LESSON INTRODUCTION:
Not everyone who serves God walks with Him on the same level. On any Sunday morning, you will find people in church singing, praying, giving, and working hard in the house of the Lord. All of this is good and pleasing to God. Yet the Bible reveals a deeper place beyond attendance, activity, and even sacrifice. It is the place of friendship with God. Some people have gone beyond serving the Master to truly knowing the Master. Our lesson calls them God’s best friends.
Jesus drew this line clearly in John 15:15: “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.” A servant receives instructions and carries them out, often without understanding the purpose behind them. A friend sits close enough to hear the heart behind the instructions. A servant knows the task, but a friend knows the Master. This is the difference the Lord wants every believer to see, and it is an invitation He extends to all who follow Him.
Abraham is the clearest example. In Genesis 18, as the Lord prepared to deal with Sodom and Gomorrah, He asked a remarkable question: “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?” God was under no obligation to explain His plans to any man, yet He chose to take Abraham into His confidence. He even gave the reason: He knew Abraham would teach his children and his household to keep the way of the Lord.
Abraham’s closeness to God was not accidental. It was built over many years. He left his country at God’s word, believed a promise that looked impossible, and was willing to offer up the son he loved. Out of that history of trust, he could stand before the Lord and plead for a whole city. He bargained from fifty righteous people down to ten. He was humble enough to call himself “dust and ashes,” yet bold enough to ask, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Only a friend can speak to God this way, with reverence and confidence together.
Moses enjoyed the same privilege. Exodus 33:11 tells us that the Lord spoke to him face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. In Numbers 12:8, God Himself testified that He spoke with Moses mouth to mouth. Psalm 103:7 adds that God made known His ways to Moses, while the children of Israel saw only His acts. The crowd watched what God did, but Moses understood why He did it. That is the mark of a friend.
It is important to understand that these men were not friends of God because they were perfect. They were friends because they stayed close, obeyed promptly, and believed without wavering. They also allowed God to shape them. John 15:2 reminds us that the Father prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it may bear more. Nobody gets close to God without discipline. The cutting, the waiting, and the testing are not signs that God has abandoned us. Often, they are signs that He is preparing us for deeper fellowship and greater fruitfulness.
Because of this closeness, God’s best friends often know things about Him that others do not. They have seen sides of His character through long hours of prayer and quiet obedience. Yet they rarely boast about it. Their intimacy with God is meant to be lived, not advertised, and speaking carelessly about such experiences can invite misunderstanding. They prefer to let their lives, their prayers, and their results speak for them.
This friendship also produces visible fruit. God’s best friends positively influence their families, as Abraham did with his household. They grow in their careers and assignments because God has placed a mandate of greatness on them. They stand in the gap for others through deep intercession instead of complaining about the state of the world. And throughout Scripture, they carry out exploits that human strength could never achieve, such as seas parting, water flowing from rocks, lions’ mouths shut, and fire falling from heaven. These exploits were never the goal. They were the natural result of walking closely with God.
The good news is that this friendship is not reserved for a handful of special people. The same God who called Abraham and Moses His friends is calling you today. The path has not changed. It still runs through obedience, faith, purity, humility, and consistent fellowship with Him. No one is too young, too old, too ordinary, or too far gone to begin walking it.
In this lesson, we will study the attributes that mark God’s best friends and the exploits that follow their walk with Him. As we do, let each member honestly examine his or her own relationship with the Lord. Are we only serving God, or are we also walking with Him? Are we content with knowing about His acts, or do we desire to know His ways? By the end of this study, may every member be challenged and equipped to draw nearer to God and become His friend.