Biblical Aspects of Relationships

1. Biblical Fellowships.
2. Kingdom Partnerships.
3. Covenant Relationships.

Biblical Fellowships - Koninia – Giving and receiving. Acts 2:41-42, Breaking bread in fellowship. Participating in other people’s lives beyond “hello” and “goodbye”. It moves a church from a crowd to a congregation, helping bear one another’s responsibilities. It is my responsibility to have Koninia in the church that I am in.   

Kingdom Partnerships - Relationships among a certain kind of people. Joined with others in the work of the ministry. This is a higher level than biblical relationships. Koninas (Luke 5:10) – Partnering together;joining together with others in the work of the ministry; likeness of vision and philosophy of ministry.

Covenant Relationshps (Friendship) – Prov 17:17. God joining two people together, which lasts for a lifetime in spite of the trials, the hurts, or misunderstandings that come to break it. John 15:12-13. Hebrew word for friend; Rhea – acquaintance. Ahef – committed love.

When people get born again, if their core relationships don’t change quickly from the friends of the world, they usually don’t make it.

People with Friends

• It extends their life expectancy.
• They suffer less depression.
• They go through terminal illnesses better and live longer through the illness.
• Keeps stress hormones in check.
• Builds their immune system.

Phileo:

• Friend. Shares experiences together.

Agape:

• Unconditional love.
• A love of the will and not a love of the emotion (not founded on).
• A love of commitment, not a love of season.
• A love of consistency.

Intimate relationship is very scary to people. If someone says they are not a people person, it usually means one of the following:

1. They have been deeply hurt by someone close to them.
2. If they’ve been consistently rejected throughout their life, or have never had a relationship.
3. They have killed relationships themselves through issues they have not dealt with.

Types of Friends.

1. Friends of the Road – Core relationship, sometimes intimate, as long as we’re traveling the same road. Roads change.
2. Friends of the Heart – Last forever no matter what changes take place.

Things that Destroy an Intimate Relationship.

1. Sin – The greatest destroyer of relationships.
2. Familiarity – Loss of value and the loss of respect.

Your heart hungers for Intimate and Core Relationships.

1. Intimate (1-7). Takes years to develop. A part of you dies if you lose one. (Jonathon and David).
2. Core (20-100). You spend time with them and know their past. Hurts to lose, but does not cave you in. Strong or weak.
3. Acquaintances (Approximately 500 in your lifetime). Very surface. Not a big deal to lose this relationship.

Matt 14:

• 80% of people in our nation never experience one intimate relationship in their entire lifetime.
• Relationships are worth trying, keeping, fighting for, and working on.
• There is nothing in life that can bring more pain or more joy than relationships.
• It is better to be alone than to be in a bad relationship.
• You will never know the depth of a relationship until it is tested (offense, misunderstandings, etc).