( From This Month’s Email Devotion )

God Our Friend

Is God our Master or our Friend?

I’ve pondered the question for years. Throughout the Bible, we see verses that seem to support both descriptions of God. (For starters, check out 1 Timothy 6:15-16, Revelation 4:11, Exodus 33:11, and James 2:23.)

One day, I posed the question to our pastor. “Is God our Master, or is he our Friend?”

“Yes,” came his one-word response. I smiled. He, too, wrestled with the paradox.

Facing apparent contradictions in Scripture is essential for those who want to study the Bible. God’s Word is full of mystery, of truth in tension with seemingly opposite truth. As a Western reader, this can be quite unsettling. I want to understand, to fit all my theology into systematic structures, to feel settled and certain on everything I believe.

To handle Scripture accurately, though, we must embrace it’s mystery—something which comes easier for Jewish readers. Lois Tverberg of the En-Gedi Resource Center explains that Jewish “Rabbis simply embrace the two ideas in tension with each other rather than needing to seek resolution. By doing so, they are actually being true to the text by not ignoring passages that don’t fit their theology. They see that God alone can understand some things.”

When it comes to how we should relate to God—as our Master or as our Friend—John 15 lays out the mystery with stunning beauty.

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (v. 15 NIV).

But then he adds, “Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (v 20 NIV).

We’re his friends, but we’re also his servants. How can this be?

The contrasting phrases in verse 15 help bring some clarity— “a servant does not know his master’s business” and “everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

Friendship with God is about knowing his heart.

It’s not about seeing ourselves as his equals, for no created being is equal to its Creator. It’s not about throwing out respect or about obedience being optional. On the contrary, friendship with God means we can experience ever-increasing intimacy with the One who knows and loves us. 

Through this intimacy, God’s love takes root in our hearts and grows outward in service that isn’t burdensome. The Spirit’s fruit shapes our character, leading us to love God and others well. This loving friendship becomes our central focus and the compelling force of our lives.

Pressing close to Jesus and experiencing his heart–this is essential to letting go of the try-harder life so we can experience the abundant life instead.

We’re invited to confidently approach our King, because he also wants to be our Friend.

*For a more in-depth exploration of this topic, please visit Bible Study Tools, where I’m sharing what I’ve learned about God as both Master and Friend.

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.  

John 15:15 NIV

Personal Takeaway: How do you feel about relating to God as your Friend? How does this perspective shape your day-to-day life of faith? What can you do today to move toward God as the One who welcomes you close?

Identity Check: Because God is my Friend, I can know his heart.

Prayer Prompt: Talk to God about how you most naturally relate to him—as your Master or as your Friend. Ask him to clarify any misunderstandings you have about each of those relationships and pray for greater understanding of his heart.

For Further Study: Read John 15.

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