Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
Friendship makes prosperity marvelous and lightens adversity by dividing and sharing it.
Sunday, April 25, 2004
“Whatever is lovely” – hosa prosphile – o@sa prosfilh = whatever areas of your life where personal love exists. Prosphile = preposition pros + noun phile – phileo which connotes personal love, love that is personal.
A. Category one love is your personal love toward God.
B. Category two love is toward right man-right woman – a relationship between two members of the opposite sex designed for each other by God in eternity past; PRO 18:22; PRO 19:14, GEN 2:18,22, ECC 9:9, 1CO 7:17.
C. Category three is love toward friends.
D. Category four is love toward members of the human race or impersonal unconditional love.
Category four love is an impersonal unconditional virtue-love = agape.
The other word for love is phileo = a personal love.
How are you going to interpret a book that has around 11,280 Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek words with the typical English translation which is only around 6,000 English words?
The third category where personal love exists that you should also keep on dwelling upon or concentrate upon is category three love – love for friends.
The smarter you are the fewer friends you will have. PRO 18:24, A man of {many} friends {comes} to ruin, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
True friends do not try to upstage you or compete with you, they will love you as they love themselves, 1SA 20:17.
2SA 1:26 David said “I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was more wonderful than the love of women.”
1SA 20:17 And Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because he loved him as he loved his own life.
“Loves” – ahab = to make their love for you manifested, evident, apparent.
True friends never stab you in the back, PRO 17:9. True friends also guard your privacy.
ROM 12:9 “Let your love be without hypocrisy. Abhor evil; cling to what is good.”
Turn to PRO 27:6
A pastor is a friend to the congregation when he does not pull any punches, GAL 4:16.
Anyone to whom you must give a false impression can never be a true friend.
Category three love is also outgoing and objective rather than hypersensitive and subjective.
This means dealing with the issue of category three love not being category two love.
Capacity for category three love through Bible doctrine in the soul is the basis for a relaxed mental attitude toward all believers.
Age is no barrier in category three love.
Category three love is limited to a few. It takes both energy and sacrifice to have true friends.
Category three love is a giving love, 1SA 18:1-4.
It gives time, thoughtfulness, and material things.
Knit – qashar = to tie or to be chained together.
Covenant – beriyth = a soul agreement of obligation, faithfulness to each other, and sacrifice.
a. The robe represented that which could be seen by the public – that which represented one’s character, nobility, strength and faithfulness to his friend.
b. The armor was used for covering and it symbolized the fact that Jonathan would cover David at all times –
PRO 17:9 He who covers transgressions seeks love.
c. The sword refers to Bible doctrine, HEB 4:12, and it reveals the fact that faithfulness is based upon Bible doctrine in the soul, not carnality and fleshly rapport.
d. The bow was a hunter’s or warrior’s weapon which represented the fact that if necessary Jonathan would fight and defend his friend.
e. The belt is a symbol of a righteous life and a faithful spirit –
ISA 11:5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
Category three love can be neutralized or destroyed by mental attitude sins, JOB 19:19-22.
Category three love can be neutralized or destroyed by verbal sins, PRO 16:28; PRO 17:9.
Loss of category three love is part of intensive discipline, PSA 38:11; PSA 88:18.
Category three love, true friends, help sharpen each other’s appearance, character and nature.
PRO 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.
Friendship makes prosperity marvelous and lightens adversity by dividing and sharing it.
A true friend will be gracious and kind to you when you are going through a difficult time –
JOB 6:14 For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
GAL 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.
“Shared joy is a double joy, shared sorrow is half a sorrow.”
The book of Wisdom – “A friend cannot be known in prosperity: and an enemy cannot be hidden in adversity.”
Marcus Cicero –
“A friend is, as it were, a second self.”
Aristotle asked –
“What is a friend?”
He answered –
“A single soul dwelling in two bodies!”
“Misfortune shows those who are not really your friends!”
Zeno, when asked, “What is a friend?” said, “Another I.”
Wisdom 6:14 “A faithful friend is a strong defense: And he that hath found such a one has found a treasure.”
Believers should develop friendships with those that are positive toward doctrine, 2CO 6:14 cf.
PSA 119:63.
PSA 119:63 I am a companion of all those who fear Thee, And of those who keep Thy precepts.
JAM 4:4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Be careful of the familiar friend in whom you trust who will betray you, PSA 41:9.
The one who will not have compassion in time of disaster, JOB 6:14.
The one who will deceive you for personal gain as Jonadab did to Amnon, 2SA 13:3.
Be careful of those “so called” friends who contribute to causing you to fall, 2Sa 13.
Be careful for those who become your friend because of what they can get from you.
PRO 19:6 “Many will entreat the favor of a generous man, and every man is a friend to him who gives gifts.”
Be careful for those so called friends who flatter you with their speech, PRO 27:14.
The ones who are friendly with you for your wealth, PRO 19:4.
The ones who forsake you and flee when you need them the most, MAR 14:50.
The ones who use you and never return the kindness that you showed them, LUK 15:16.
The ones whom you love who turn against you, JOB 19:19.
1JO 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.