As evidenced by the number of times you agreed with me, there really isn't a dime's worth of difference between what we are saying. It's literally the difference between talking about the color red vs. talking about a red car. If the Barren Fig Tree had born fruit after being fertilized, what would that have looked like except Jesus finding faithful (adjective) people? You could reword it and say that Jesus found people with faith (noun) but then are you really saying anything different? No! The entire point is that faith is not an ontological thing. It is a concept that describes something that is happening inside someone's mind.I'm just saying that grammatically speaking, in both passages, the word "faith" is written as a noun, but that they are in different grammatical categories.
I'm not sure. I don't know greek. All I have is the app I screenshotted above to tell me that they're nouns in the greek.
But that's not how they're being used in Galatians.
The fruit (noun) of the Spirit is love (noun), joy (noun), peace (noun), longsuffering (noun), kindness (noun), goodness (noun), faithfulness (noun), gentleness (noun), self-control (noun).
I totally agree.
Agreed!
I mean, I agree, but the way Paul words it is that they are qualities (nouns) brought about by the working of the Spirit within them, in conjunction with their willingness, of course.
Agreed.
Agreed.
In addition, it almost seems like Paul isn't talking only about those who believe, but also about those who will believe but haven't yet.
In the Parable of the Barren Fig tree, Jesus says that for three years He had come seeking fruit from Israel, but found none, and told the Holy Spirit to cut down the tree. The Holy Spirit told Him to wait one more year (the time period between His ascension and Paul's conversion) for Him to dig around it and fertilize it, and if it bears fruit, well, but if not, after that He can cut it down. So while ultimately, Israel bore no fruit, as a nation, there was the Remnant who believed, a fruit of sorts.
This is somewhat how I imagine the Spirit works in unbelievers today, working in their hearts to bring them to God, and the fruit of His working in their heart, when the flower has been fertilized, so to speak, is that the person has faith, and trusts in God.
And I just realized I solved an issue I was having with this point that B57 had brought up previously... and I believe solves this entire issue.
@beloved57 The point is that just because the fruit of the spirit is faith, doesn't mean that the Spirit gives a person that faith. No, the fruit comes from the tree that the spirit fertilizes, not from the Spirit Himself. And that faith leads a person to call upon God for help, and God hears and saves the person.
For:
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!”But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “ Lord, who has believed our report?”So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. - Romans 10:9-17 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans10:9-17&version=NKJV
And, I think you're dead on correct about what is meant by the Spirit bearing fruit in a person's life. Faith isn't something that the Spirit gives to a person and therefore they believe, it's that they put their faith in God as a result of the work the Spirit has done in that person's life.
Bottom line is that point I was trying to make was valid but the wording I used, "noun" vs. "adjective", was less than ideal.
Clete
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