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Week 6: Friendship is God’s Nature & Way
TIP
Your closest friendships, especially as each of you follow Jesus, are not an option or an add on, separate from your relationship with God. They’re central to it.
SCRIPTURE
“Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You… may they also be in Us …” – John 17:21
“…God is love.” — 1 John 4:8
QUOTE
“God is three in one, in perfect relationship and the Trinity is more than doctrine. It’s God’s friendship which we’re invited to share.” – Jeff Kemp
QUESTION
Have you considered that friendship existed before creation in the trinity of God? God is love and love necessitates relationship. How does that elevate the importance of friendship?
PARABLE
Before time began, God wasn’t lonely. He was already in perfect friendship—Father, Son, and Spirit—loving, delighting, and working together. Friendship wasn’t our idea; it’s God’s nature. When Jesus walked the earth, He lived that divine friendship with His disciples—inviting them close, calling them “friends,” and disclosing Himself and His Father. His friendship showed them how to live as friends, on mission together by loving one another and anyone they encountered. On the night before He died, He prayed that we would share in that same unity. If friendship defines God, shouldn’t it define us?
This diagram helps us stay aware that our core friendships operate within our individual and joint relationships with God, the sole 3-in-One Trinity of Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. He’s the real deal, we’re just a bit like Venn diagram interlocking circles. Ha!
EXAMINE SELF
Have I treated friendship as just optional support—or as God’s essential plan to shape me into the man He’s calling me to be?
CONFESSION
I’ve seen friendship as optional, not vital. I’ve lived more independently than intentionally connecting with deep friends.
REPENTANCE
Lord Jesus, You prayed for me to walk in unity with my brothers. Forgive my self-reliance and half-hearted friendships. Lead me into the kind of friendship You lived and modeled.
DISCUSS WITH A FRIEND
What do you think about the two of us inviting a third guy to merge our friendships—and set a consistent time to meet or connect weekly?
ACTION STEP
Agree with Jesus that intentional friendship is God’s way of life. Ask Him what action or change He’ll help you make this week to intentionalize, schedule or deepen your closest friendships.
COMMITMENT
I choose to mirror the Trinity—not independence. I will initiate loyalty, connection and engagement with the spiritual purpose of mutual discipleship and encouragement.
HABIT
During your quiet time, pray specifically to grow consistency, unity, and depth in your spiritual friendships.
COACHING
Real friendship transforms us when we move from me-centered to God-centered. What traits of friendship and positive impact does Jesus intend in my friendships?
PRAYER
God, You are love and You are relational. I want to live like You. Shape my friendships to reflect Your joy, unity, and purpose to become more like you. (Examine Rom. 8:28-29 “…called to His purpose…to become like His Son”)
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