30 Tender And Wise Bible Verses About Friendship

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A good friend is a blessing from God. The friendships we have all around us are one of God’s greatest gifts. Bible verses about friendship show us that there are many facets to friendship, as love manifests in different ways. The best bible verses about friendship even teach us that the Lord makes Himself known through our friends around us. Bible verses about relationships also teach us much about love, and how we can feel God’s love through the people in our lives.

What Does The Bible Say About Friendship? 

Friendships in the bible teach us that the expectations we place on our friends are also what is expected of us as friends towards others as well. These bible quotes about friendship teach us how to be friends: selfless, loving, and forgiving. We see this in Genesis 13:5-12, when Abraham and Lot, though in conflict, managed to settle their differences in a peaceful manner that benefited everyone involved. Though they parted ways, they placed their people before them and did not allow their conflict to get in the way of their friendship. They are demonstrations of God’s grace in our lives. As such, we must act in accordance to His will; we must love as He loves. These are the lessons that bible verses about friendship teach us.

Bible Verses About Friendship Through Struggles

These friendship scriptures teach just how strong and resilient friendship can be. When we fall, they are here to pick us back up. The support friends show us, especially when times are rough, only shows the strength of our friendships and how they are fortified by God’s grace.

1. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 – Encouraging Words For A Friend

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1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

What Is God Saying:  Offer words of encouragement to our brothers and sisters in Christ. An encouragement prayer for a friend will go a long way in showing our support.

2. Proverbs 18:24 – Friends Are Reliable

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Proverbs 18:24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

What Is God Saying:  This bible verse about friendship teaches us that good friends are people who we can rely on wholeheartedly.

3. Proverbs 17:17 – Friendship Through Adversity

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Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

What Is God Saying:  The friends who stick around during difficult times who show us just how far they are willing to go for us.

Bible Verses About Friendship And Love

There is a lot of love shared between friends. These best friend bible verses teach us how love between friends can be expressed in different forms. Whether it’s sharing our blessings or extending hospitality to one another,  these verses about friendship teach us the many ways the love between friends is brought together in Christ.

4. 1 Peter 4:10 – Love Is Generous

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1 Peter 4:10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

What Is God Saying:  It is our duty to bless others as we are blessed by God. Sharing our blessings with friends is a powerful form of showing our love for them.

5. Romans 12:10 – A Friend Loves At All Times

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Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another about yourselves.

What Is God Saying:  This scripture about friendship teaches us that the love between friends can withstand even the stormiest of waters. 

6. John 15:12-13 – Friendship Is God’s Love

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John 15:12-13 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

What Is God Saying:  Always remember that the friendships in our lives are a gift from Him, and as such, they are symbols of His love for us.

7. Luke 6:31 – Be The Friend You Want To Be

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Luke 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

What Is God Saying:  Be the same friend to others as the one we would want to have in our lives.

8. Romans 13:10 – Friends Don’t Hurt Each Other

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Romans 13:10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

What Is God Saying:  Sometimes, it’s inevitable that we end up hurting one another. However, what matters is that we learn from our mistakes, and never harm others intentionally.

Bible Verses About Friendship And Selflessness

God teaches us to be selfless and put others before ourselves, just as He always prioritizes our wellbeing above everything else. Friendship and selflessness go hand in hand. Pride has no room in friendship and only causes strife among friends. Practice kindness and mindfulness in your friendships. 

9. Ecclesiastes 4:10 – Raise One Another

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Ecclesiastes 4:10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

What Is God Saying:  Never turn a blind eye to our neighbors when they need help. Set aside any shortcomings and offer a helping hand, because this is what God would do for us.

10. Galatians 6:2 – Carry Each Other’s Burdens

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Galatians 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

What Is God Saying:  God wills us to be selfless to our friends. Sticking by them when the going gets rough is a great form of love.

11. Job 42:10 – Prayer For Friends

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Job 42:10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.

What Is God Saying:  Prayer is a powerful act of love. God teaches us to put others before ourselves. Remind yourself to pray for the wellbeing of your friends.

READ ALSO:  Prayer For Family And Friends: 20 Best Prayers For Loved Ones

12. Job 6:14 – God’s Kindness In Friendship

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Job 6:14 Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

What Is God Saying:  God’s kindness and compassion manifests through the friendships we have. Denying a friend of kindness would be denying God Himself.

13. Philippians 2:3-4 – Friendship Is Selfless

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Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.

What Is God Saying:  Much like any other relationship, friendships call for compromise too. Be selfless in friendship, and think not only of your own best interests, but that of others as well.

