Bible Verses About Relationships
Introduction
Relationships are the specific context in which the human being made in the image of the relational God lives out the fullness of what it means to be human. The Genesis 2:18's it is not good for man to be alone is the first thing in the creation that God names as not good: before the fall, in the goodness of the original creation, the aloneness is the specific condition that the relational God addresses. The human being who is made in the image of the God who is himself the communion of the Trinity is the human being who is made for the communion of the relationship rather than the isolation of the self-sufficient individual.
The specific theological grounding of the relationships is the prior love of God: the 1 John 4:19's we love because he first loved us is the comprehensive statement of the Christian relational life. The love that the Christian practices in the relationships is not the love that is generated by the sufficiently motivated will but the love that is the response to the prior love that has been received. The relationships that are shaped by the received love of God are the relationships that have the specific ground to sustain the bearing of all things and the enduring of all things that the 1 Corinthians 13 describes.
The Ecclesiastes 4:9-12's two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor is the specific wisdom observation about the relationships: the two who are together have the specific advantages of the helping and the warming and the defending that the one alone does not have. The cord of three strands is not quickly broken establishes the specific image of the relationship that includes the God who is the third strand: the relationships that are built on the foundation of the presence of God are the relationships that have the specific strength that the two strands without the third cannot achieve.
These verses speak to anyone who is navigating the specific challenges of the relationships that matter most, anyone who needs the specific biblical grounding for the love and the forgiveness and the honesty that the relationships require, and anyone who needs the specific promises of the God who meets the person in the relationships rather than outside of them.
What the Bible Means When It Talks About Relationships
The Hebrew word ahavah describes the love of the relationship: the comprehensive covenant-rooted love that is the foundation of the specific relationship. The Hebrew word reut describes the friendship or the companionship: the specific bond of the relationship between the two who are together. The Greek word koinonia describes the fellowship or the communion: the specific sharing of the life together that the relationships of the community of faith produce. The Greek word agape describes the love of the will and the action that is the specific quality of the love that the Christian relationships are to practice. The Greek word philadelphia describes the brotherly love: the specific quality of the love within the community of the faith.
Bible Verses About the Foundation of Relationships
Genesis 2:18 — ("The LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'")
The it is not good for the man to be alone is the specific naming of the aloneness as the not good before the fall: the relational design of the human being is the design of the original creation rather than the accommodation to the fallen condition. The I will make a helper suitable establishes the divine initiative: the provision for the aloneness is the specific act of the God who addresses the not good with the specific provision. The suitable establishes the specific character: the helper is the one who corresponds to the man, the one who is both the same and the other, the specific companion of the relationship.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 — ("Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 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.")
The two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor is the specific wisdom observation about the relationships: the partnership of the two produces the specific advantages that the individual alone cannot achieve. The if either of them falls down one can help the other up establishes the specific provision of the relationship: the falling is the specific condition that the relationship addresses through the helping up. The pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up establishes the specific cost of the aloneness: the person who has no relationship to help them up is the person whom the Qoheleth pities.
Proverbs 17:17 — ("A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.")
The a friend loves at all times establishes the comprehensive character of the genuine friendship: the loving at all times is the loving that does not condition the love on the favorable circumstances of the relationship. The a brother is born for a time of adversity establishes the specific purpose of the close relationship: the adversity is the specific moment that reveals whether the relationship is the genuine relationship or the relationship of the convenience. The born for establishes the purpose: the specific relationship of the brother exists for the specific moment of the adversity.
Bible Verses About Love as the Ground of Relationships
John 13:34-35 — ("A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.")
The as I have loved you so you must love one another establishes the specific standard of the love in the relationships: the measure of the love is not the natural affection of the person who loves the lovable but the as I have loved you of the one who gave himself up for the unlovable. The by this everyone will know that you are my disciples establishes the specific witness: the love of the relationships of the community of the faith is the specific evidence of the discipleship. The love of the relationships is the specific apologetic of the community that loves as Jesus loved.
