OUR LORD AS OUR FRIEND

John 15 verse15 -  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

In this passage, Jesus promotes His disciples from servants to friends. The proof of this friendship is that He made known to them all that He had from His Father. He brought them into the loop.

John 15 verse 13 - Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Here, the Lord  defines the highest form of love as the act where a man lays down His life for His friends. This is in fact what Jesus was about to do when He surrendered Himself to be crucified. 

However, this sacrifice was for His friends that love was involved. Jesus was also going to the cross for people who were His enemies and who were calling for His death. This is well beyond  love and into the state of absolute obedience of Jesus  to His Father.

John 15 verse 14 - Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. 

In this verse, Jesus conflates friendship with him as obedience to His commandments. This is the same obedience that He demonstrated toward His Father. To have friendship with Jesus, we must be ready to obey Him. 

James 2 verse 23 - And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

This verse in the book of  James describes friendship with God as being the effect  of faith in God that results in righteousness.

Proverbs 18 verse 24 - A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

This verse in the book of proverbs speaks of a type of friend that sticks closer than any brother. There are regular friends but there is a singular person who is a lifelong  friend who  outlasts our own brothers in His loyalty to us.

This friend is the Lord Jesus who died for us to redeem us and then sticks with us through thick and thin throughout our lives with Him.

Amen.