13 Characteristics Of Godly Friendships (Based On Christ)

In this article, you are going to discover the 13 characteristics of godly friendships and godly friends to help you know if someone is a godly friend or not.

Godly friendships are essential in your Christian life as a Christian as they help and encourage you to grow in the Lord due to their godly influence upon your life.

In my personal life, I thank God for the many godly friends He’s blessed me with as they have helped me to walk in Christ Jesus due to their positive influence and Christ-like love in my life.

On the other hand, I have had fake ungodly friends who just used me for their own selfish benefits and I am sure you have experienced that before in your life.

This is why you need to be careful when it comes to choosing friendships as not all of them have your best interests at heart and are just there to use you for their selfish gains.

And this post on the 13 characteristics of godly friendships will help you know the clear difference between godly friends and ungodly friends who are just there to ruin your life. Let’s dive in.

13 Characteristics of Godly Friends.

Below are the 13 characteristics of godly friendships that will help you choose friends that will help you grow and not those who will ruin your life.

Will Pray For You.
Have Your Best Interests At Heart.
Always Tells You The Truth.
Edifies You In The Things Of God.
Help Each Other Grow Spiritually.
Love You Unconditionally.
Godly Friends Are Not Jealous.
They Love You In Your Faults.
They Encourage & Uplift You.
They Forgive Your Offenses.
Won’t Lead You Astray From God.
Godly Friends Are Peacemakers.
Godly Friends Are Faithful.

1. Will Pray For You.

A godly friend will always pray for your well-being be it spiritually, financially, or physically, and won’t pray dangerous prayers against you to be destroyed. The Bible tells us in James 5:16 in the New Testament that we must pray for each other as that signifies love and unity in the body of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. Have Your Best Interests At Heart.

Another characteristic of a godly friendship or godly friend is they will always have your best interests at heart and always wants you to succeed in your life be it your spiritual life or secular life and is never envious of your achievements behind your back. Sadly, this cannot be said with many so-called fake friends today who try to pretend to be your friend outwardly but inwardly seek your ruin.

3. Always Tells You The Truth.

Telling you the truth, no matter what is one of the major characteristics of godly friends that every godly friend will manifest in your life. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 267:6 in the Old Testament that wounds of a true friend, which is telling you the hard truth in this case, are faithful but kisses of the enemy not willing to tell you the truth are deceitful. Implying that a godly friend will always tell you the truth even if you don’t like what they have to say to you for your own good.

4. Edifies You In The Things Of God.

A godly friend will always edify, comfort, and encourage you in the things of the Lord and will discourage you from giving up your Christian faith if that person sees you want to drift away. I encourage you to seek such kind of friendships in your Christian life as a believer that will draw you closer to God and not away from Him, as any friendship that draws you away from God or your Christian faith isn’t worth your time.

5. Help Each Other Grow Spiritually.

Godly friendships encourage and help each other grow spiritually in the things of the Lord by being a source of encouragement for one another and for others who need encouragement or just to be reminded of God’s love for them personally or through their lives as a whole. Always desire to be in a friendship that will be beneficial for your spiritual growth.

6. Love You Unconditionally.

A godly friend will always love you unconditionally with the agape love that 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 which isn’t selfish or self-centered. Implying that a friend who truly loves you with Christ-like love will always sacrifice for you and be there for you when you need them most. It means that such people will not love you for what you can benefit them but will love you because of who you are as God has loved them.

7. Godly Friends Are Not Jealous.

Jealousy is a sin, and it is the opposite of what true friendship should be. A true friend will never feel jealous of you because they know that you have more blessings than they do. The reason God has given us friends is so that we can help each other grow in our relationship with Him. However, fake friends who are ungodly will be jealous of you and your achievements in life will try to destroy you behind your back.

8. They Love You In Your Faults.

A true friend should be able to see the good and bad in you, but they should also be able to love you despite your faults because without all of us being imperfect, no one would ever be able to become perfect in their relationship with Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:1-3). But a fake friend will only cherry-pick the good parts in you that benefit them and when you show your faults, they will abandon you instantly.

9. They Encourage & Uplift You.

When we have a friend who encourages us, especially in times of trouble, it makes our life so much easier. Friends who are there for us when things get tough or when we need someone to talk to about something important are very beneficial indeed. True godly friends are always willing to listen and offer advice on how we can improve ourselves as believers or followers of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 15:5).

10. They Forgive Your Offenses.

One of the characteristics of a biblical friendship or a biblical friend is that they practice forgiveness and are willing to forgive the offenses and wrongs you have done to them. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 4:32 that we must forgive each other just as God through Christ’s sake has forgiven us. Sadly, this is lacking in many friendships today because we love revenge and are full of grudges we have against those who have hurt us badly. However, if you claim to be a true friend, you will forgive your fellow friend who’s wronged you as you understand that none is perfect and we all make mistakes.

11. Won’t Lead You Astray From God.

A biblical friendship that is godly and founded on godly bible principles will always lead you to the Lord and not away from Him. Sadly, many friendships today especially ungodly ones, seek to lead you away from the Lord into evil. As a Christian, you need to refrain from such evil friendships that affect your relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ in a negative way as they are not worth your time but are just there to ruin your faith and make you end up in hellfire in the end if you don’t get rid of them.

12. Godly Friends Are Peacemakers.

Jesus Christ tells us in Matthews 5:9 that if we are peacemakers, we are blessed indeed and we shall be called children of God. A godly friend will always desire to be at peace with you and will avoid any unnecessary drama that can cause strife in the friendship you have. However, an ungodly friend will always want to cause strife and drama in your friendship and you need to watch out for such people ad avoid them as they are not worth your time.

13. Godly Friends Are Faithful.

Finally, yet importantly a friend who is godly and Christ-like will always be loyal and faithful to you and won’t betray your trust which sadly is the opposite in many so-called friendships today that have been ruined by the betrayal of trust. A true friend who is godly won’t be a Judas Iscariot and betray your trust nor will that person be disloyal or unfaithful to you and take your trust for granted. Unfortunately, faithful friends in the generation we live in who are truly faithful and loyal to you are in short supply but don’t despair as you have Jesus Christ, the only true friend, unlike human friends who will never betray you or your trust. Trust in Him alone instead and make Him your friend today.

Conclusion.

I hope the above 13 characteristics of godly friendships and godly friends will now help you understand what Christian godly friendships are all about. In closing, if this post has benefited you greatly, let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to share before you leave. May God bless you with godly uplifting Christian friendships that bring out the best in you.

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