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.")
The patient and kind and not self-seeking and keeps no record of wrongs and always perseveres are the specific qualities of the agape love that the relationships require: the love that is described here is not the love of the favorable feeling but the practice of the will that continues regardless of the conditions. The keeps no record of wrongs is the specific act of the love that refuses the accounting that would justify the withdrawal of the commitment. The always perseveres is the comprehensive statement: the love that the relationships require is the love that continues when everything argues for its withdrawal.
Bible Verses About Honesty and Trust in Relationships
Ephesians 4:15 — ("Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.")
The speaking the truth in love is the specific practice of the honesty within the relationship: the truth that is spoken in love is the truth that serves the growth of the other rather than the truth that serves the self's need to be right. The we will grow to become in every respect the mature body establishes the specific purpose: the speaking of the truth in love is the specific practice that produces the maturity of the community. The in love establishes the specific qualification: the truth without the love is the truth that damages rather than the truth that grows.
Proverbs 27:6 — ("Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.")
The wounds from a friend can be trusted establishes the specific character of the genuine relationship: the friend who tells the painful truth is the friend whose wounds are trustworthy because they are the wounds of the genuine care rather than the flattery of the enemy who multiplies kisses. The enemy multiplies kisses establishes the specific contrast: the kisses of the enemy are the kisses of the person who is telling the comfortable lie rather than the painful truth. The genuine relationship is the relationship that can sustain the wounds from the friend who tells the truth.
Bible Verses About Forgiveness in Relationships
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.")
The forgive as the Lord forgave you is the specific standard for the forgiveness within the relationships: the Lord's forgiveness is the measure of the forgiveness that the relationship requires. The bear with each other establishes the ongoing character: the relationships are sustained by the ongoing bearing with the other in the ordinary difficulty rather than only the dramatic act of the forgiveness of the specific grievance. The if any of you has a grievance establishes the comprehensive scope: the forgiveness is the practice for any grievance rather than only the grievances that are easy to forgive.
Matthew 18:21-22 — ("Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'")
The not seven times but seventy-seven times is the specific statement of the comprehensive forgiveness that the relationships require: the seventy-seven is not the number of the maximum but the image of the comprehensive forgiveness that does not keep the accounting of the specific number. The Peter who asks the question is asking for the limit of the forgiveness, and the Jesus who answers is refusing the limit: the forgiveness of the relationship is the forgiveness that does not run out when the other party has exceeded the available supply.
Bible Verses About Humility in Relationships
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 the others.")
The in humility value others above yourselves is the specific instruction for the posture of the relationships: the valuing of the others above the self is the specific act of the humility that reverses the natural orientation of the self toward its own interests. The not looking to your own interests but to the interests of the others establishes the comprehensive alternative: the relationships that are characterized by the mutual looking to the interests of the others are the relationships that reflect the character of the Christ who took the form of the servant.
Romans 12:10 — ("Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.")
The be devoted to one another in love and honor one another above yourselves establishes the specific practices of the relationships within the community of faith: the devotion and the honoring are the specific expressions of the agape love that values the other above the self. The devoted establishes the comprehensive character: the devotion is the ongoing commitment of the person rather than the occasional act of the generosity. The above yourselves establishes the specific direction: the honor flows toward the other rather than toward the self.
Bible Verses About the Community of Relationships
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 — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.")
The spur one another on toward love and good deeds and encouraging one another establish the active character of the relationships within the community: the relationships are not the passive enjoyment of the other's company but the specific active spurring and encouraging that moves the other toward the love and the good deeds. The not giving up meeting together establishes the specific practice: the gathering is the specific provision for the relationships that would otherwise dissolve in the isolation.
Galatians 6:2 — ("Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.")
