Speed Bump Ahead
For the record, I am about to ruin some bad theology.
Along with the fivefold ministry, or more accurately, the way the fivefold ministry is usually portrayed very badly, I tend to be skeptical of political prophecies and an overquick reading of the Scripture, unless there is a bit of fresh manna being discussed, as with a single point of a new truth.
So, with that out of the way, let’s consider the following.
Paul enters a discussion of the flesh vs. the spirit in Galatians 5, starting with verse 16.
There is an interesting aspect that I want to cover.
Giver we have a spirit and a body made of flesh, what if what Paul is discussing in the fruit of the spirit is not the fruit of the Holy Spirit but the fruit that comes by the work of the reasonably healthy human spirit in partnership with the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
So, Paul talks about walking by the spirit in vv. 16 and 17 and he doesn’t capitalize “spirit”. Ignore the ESV capitalization for the moment.
And Arthur talked about the desirable outcome of us becoming factories and he illustrated factories in Joy Unstoppable, Disc 5, Third Head: Life, Cut 3 “Becoming a Factory” by using the example of a fruit tree.
What if the fruits are factories of creativity from orchard supplies of those qualities listed in Galatians 5:22-23, and the more we cultivate those, the more of a factory we will become?
Only in a functional human spirit can those fruit continue to grow in a sustainable way.
But they are meant to be storehouses of resources so we can bring forth the new things connected to the work of partnership between our human spirits and Holy Spirit, for the our working of Competence (Belongingness, Worth, and Competence are the qualities the Trinity ministers to our souls).
And voila! A factory that is self-sustaining.
Something to ponder, gang.