37 Bible Verses About Friendship
God never intended us to be alone, so he created friendship. The biblical characteristics of friendship were designed to provide us with encouragement, joy, and connection. Through the loyalty, honesty, and love of godly friendships, we can grow and be built up in our faith. Here are 37 scriptures that reveal how to build God-honoring relationships.
1. Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
Christ-centered friendships are focused on more than simply having fun together. They were also designed to help us become our best selves.
2. Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Friends were created to support in times of trials.
3. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Scripture tells us that we can accomplish more together than alone. Independence is not preferable to community.
4. 1 Thessalonians 5:11Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Being a good friend means lifting one another up through encouraging words, practical help, and biblical exhortation.
5. Proverbs 13:20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
As believers, we should choose our friends closely, knowing that they will impact our lives.
6. John 15:12 – 14 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.
Loving friendships are a command. True friendship honors the needs of the other above self.
7. Galatians 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Godly friendships are hands-on, helping in whatever way they can.
8. Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Friends understand each other’s fallen nature and are willing to forgive.
9. Proverbs 27:9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.
God designed friendship to double as discipleship.
10. Job 6:14 “He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
Friendship is a command.
11.Proverbs 13:20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
When we spend time with godly friends, we will become better people.
12. Proverbs 16:28 A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.
Our friendships should be filled with truth and void of gossip.
13.Proverbs 17:9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
We are not looking for perfection in our friends. We must be gracious with their mistakes.
14. Proverbs 27:5-6 Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
A true friend wants the best for you and is willing to correct you and point you in the right direction out of love.
15. Proverbs 18:24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
You should be able to trust your friends and be a trustworthy friend, someone who can be counted on.
16. James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
In a godly friendship, we can be open about our struggles and temptations. We should be praying together about them.
17. Proverbs 12:25 Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.
Positive words should be on our tongue as we speak to our friends.
18. Acts 2:46-47 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
Spending quality time with our friends is an important part of our worship and witness.
19. Psalm 133:1 How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
True friendship glorifies God.
20. Matthew 18:20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.
Godly relationships are filled with prayer for and with one another.
21. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Our friendships should be characterized by godly love.
22. Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
In Christ, our friendships should be focused on what we can do for our friends, rather than what they can do for us.
23. Matthew 25:40 The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Our acts of friendship are ultimately acts toward the Lord.
24. Proverbs 18:24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Quality friendships are better than quantity of friendships because we can invest more deeply.
25. Job 16:20-21 My intercessor is my mediator as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man, he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.
Jesus is our example of friendship.
26. Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.
Christian friends should stay connected to stay aware of each other’s lives and encourage one another.
27. Philippians 1:3-5 I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
Friends can make an impact for the gospel when they work together.
28. Luke 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
When in doubt about how to treat your friend, simply consider what you yourself would enjoy.
29. Luke 17:3-4 So watch yourselves. If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.
Keep your expectations realistic, knowing that your friends may disappoint you, but godly friendship actively forgives.
30. Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Godly friends work towards peaceful relationships.
31. Proverbs 12:26 One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
A friend can act as a guide. We should strive for righteousness in order to lead others well.
32. 1 Samuel 18:1 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
Jonathan and David are examples of loyal friends who follow through on their promises and their friendship.
33. 2 Corinthians 8:21 For we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man.
Our behavior should be honest before God and towards our friends.
34. 1 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
Our vows of friendship should be backed up by action that shows love to others.
35. John 15:15 No longer do I call you servants,[a] for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
We should be open and vulnerable in our friendships.
36. Colossians 3:13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
True friendships focus on the positive qualities and overlook small annoyances. They are quick to forgive.
37. 1 Corinthians 16:14 Let all that you do be done in love.
Whether we are admonishing, encouraging, forgiving, or simply enjoying our friends, love must be the overarching trait of our friendship. We are able to love our friends because Christ loved us and was a friend to us.
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