Quotes About Relationships for Sermons on Love and Friendship
Scripture on friendship, marriage, and the "one another" commands, plus C.S. Lewis on why friendship exists at all.
Scripture's vision of relationship is more specific than "be nice". It is full of commands addressed to a plural "you": love one another, bear one another's burdens, be kind to one another. Those commands assume relationships close enough to require real forgiveness, not just goodwill at a distance.
One modern quote is included, from C.S. Lewis's The Four Loves, because it makes an argument about friendship's value that scripture assumes but rarely states so directly.
Quotes about relationships
Scripture is quoted from the World English Bible (public domain). Every non-scripture quote names its specific source so you can verify it before you preach it.
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow.”
The Preacher — Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (WEB)
“A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity.”
Solomon — Proverbs 17:17 (WEB)
“Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens his friend's countenance.”
Solomon — Proverbs 27:17 (WEB)
“Love is patient and is kind; love doesn't envy. Love doesn't brag, is not proud, doesn't behave itself inappropriately, doesn't seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil.”
Paul — 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (WEB)
“This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.”
Jesus — John 15:12 (WEB)
“Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.”
Paul — Ephesians 4:32 (WEB)
“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.”
C.S. Lewis — The Four Loves (1960), Chapter 4 ("Friendship")
Using these quotes in preaching
- 1The "one another" commands (Ephesians 4:32 is one of dozens across the New Testament) are all written to a plural audience, worth noting explicitly, since they describe the character of a community, not just an individual's private virtue.
- 21 Corinthians 13 is heard so often at weddings that a sermon may need to explicitly reopen it: Paul wrote it to a fractious church about how they treated each other, not primarily about romance.
- 3The Lewis quote defends friendship against the charge of being merely useful. It works well following Proverbs 27:17, which describes what friendship does (sharpening) rather than why it matters in itself.
- 4Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 is written in the context of the futility themes running through the whole book. Its case for companionship is more sober than sentimental, worth preserving in how it is used.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Bible say about friendship?
Proverbs is the densest source (17:17, "a friend loves at all times"; 27:17, "iron sharpens iron"), and Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 gives the fullest single argument for companionship: two are better than one because they can help each other when one falls.
What are the "one another" commands in the New Testament?
Around fifty phrases scattered through Paul's letters and elsewhere instructing believers how to treat each other directly: love, serve, bear with, forgive, encourage, and be kind to "one another." Ephesians 4:32 is one of the clearest single examples.
Is the C.S. Lewis quote about friendship having "no survival value" genuine?
Yes, it opens the "Friendship" chapter of The Four Loves (1960). Lewis is arguing that friendship's lack of biological necessity is precisely what makes it valuable: it exists purely because people choose it.
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Related quote themes
Quotes about God's Love
Scripture on the scope and character of God's love: beginning before we deserved it and holding regardless of what tries to separate us from it.
Quotes about Jesus
Jesus's own words about himself, plus C.S. Lewis's well-known argument that a merely good teacher is not on the table.
Every quote theme
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