Do We All Worship The Same God?

Written By: Dr. Glenn Jago

Imagine you're conversing with someone from a different denominational background, and the differences are becoming more pronounced. Suddenly, the discussion turns when one person asserts, “Well, we all worship the same God, so what does it matter.” Whether you've heard it from someone else or made it yourself, this claim demands careful consideration. Solomon warns, “The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things” (Prov. 15:28 ESV). We must avoid making statements that we believe are true without first thinking through the statement; after all, no one wants to be that mouth of the wicked.

Let's address the claim many make that everyone worships the same God regardless of denomination or religious background. This claim often masks fundamental differences. For instance, does God declare a person righteous by faith, or does He expect them to work hard to achieve a righteous standing? Both cannot be true. Does the Bible, as God’s authoritative and absolute word, support the worship of Baal as equal to God as in 1 Kings 18? Consider this scenario: someone close to Elijah might argue, “What difference does it make whether we worship Baal or Yahweh God? After all, we are all worshiping the same God.” Do you think Elijah would agree? Here is what the Lord stated: “And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have provoked Israel to sin [idolatry with Baal]” (1 Kings. 21:22).  Did God overlook the Baal worship? No, He did not.

Joshua, after Israel conquered the land and received their inheritance in the Promise Land, called all Israel to “Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:14). Why would Joshua demand Israel make that distinction if they were worshiping the same God?

“God does not have schizophrenia, calling people to establish their righteousness and then demanding they submit to God’s gracious declaration of our being righteous. They both cannot be correct.”

In the New Testament, Saul found himself pursuing God with such intensity that he set out to kill all those who dared worship any God but the one he worshiped. Luke provided the following insight into the mind of Saul: “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison” (Acts 8:3). Saul continued to breathe threats against those who were disciples of the Lord and was on his way to Damascus to bring them back in chains when Jesus Himself confronted him. It is interesting to note that Jesus did not attempt to convince Saul that he and the disciples of the Lord all worshiped the same God and so should cease killing them. Jesus said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4). After Jesus confronted Saul, Saul finally understood that his worship of God was not the same as the God who confronted him on the road. The word and work of Christ transformed Saul’s whole life.

Years pass, and Paul, formerly Saul, writes a passionate plea to his Jewish audience, reflecting that they do not all worship the same God. He warned, “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness” (Rom 10:2-3).  God does not have schizophrenia, calling people to establish their righteousness and then demanding they submit to God’s gracious declaration of our being righteous. They both cannot be correct. Paul was in prison for serving the true God and Savior, Jesus Christ, and he wrote about that transformation. He admitted he had a fantastic pedigree, but in the end, he realized that “whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (Phil. 3:7). Paul distinguished between his former worship of god from his worship of God and Jesus Christ. One was a god of his making, and the other was the God of revelation. He did not see that they were in any possible way the same God. The god Saul worshiped was a god of works righteousness. Paul desired to “be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (3:9). Paul uses a solid contrasting conjunction, “but,” to distinguish between worshiping the false God with works and worshiping the true God by faith. One leads to death, and the other leads to life. They both cannot come from the same God.

Jesus, in His final week before the cross, told a parable in response to the question the chief priests, scribes, and the elders asked Him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority” (Lk. 20:2). The broader context comes from the previous chapter: “And He [Jesus] was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy Him” (19:47). Why were they seeking to destroy Jesus if Jesus and the religious group worshiped the same God. The answer is that neither the religious leaders nor Jesus thought they worshiped the same God, which produced the clash between them.

“The answer is that neither the religious leaders nor Jesus thought they worshiped the same God, which produced the clash between them. ”

Jesus tells a parable to expose the definitive difference between the God of the religious leaders and the God of the Bible. “And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. 10 When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15 And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” 17 But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” 19 The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people” (Lk. 20:9-19).

Parables are stories cast alongside normal functions of the day to relay the truth to the people. The people listening would understand the sense of the story. Parables are to be interpreted by emphasizing the main point of the parable. The parable of the wicked tenants exposes that the religious were not the ones with authority because they abandoned the One who is the authority, God, and the One He sent, Jesus. Notice the tenants were identified in verse 19: the scribes and the chief priests. The vineyard's owner is God, and the vineyard is Israel (Isaiah 5:7). The servants sent were the prophets. The Scriptures record the following: “The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by His messengers because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against His people until there was no remedy” (2 Chron. 36:15-16). The beloved son sent by the owner is the One whom God the Father said at Jesus’ baptism, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17).

In the parable, Jesus even warned those seeking to assume that their own way is right, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him” (Lk. 20:18). Anyone who holds a view of God that is other than the faith in Jesus Christ will be crushed by the very truth they reject. What is the purpose of the parable if the authority of the religious and of Jesus Christ are all the same? After all, religious leaders serve the same God as Jesus, right?

Jesus is confronted once again by the religious elite because Jesus said the following: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (Jn. 8:31-32).  The religious anchored their faith in being the offspring of Abraham and never found them to be slaves of anyone. Interestingly, Jesus told them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin” (8:34). Once again, Jesus clearly distinguishes between their worship of God and Jesus’. In the final analysis, they did not have God as their father but Satan. Jesus told them, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him” (Jn. 8:44).

“Once again, there is no conceding to the hypothesis that we all worship the same God”

Once again, there is no conceding to the hypothesis that we all worship the same God. What is behind this statement? It comes from those who do not know or desire to know the truth. The coded message is: “Do not bother me with the facts; I am content in my ignorance.” I admit that some would instead not argue, so they merely dismiss it. But in the words of warning from Jesus, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28).

Please do not miss heaven on a dismissive comment. Think about the truth of the work of God through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. “Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14:6).