Bible verses about brothers and sisters can become quite significant for you if you’re trying to heal relationships or form relationships. They can become your blueprint for building relationships with your own siblings. They can also help you to understand why some relationships do not seem to be working.
In this article, we’ll delve into what the Bible says about brothers and sisters. I’ll be sharing my favourite Bible verses about brothers and sisters.
Bible quotes about siblings are a good reminder of the path that our relationships with our siblings should follow. Bible quotes about siblings also help you to gently guide the relationship between your own children.
What is a good Bible verse for siblings?
This one is beautiful and applies to human beings in all kinds of relationships. It’s also just so true!
“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” – Psalm 133:1
That’s the concept of world peace that continues to elude us for many different reasons. Wouldn’t it be awesome if all of God’s people lived together in unity? We would all enjoy that state of being. It would be PLEASANT.
This is an ideal that siblings can certainly aim for amongst each other. You may not see it in government, in schools or in the media but if you guide your children to aim for this and you aim for it yourself in your relationship with your siblings, perhaps it could be the start of change in your community at least.
How to teach children about sibling relationships using Bible verses
1. Start with key Bible verses. Choose a few key Bible verses that emphasize the principles you want to teach.
2. Create a visual aid. Make the verses more engaging by creating visual aids such as posters or flashcards. Illustrate the verses with images that children can relate to, such as pictures of happy siblings playing together.
3. Incorporate verses into daily activities. Integrate the Bible verses into everyday activities. For example, during bedtime, you can read a verse and discuss its meaning. Use meal times or family gatherings to talk about how the verses apply to their daily interactions.
4. Use stories and parables. Tell stories or parables from the Bible that emphasize sibling relationships. Discuss stories like Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau and Joseph and his brothers.
5. Role-playing. Encourage role-playing scenarios where children can act out situations involving sibling relationships. This helps them understand and apply the teachings of the Bible in real-life contexts.
6. Practical applications. Talk about ways they can show love and respect to their siblings, inspired by the Bible verses.
7. Create a reward system. Implement a reward system where children earn points or stickers for displaying behaviors that reflect the Bible teachings on sibling relationships. This reinforces positive behavior and makes learning fun.
8. Prayer time. Incorporate prayers that focus on sibling relationships during family prayer time. Encourage children to pray for their siblings, asking for love, patience, and understanding.
9. Discussion and reflection. Regularly have discussions with your children about their experiences and feelings regarding their siblings. Reflect on how they can improve their relationships in light of the Bible verses they’ve learned.
10. Lead by example. Model the behavior you want to see. Show love, forgiveness, and unity in your own relationships, demonstrating how the Bible’s teachings are applied in everyday life.
Teach and reinforce these principles so that your children can develop a strong foundation for positive and loving relationships with their siblings, grounded in biblical teachings.
Where in the Bible does it say to love your brother and sister?
1. 1 John 4:21 (NIV)
“And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”
This verse clearly states that loving our siblings is a command from God, linking it directly to our love for Him.
2. 1 John 3:10 (NIV)
“This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.”
This passage emphasizes that loving our siblings is a mark of being a child of God.
3. 1 John 4:20 (NIV)
“Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.”
Here, the connection between loving God and loving our siblings is reinforced, highlighting that one cannot truly love God without also loving their siblings.
4. Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
While not explicitly mentioning siblings, this verse speaks to how we should treat one another, including our brothers and sisters, with kindness, compassion and forgiveness.
5. Colossians 3:13 (NIV)
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
This verse encourages forgiveness among believers, which applies to sibling relationships as well.
6. Romans 12:10 (NIV)
“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
This verse calls for devotion and honor in our relationships, which includes how we treat our siblings.
7. 1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
This verse highlights the importance of deep, forgiving love in all relationships, including those with our siblings.
8. 1 John 3:11 (NIV)
“For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.”
This verse reiterates the foundational message of love among believers, which includes siblings.
9. Matthew 22:39 (NIV)
“And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
While this verse specifically mentions neighbors, it broadly applies to everyone, including brothers and sisters.
10. Galatians 5:14 (NIV)
“For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Similar to Matthew 22:39, this verse reinforces the command to love others, including siblings.
11. Romans 13:8 (NIV)
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.”
This verse speaks to the ongoing obligation to love others, which includes family members.
12. Hebrews 13:1 (NIV)
“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.”
A direct exhortation to maintain love among fellow believers, treating each other as family.
13. 1 Thessalonians 4:9 (NIV)
“Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.”
Paul commends the Thessalonians for their love for one another, highlighting it as a divine teaching.
14. John 13:34-35 (NIV)
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Jesus’ command to love one another as He loved us is a hallmark of Christian discipleship, applicable to all relationships, including siblings.
15. Proverbs 17:17 (NIV)
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”
This verse underscores the enduring nature of a brother’s love, particularly in difficult times.
16. 1 Peter 1:22 (NIV)
“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.”
Peter calls for deep, heartfelt love among believers, reflecting genuine affection and care.
17. Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
These verses encourage humility and selflessness, important virtues in sibling relationships.
18. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
This famous passage on the nature of love is applicable to all relationships, including those between siblings.
19. Ephesians 4:2-3 (NIV)
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
These verses encourage patience, humility, and unity, essential qualities for harmonious sibling relationships.
These verses collectively emphasize that loving our brothers and sisters is a fundamental aspect of living out our faith and demonstrating the love of God in our lives.
15 Bible verses about brothers and sisters
Genesis 4:9 (NIV)
“Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ ‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’”
This verse speaks to the responsibility and accountability we have toward our siblings.
Genesis 50:20 (NIV)
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Joseph speaks to his brothers, emphasizing forgiveness and God’s purpose even in the midst of their wrongdoing.
Proverbs 18:19 (NIV)
“A brother wronged is more unyielding than a fortified city; disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel.”
This verse highlights the difficulty of resolving conflicts with a brother.
Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
While not specific to siblings, this verse speaks to the positive influence and growth that can come from close relationships, including those between brothers and sisters.
Matthew 12:50 (NIV)
“For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Jesus expands the concept of family to include all who follow God’s will.
Matthew 5:23-24 (NIV)
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”
This passage emphasizes the importance of reconciliation with siblings.
Matthew 18:21-22 (NIV)
“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’”
Jesus teaches about the boundless nature of forgiveness, particularly among siblings.
Luke 15:31-32 (NIV)
“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
From the Parable of the Prodigal Son, this emphasizes the joy of reconciliation and the value of a brother.
1 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV)
“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.”
Paul calls for unity and agreement among believers, which includes siblings.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (NIV)
“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
Paul emphasizes the unity and interdependence of believers, akin to a family.
James 2:15-16 (NIV)
“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”
This verse stresses the importance of action in caring for siblings in need.
James 4:11 (NIV)
“Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it.”
James warns against speaking ill of one another, emphasizing respect and kindness.
1 John 2:9-11 (NIV)
“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.”
1 John 3:16-18 (NIV)
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
Romans 14:10-13 (NIV)
“You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.”
What are your favourite Bible verses about brothers and sisters?
Related: Gifts for Siblings
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