New Wine into New Wineskins
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January 29, 2012 |
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 "No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, 'The old is good enough'" (Luke 5:36-39)
Both nonbelievers and believers often use this proverb, "New wine into new wineskin," but only a few grasp the spiritual meaning of it. Since an old wineskin is so dry and stiff, it can burst when you put new wine into it. This is because the new wine ferments and emits carbon dioxide. Because a new wineskin is flexible and strong, it can overcome the pressure of the gas emitted from new wine.
Generally, people think that the phrase 'New wine into new wineskins' means to pursue new things. But it carries spiritually deeper messages about Jesus Christ, our life and the ways to receive salvation and reach the better dwelling places in Heaven. So then, what are the spiritual meanings that are contained in these words?
1. The Spiritual Meanings in 'New Wine' and 'Old Wine'
As recorded in John 15:1, the 'true vine' in spirit is our Lord Jesus. And the 'fruit of vine' is all the fruit that He bore in His lifetime on earth. He testified to the living God by showing signs and wonders, preached the gospel of Heaven, and saved countless souls. All His deeds are the fruit of the vine. Next, wine here is the juice derived from grapes. It spiritually refers to the precious blood of Jesus.
Jesus bore abundant fruit on this earth and finally shed His precious blood on the cross. By doing so, He opened up the way of salvation. He fulfilled the law of the Old Testament when He gave His life in His love for sinners who were on the way to death. The fulfillment of the Law is the New Testament. Jesus fulfilled the law of the Old Testament with love. So we call the New Testament 'new wine.'
Then, what is the old wine? It is the ways of living in observance of the law of the Old Testament. People of Old Testament times had lived with their mind tied to the Law before Jesus fulfilled the Law with love. Hebrews 10:1 reads, "For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near."
People of Old Testament times slaughtered an animal and gave its blood as an atoning offering to be forgiven of their sins. This is because Leviticus 17:11 says, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement."
Offering the blood of an animal that focuses on the deed of observing the law is the 'drinking of old wine' for salvation. However, people of the New Testament times can be forgiven and saved when we believe in the power of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. In other words, we can be saved by 'drinking new wine'.
2. 'New Wine', the Law Fulfilled with Love
Let's delve into the difference between old wine of the Old Testament and new wine of the New Testament.
Jesus said in Matthew 19 that it is not right for a husband to divorce his wife because they are no longer two, but one flesh. He added that "what God has joined together, let no man separate." After He had said this, the Pharisees opposed Him saying God allowed a man to divorce his wife through the Law.
But Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning." The will of God about marriage is that a man and a woman love each other faithfully and live happily unfailingly once they become one flesh. He doesn't want them to become separated. But God set the procedures concerning divorce in the law because He knew the wickedness of man.
For example, a husband discovers that his wife had an affair with another man. He lapsed into distress because he couldn't forgive her. In this situation, the life of both would be miserable. So the Law of Moses says that it is permissible to be divorced. Therefore, 'old wine' refers to the way of life that is confined within the legal framework of the law and not in God's original will which is love.
If the husband were able to forgive and embrace her with love, it is as though he drank the 'new wine.' This is the way to resemble the Lord who fulfilled the Law with love.
3. Those Who Like 'Old Wine'
Luke 5:39 reads, "And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, 'The old is good enough.'" What does it mean? Just as some worldly people treasure old wines that have been stored for tens or even hundreds years, there are some who like the law of the Old Testament better than the new law of the New Testament.
In Jesus' time the priests and the Pharisees were like that. They knew the law of the Old Testament thoroughly and made many rules that came to be the Traditions of the Elders. For example, Moses was given the commandment of the Sabbath day, but they devised many ways that became rules to keep the Sabbath day. They prohibited themselves from making fire to cook, traveling more than a few kilometers, carrying heavy luggage, and the like.
Putting aside the heart of God that was hidden in the Law, they formed the Traditions of Elders and considered the acts of obeying the traditions to be observing the Sabbath. They rejected Jesus because the new law Jesus preached did not agree with the framework of the old law. They rejected Jesus and His new teachings because they were tied to the framework of the law the way the people who have been taught habitually to drink the wine from old wineskins do not like new wine.
No matter how they gave offerings, tithes, and prayers with fasting according to the law of the Old Testament, God couldn't help but turn away from them if they kept committing sins without the circumcision of the hearts (Matthew 23:23). God wants you not only to do right things outwardly but also to live a holy life changing the heart into a godly one. In other words, He wants you to change and make your heart like the new wineskin that is able to hold new wine.
4. Old Wineskin into New Wineskin
Ephesians 4:22-24 reads, "that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth."
If you still take in the worldly things, pass judgment or condemnation, and hate others, your heart is just like an old wineskin. We have to get rid of unworthy things before God. We have to remove things like self-righteousness, greed, and improper knowledge and make our hearts renewed in truth. Then, we can change our heart into new wineskin.
There are many people who profess their faith in God, but love the 'old wine'. They refuse to change their hearts to be like new wineskins. They refuse to live according to the Word of God because of their fleshly thoughts, their frameworks based on biased logic, and their self-seeking desires. They are like the Pharisees who rejected Jesus and in the end will have become like the old wineskins.
If people put new wine in old wine skins, the skins will burst and the wine will spill out. Likewise, when people adhere to old thoughts and old habits without willingness to change, they can't live by the will of God and will go the way of destruction.
For we have received salvation and become God's children by believing in Jesus Christ, we should cast away all sins and evil quickly and put the new wine in new wineskins. In other words, only when we change our hearts with truth and goodness and obey the Word of the Lord, who fulfilled the law with His love, can we become God's true children.
It is recorded in 2 Corinthians 5:17 which reads, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." I pray in the name of the Lord you will diligently change your heart through the Word of God and prayer and become God's holy and true children.
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