The carry each other's burdens establishes the specific practice of the relationships: the carrying is the active taking on of the weight of the other's burden rather than the passive sympathy that acknowledges the burden without sharing it. The in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ establishes the theological character: the carrying of each other's burdens is the specific fulfillment of the law of Christ, the as I have loved you of the John 13:34 enacted in the specific act of the bearing of the burden.
A Simple Way to Pray These Verses
Relationships are most honestly prayed from the honest naming of the specific relationship that needs the specific provision of the Scripture and the specific asking for the grace to love as the Lord has loved.
John 13:34 — ("As I have loved you, so you must love one another.") Response: "Let the as I have loved you be the specific standard of the love I am bringing to the specific relationship I am naming. Not the love of the favorable feeling toward the person who is currently easy to love, but the love that you have shown me. Let me love this person as you have loved me."
Colossians 3:13 — ("Forgive as the Lord forgave you.") Response: "I am naming the specific grievance. I am choosing the forgiveness rather than the accounting. Not because the grievance is not real but because the Lord forgave me the debt I could not pay and the forgiveness of this grievance is the specific response to the forgiveness I have received. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
Ephesians 4:15 — ("Speaking the truth in love.") Response: "Let the truth I need to speak in this specific relationship be spoken in love. Not the truth that serves my need to be right, not the comfortable flattery that avoids the difficult, but the truth spoken in love that serves the growth of the other. Give me the words. Let the love be the specific ground of the speaking."
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Bible say about relationships? The Bible presents relationships as the specific context of the human being made in the image of the relational God. Genesis 2:18's it is not good for man to be alone establishes the relational design. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10's two are better than one establishes the wisdom observation. John 13:34-35's love one another as I have loved you establishes the standard. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7's patient and kind and always persevering establishes the character of the love the relationships require. And Colossians 3:13's forgive as the Lord forgave you establishes the specific practice of the forgiveness.
What does the Bible say about healthy relationships? The Ephesians 4:15's speaking the truth in love establishes the honesty dimension: the healthy relationship is the relationship that can sustain the truth spoken in love. The Philippians 2:3-4's in humility value others above yourselves establishes the humility dimension. The Romans 12:10's honor one another above yourselves establishes the specific practice. The Proverbs 27:6's wounds from a friend can be trusted establishes the trustworthiness dimension. And the Galatians 6:2's carry each other's burdens establishes the burden-bearing dimension: the healthy relationship is the relationship in which the burdens are carried together rather than alone.
What does the Bible say about toxic relationships? The Proverbs 13:20's walk with the wise and become wise for a companion of fools suffers harm establishes the specific observation about the relationships that produce harm: the companion of fools suffers harm is the honest assessment of the specific relationships that shape the person toward the fool rather than the wise. The 1 Corinthians 15:33's bad company corrupts good character establishes the specific warning. And the Proverbs 22:24-25's do not make friends with a hot-tempered person and do not associate with one easily angered or you may learn their ways establishes the specific instruction for the specific kind of harmful relationship.
How does the Bible say to handle conflict in relationships? The Matthew 18:15's go and point out the fault just between the two of you establishes the specific instruction: the direct address of the person who has wronged you is the specific practice that gives the conflict the best possibility of the resolution. The Ephesians 4:26's do not let the sun go down while you are still angry establishes the timely character. The Colossians 3:13's forgive as the Lord forgave you establishes the standard. And the Romans 12:18's as far as it depends on you live at peace with everyone establishes the comprehensive responsibility.
What does the Bible say about godly friendships? The Proverbs 17:17's a friend loves at all times and a brother is born for a time of adversity establishes the comprehensive character of the genuine friendship. The Ecclesiastes 4:9-12's two are better than one and a cord of three strands is not quickly broken establishes the specific strength of the friendship that includes God as the third strand. The John 15:13's greater love has no one than this to lay down one's life for one's friends establishes the specific standard of the friendship: the laying down of the life is the specific measure of the love. And the 1 Samuel 18:1's the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David establishes the specific narrative of the friendship that models the comprehensive commitment.
