Do Messianic Jews Believe in the Trinity?

The largest organized bodies do. The MJAA, the IAMCS, the UMJC, Jews for Jesus, and Chosen People Ministries each confess one God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and confess Yeshua as God. Messianic Judaism has no single creed, though. Many Israeli congregations word their faith without the term Trinity, and at least one group that calls itself Messianic rejects the doctrine outright.

Key Points

• The MJAA says God “exists forever in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” and “The Son is God (Deity), and is worshiped as God, having existed eternally.” (1)
• The IAMCS uses the same words. (2)
• The UMJC says, “There is one God, who has revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” (3)
• Jews for Jesus and Chosen People Ministries confess three co-equal persons. (4) (5)
• A study in the Marburg Journal of Religion says the formal statements of Messianic Jewish organizations are “overwhelmingly consonant with broadly evangelical Christian beliefs.” (6)
• A 1999 survey of Israeli congregations found that statements written in Israel “avoid the term trinity.” (12)
• Messianic Hebrews International says God “is not a trinity, a triune-god, or a god with three heads.” (14)

How the Alliances Read the Shema

Deuteronomy 6:4Deuteronomy 6:4 · King James VersionHear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:Deuteronomy 6:4 · King James VersionOpen the Source is the central confession of Jewish prayer. The MJAA and the IAMCS read it as teaching that God is “Echad, as so declared: a united one, a composite unity, eternally existent in plural oneness.” (1) (2) They cite the plural Elohim of Genesis 1:1, “Let Us make man in Our image” in Genesis 1:26, and the “one flesh” of Genesis 2:24. They then cite Matthew 28:19Matthew 28:19 · King James VersionGo ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:Matthew 28:19 · King James VersionOpen the Source, “immersing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” (1)

What Each Body Says About the Son and the Spirit

• MJAA and IAMCS: the Son is “worshiped as God, having existed eternally.” The Holy Spirit “leads us and teaches us.” (1) (2)
• UMJC: “the Divine Son became a human being—Yeshua the Messiah.” “Every divine action in the world is accomplished by the Father working through the Son and in the power of the Spirit.” (3)
• Jews for Jesus: the Son “is co-equal with God the Father,” and the Holy Spirit “is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son.” (4)
• Chosen People Ministries: “one infinite and perfect God, eternally existing in three distinct and equal persons.” It affirms Yeshua’s “full deity” and “the full deity and personality of the Holy Spirit.” (5)

Congregations Outside the Alliances

Congregations outside these bodies write their own statements, and the published studies describe a range of wording.

• Israel, 1999. Kai Kjær-Hansen and Bodil Skjøtt grouped 13 congregational statements and found that evangelical statements “use the word Trinity,” while those written in Israel “avoid the term trinity.” They add that the relation of Father, Son, and Spirit is still “dealt with.” Some statements make “no specific reference to virgin birth or deity of Jesus” while calling him Messiah and Son of God. (12)
• Israel, 2013. Gershon Nerel, writing in the Messianic Jewish journal Kesher, found that Israeli statements “deliberately avoid using the term ‘Trinity,’” though they still refer to “three entities.” (13)
• A non-Trinitarian Messianic group. Messianic Hebrews International uses the word Messianic in its name and says, “We believe in One Elohim,” and that God “is not a trinity.” (14)

Avoiding a word is not the same as denying a doctrine, and these studies do not report how individual members believe.

Sacred Name Groups

Some groups that keep the Sabbath and the feasts and use Hebrew names do not confess the Trinity. Neither statement below uses the word Messianic. Their statements describe God differently:

• Yahweh’s Restoration Ministry says the Holy Spirit “is in essence the mind and power of Yahweh.” Its statement says Yahshua “pre-existed before His earthly birth.” That paragraph does not call him God. (7)
• The Assemblies of Yahweh say, “YAHWEH The Father is the Supreme Deity,” and that “Yahshua was with Yahweh at Creation.” The statement does not confess three persons. (8)

Neither group is a member of the MJAA, the IAMCS, or the UMJC on any page cited here. Their relation to Hebrew Roots is set out in Messianic Judaism vs Hebrew Roots.

How This Site Evaluates It

This site confesses that God is one being in three persons and that Jesus is God. The MJAA, the IAMCS, the UMJC, Jews for Jesus, and Chosen People Ministries confess that same faith in their own words. This site’s listing follows those statements; it does not assign a creed to every person or congregation that uses the name Messianic. John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source says the Word was with God and was God. (11) A statement that makes the Spirit a force, or the Father alone the Supreme Deity, does not confess that faith. The full case is The Trinity and Is the Holy Spirit a Person?

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Messianic Jews Believe Jesus Is God?

The five bodies quoted here do. The MJAA says, “The Son is God (Deity).” (1) Chosen People Ministries affirms “His full deity.” (5)

Who Do Messianic Jews Pray To?

The statements quoted here direct worship to one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the MJAA says the Son “is worshiped as God.” (1)

Are There Non-Trinitarian Messianic Jews?

Yes, outside the alliances. Messianic Hebrews International rejects the doctrine in its own statement. (14) None of the alliances, unions, or ministries quoted here takes that position.

Keep Reading

• What Is Messianic Judaism?
• Is Jesus God?
• What vs. Who: One Being, Three Persons