“The very offer of friendship testifies that God is committed to our good; however, a true friend of God is someone who seeks God's good as well through a heartfelt commitment to forward God's plans and purposes in the world,” Wadell notes.
In the book of Isaiah, God refers to Abraham as “my friend” (Isaiah 41:8, ESV). In Exodus we learn that “the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (33:11). And in the Gospel of John, Jesus calls his disciples “friends” (15:15).
Since the end of the first century, the beloved disciple has been commonly identified with John the Evangelist.
In the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the Israelites are referred to as "the people of God" in Judges 20:2 and 2 Samuel 14:13. The phrases "the people of the Lord" and "the people of the Lord your God" are also used. In those texts God is also represented as speaking of the Israelites as "my people".
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. No longer do I call you servants, 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.
18:24. “There are 'friends' who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.” True friends are supportive and reliable. There is a known saying that says, “blood is thicker than water.” But this Bible verse shows that good friendships create bonds that go even deeper than blood relationships.
Jesus calls Judas, “friend.” Jesus has shown Judas great trust. He has numbered him among the Twelve. He has confided to him the common purse. The word “friend” conveys a certain intimacy.
John writes: “We also know that the Son of God has come and given us understanding so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true — even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal Life” (1 John 5:20).
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. for everyone born of God overcomes the world.
The Chalcedonian Definition of 451, accepted by the majority of Christians, holds that Jesus is God incarnate and "true God and true man" (or both fully divine and fully human).
It was Peter who possessed remarkable insight and displayed his depth of faith in the confession of Christ as the Son of God (Matthew 16:15–18; Mark 8:29; Luke 9:20), and it was Peter who rebuked, and in turn was rebuked by, Jesus when the Master prophesied that he would suffer and die (Mark 8:32, 33).
The disciple whom Jesus loved sat beside Him at the Last Supper. As we've learned earlier, John would lean his head upon Jesus' bosom (John 13:23). Then, he would engage in close and intimate conversation with Him (verses 24-26). We can say that Jesus and John were indeed best of friends.
Each of Jesus' friends—Peter, John, Matthew, Judas, Mary Magdalene, and Lazarus—traveled with Jesus and were part of His daily ministry, and each has a compelling story to tell.
Moses (Deuteronomy 33:1; Joshua 14:6; Psalm 90:1; Ezra 3:2; 1 Chronicles 23:14; 2 Chronicles 30:16). Moses is the only person called “man of God” in the Torah.
You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
David was a man after God's own heart . . . What does it mean to be someone "after God's own heart?" David, King, psalmist and shepherd, gives us a picture with his own life. In many ways he is an extraordinary role model, a man who was fully human but exceeded expectations and pointed others towards God.
Israel as God's firstborn
In Exodus, Moses is instructed to say to Pharaoh "Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, my firstborn." The death of Pharaoh and the Egyptians' firstborn sons at the first Passover is direct recompense for God's identification of Israel as his own firstborn.
For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and is Almighty God. As such he is personal and also fully God, co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and Son of God.
The Tetragrammaton יהוה is considered one of the seven names of God in Judaism and a form of God's name in Christianity. The consensus among scholars is that the historical vocalization of the Tetragrammaton at the time of the redaction of the Torah (6th century BCE) is most likely Yahweh.
Trimurti is considered to be the most powerful god as he is a combination of Brahma [The Creator], Vishnu [The Preserver] & Shiva [The Destroyer].
In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme being who creates, protects, and transforms the universe. In the Shaktism tradition, the Goddess, or Adi Shakti, is described as the supreme Para Brahman, yet Vishnu is revered along with Shiva and Brahma.
He Gladly Calls Us Friends
In the midst of this sacred evening he said, “No longer do I call you servants, 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” (John 15:15).
And then he died the painful death our sins deserve. John 3:17 says, “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” By sacrificing himself for us on the cross, he took the punishment for all of our sins at once.
In the Synoptic Gospels, all of the Jewish groups are united in their opposition to Jesus: scribes, Pharisees, Herodians, chief priests, elders, and Sadducees. For the Gospel writers, the opponents are almost a homogenous group, even though theological differences between the groups are occasionally mentioned.