine being.
Where the three faiths agree
| Question | Shared answer | Principal disagreement |
|---|---|---|
| How many ultimate Creators exist? | One sovereign source and Creator of all things. | Whether Jesus participates eternally in the Creator’s identity. |
| Who deserves ultimate worship? | God alone; idolatry and divine rivals are rejected. | Whether worship directed to Jesus is worship of the one God. |
| Is God comparable to creation? | God transcends created limitations and dependencies. | Whether the transcendent God may assume a human nature. |
| Is oneness only an idea? | No. It requires loyalty, love, worship, and obedience. | How faithfulness to the one God is expressed through each covenant. |
The three traditions therefore share a real monotheistic foundation. But “one God” does not erase their disagreement. The decisive issue is whether Jesus belongs inside the identity of that one God or stands as the Messiah and messenger sent by Him.
That question requires a separate textual and historical investigation. Continue with Is Jesus God? What the Scriptures Actually Say.
Conclusion
Oneness is a claim upon the whole person.
The Shema commands wholehearted love. Jesus repeats it as the first commandment. The Quran joins God’s oneness to His exclusive right to worship. Across the traditions, monotheism is not merely counting correctly; it is refusing every rival that competes with God for worship, trust, fear, obedience, and love.
The shared confession is one God. The unresolved question is whom that confession includes.
Scripture and research references
- Deuteronomy 6:4–5, including the traditional “one” rendering and the “alone” translation. Source
- Isaiah 43:10–11; 44:6; and 45:5–6 on the absence of any other God. Source
- Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Foundations of the Torah 1:7, on divine unity and indivisibility. Source
- Rashi on Genesis 1:26 and the traditional Jewish reading of “Let us make.” Source
- Mark 12:28–34, where Jesus repeats the Shema. Source
- John 17:1–5 and 1 Corinthians 8:4–6 on the one God, the Father, and Jesus Christ. Source
- The Catholic Catechism’s formal explanation of one God in three persons. Source
- Quran 2:163 in Maududi’s Tafhim al-Quran translation. Source
- Quran 4:171 on Jesus, divine oneness, and the rejection of saying “Three.” Source
- Surah al-Ikhlas, Quran 112:1–4, in Maududi’s Tafhim al-Quran translation. Source