Crucial Aspect of Friendships

The Gospel for Life

Crucial Aspect of Friendships
God is a relational being
 It is part of His nature ~ Triune God
 God is perfectly in communion with Himself from all eternity
 Gospel of John is helpful in thinking about this; constant refrain about the love between the Father and the Son
 Also see this in His interaction with His people
 Constant desire on the part of God to be in communion/fellowship with His people [Opening of Genesis to the
close of Revelation]
 Isaiah 41:8 – But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
 Exodus 33:11 – Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When
Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from
the tent.
 Jesus ~ friend of sinners (Matt. 11:19) & disciples (Luke 12:4)
As those made in the image of God, we were created as relational beings
 Contains both a vertical and horizontal component to it
 Genesis 2:18 – Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper
fit for him.”
 Adam was not lonely because he was imperfect, but because he was perfect [to be perfect was to be relational]
All of this to say that friendships are part of what makes us human; or, to say it differently, we need friends to be fully
human
Quotes on the significance of friendship:
 Aristotle – “friendship is one soul abiding in two bodies”
 Gregor of Nazianzus (4 th c. church father) – “If anyone were to ask me, ‘What is the best thing in life?’ I
would answer, ‘Friends.’”
 Kevin DeYoung – “Friendship is the most important – least talked about relationship in the church.”
 Dr. Joel Beeke – “Friendship is one of the primary means God uses to strengthen His people.”
 Jonathan Edwards – “Friendship is the highest happiness of all moral agents.”
 JC Ryle – “This world is full of sorrow because it is full of sin. It is a dark place. It is a lonely place. It is a disappointing place. The brightest sunbeam in it is a friend. Friendship halves our troubles and doubles our joys.”
 Drew Hunter – “Friendship is the ultimate end of our existence and our highest source of happiness. Friendship – with one another and with God – is the supreme pleasure of life, both now and forever, and no one can fully enjoy life without it.”
 John Newton – “I think to a feeling mind there is no temporal pleasure equal to the pleasure of friendship.”
 Aelred of Rievaulx (12 th c. author) – “Absolutely no life can be pleasing without friends.”
But this ideal is not always the reality in which life is lived:
 20% of adults say they have no close friend to discuss personal problems with
 20% of adults admit to feeling lonely at any given time
 “Rent-a-friend” business reveals the need for friends
Next, we will turn our attention to the careful cultivation of friendships
 Throughout we will be considering the teaching from the book of Proverbs
Greater care needs to
be given at each level
you move down
 Hugh Black wrote that “the Proverbs are a treatise on friendship.”

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