Fruits of the Spirit in believers vs. unbelievers: the difference is source (Holy Spirit) and ultimate quality/context, not the complete absence of these qualities in unbelievers.

Mike distinguishes source from manifestation: unbelievers can exhibit things that look like love, joy, peace, patience, etc. — these are not exclusive to believers. The critical difference is that in the Christian, these flow from the indwelling Holy Spirit as fruit of Christ's work. He cites 2 Timothy 4:10 / Philemon 24 (Demas "agaped" the world — used agape for loving the wrong thing) to show agape is not an exclusively divine-sourced love. He notes qualitative and contextual differences too: the Christian's patience is grounded in waiting for God's eternal promises (an anchor the unbeliever lacks); the Christian's joy cannot be taken by world circumstances because it is rooted in God; the Christian's love is modeled on and empowered by Christ's self-sacrificial love. The Tower of Babel illustrates human teamwork/love in rebellion to God — all the cooperation and compassion present but absent of the God-relationship, which fundamentally alters its character.