Jesus Christ, as a Friend, embodies the ultimate expression of loyalty and love in our relationship with Him. He calls us friends, speaking on a human level to contrast His perfect friendship with even the best of human bonds. His declaration that greater love has no one than to lay down one's life for friends reveals the depth of His commitment, as seen in His own sacrifice. This act of friendship surpasses human understanding, for He chose to die while we were yet enemies, demonstrating incredible love by giving His life for us. His death was exceptional, not only because He did not have to die but also because He knew He would die, deliberately going to the cross for our salvation. Furthermore, His spiritual death—separation from the Father as He bore our sins—goes beyond any physical sacrifice we could offer, ensuring we never face such separation. As our Friend, Jesus Christ desires a reciprocal loyalty from us, expressed through obedience. He states that we are His friends if we do whatever He commands, calling for active, continuous, and complete obedience in all aspects of life. This obedience is not merely refraining from wrong but actively loving one another, praying, worshiping with others, and serving in practical ways. Day after day, without pause, we are to follow His commands in everything, approaching Him with humble submission to do whatever He asks. In this intimate relationship, nothing can separate us from the love of God the Father and Jesus Christ, rooted in His unwavering loyalty to His covenant with us. As members of His church, we are called to mirror this loyalty, fostering faithful friendships among brethren, united in truth and mutual encouragement. The question remains: are we truly Christ's friends, responding to His love with dedicated obedience?

This message explores the ultimate purpose of our calling, explores different possibilities, and demonstrates that a relationship between us and God the Father, Jesus Christ, and other members of the church is the reason for that calling. Starting in John 15 with Our Savior explaining the conditions of us being His friend, we look deeper into the implications of that friendship. We discover that salvation is ultimately a byproduct of that friendship instead of the main reason. After examining Corinthians 15, we can determine that our responsibilities in the Kingdom are a secondary concern of that calling and we were each given different gifts to serve various functions in His Kingdom. Each of the first fruits has that deep relationship with Almighty God no matter what role they play and how much responsibility they currently have. Salvation and roles, while important, serve the purpose of being His friend and having that intimate relationship with God and his family. When we follow the commandments, it should be to primarily strengthen the relationship out of love, not to merely gain an advantageous position or be saved.