Bible Verses About Friendship And Wisdom

We must be wise in all aspects of life, including the judgment we must have over friendships we choose to keep. Good friends steer us in the right direction to Christ, so we must be wise and have the spirit of discernment to choose who to keep in our lives. 

14. Proverbs 27:9 – Friends Give Good Counsel

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Proverbs 27:9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.

What Is God Saying:  Good friends offer wise words of advice. When we seek out their wisdom, they direct us to the right path.

15. Proverbs 12:26 – Wisdom In Caution

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Proverbs 12:26 The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

What Is God Saying:  God wants us to choose our friends. Choose those who lead us to live the godly way and pray for those that might tempt us to stray away from the Lord. 

16. Proverbs 27:17 – Friends Bring Out Our Best

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Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

What Is God Saying:  True friends bring out the best in us, and are sometimes able to spot our strengths better than ourselves.

17. Proverbs 14:5 – Friendship Is Truthful

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Proverbs 14:5 An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies.

What Is God Saying:  Friends don’t lie, as spreading false news is an act of wickedness not only to our friends, but to our Lord as well.

18. Proverbs 10:13 – Friendship Is Understanding

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Proverbs 10:13 Wisdom is found on the lips of discerning, but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense.

What Is God Saying:  Wise friends are those who understand the plight of others and are able to empathize with them.

19. Proverbs 19:20 – Friendship Is A Learning Process

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Proverbs 19:20 Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.

What Is God Saying:  We must be humble enough to admit when we are lacking in knowledge in how to approach problems in friendship. 

READ ALSO:  Prayer For Patience: 25 Prayer For Every Situation

Bible Verses About Friendship And Unity

Friendship brings people together. God’s will calls for us to stand united with our brothers and sisters in faith. In friendship, we must band together; cooperating with one another invokes the peace and harmony that comes with the grace of the Lord. Learn how to work together with friends, because success is better achieved with others than by yourself.

20. Ecclesiastes 4:9 – Friends Work Together

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Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.

What Is God Saying:  Two is always better than one. When we work together, we are also sharing out blessings with each other, which is exactly what friendship should be.

21. Romans 1:11-12 – Friends Are United In Faith

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Romans 1:11-12 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong–that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

What Is God Saying:  Our faith in the Lord brings us closer to our friends. It is He who ties us together, as He is at the center of our lives.

22. Psalm 133:1 – Unity And Harmony

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Psalm 133:1 How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!

What Is God Saying:  Good friendships are ones united in harmony, as we are all children of God working towards the same goal.

23. 1 Corinthians 1:10 – Friendship Is Not Divided

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1 Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

What Is God Saying:  Though we may disagree with friends from time to time, we must be reminded that our calling in life is to be united in the Lord.

24. Romans 14:19 – Unity Brings Peace

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Romans 14:19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

What Is God Saying:  As followers of the Lord, we must unite in order to live peacefully, as this is God’s will. There can be no peace without unity.

Bible Verses About Friendship And Forgiveness

Forgiving those who hurt us, especially when we have been hurt by our friends, is a challenging and difficult task. However, friendship is indeed about forgiving each other while learning from one’s mistakes. God sets an example for us to be merciful and forgiving, just as He has shown us mercy and forgiven us for our sins.

25. Colossians 3:13 – Forgive As the Lord Does

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Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

What Is God Saying:  God teaches us to be forgiving. Who are we to withhold forgiveness from those who have hurt us, when God forgives us all?

26. Leviticus 19:18 – Let Go Of Grudges

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Leviticus 19:18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

What Is God Saying:  When we forgive someone, we forgive them completely and without holding any grudge against them. Let go and let God.

27. Ephesians 4:32 – Friendship Is Compassionate

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Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

What Is God Saying:  When we forgive our friends, we are demonstrating what God does best: love.

28. Proverbs 17:9 – Don’t Take Forgiveness For Granted

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Proverbs 17:9 Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

What Is God Saying:  When we wrong someone, we must be mindful not to commit the same mistake, as doing so willingly and knowingly is an act of malice. 

29. Proverbs 10:12 – Forgiveness Is An Act Of Love

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Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers all wrongs.

What Is God Saying:  It can be difficult to forgive a friend who hurt us. But with God’s guidance, we can find the strength to forgive those who have wronged us.

30. Proverbs 27:5-6 – Trust In The Friends God Gave You 

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Proverbs 27:5-6 Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.

What Is God Saying:  The friends that God has blessed us with are also our spiritual brothers and sisters. Rebuke with grace and trust, and spur one another on.