No, the God of Islam is not the same as the God of Christianity and the Bible. In Christianity God is explained as being of three natures. That concept is known as the Trinity. Simply, it is God the father who created us, Jesus, his son, who lived among us, and the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Islam rejects the idea that God is three in one. It is not possible for God to be a Trinity and not Trinity at the same time.
Islam denies the Trinity and teaches that God has no Son. In the Quran, the holy book of Islam, in Surah 5:73 (Yusuf Ali), it is written, “They do blaspheme who say: Allah is one of three in a Trinity: for there is no god except One Allah.” The Quran clearly denies one of the essential Christian doctrines about God’s nature. The God of Islam and the God of Christianity are not the same. The God of Islam is characterized by submission whereas the God of Christianity is characterized by love.
This is most clearly explained in the central tenet of Christianity, Jesus died for our sins and rose again, creating a path for us to enjoy eternal life in his presence. Christians are assured of this through grace–what Jesus did for us, not because of anything we have done for him.
In Islam, Jesus is not God in the flesh (Surah 4:172; 5:73: 9:30), whereas in Christianity he is (John 1:1,14). In Christianity Jesus was crucified, but in Islam he was not (Surah 4:158). This is another irreconcilable difference between Islam and Christianity regarding God and who Jesus is. In addition, Islam says that the Helper is Muhammed, where the Bible says that the Helper is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). So, the God of Islam and the God of Christianity and the Bible are not the same. Muslims and Christians therefore do not worship the same God.
Sadly, Muslims do not live with assurance that they will spend eternity with God. They hope that they can do enough good to earn them salvation, but only Christianity offers assurance that all the work necessary has already been done by Jesus on the cross.
Artwork by Brian Regrut
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