“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if now otherwise, the new wine will burst the wineskins, and it will be spilled out, and the wineskins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one having drunk old wine desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’” Luke 5:37-39
The Question they asked the Lord is, “The disciples of John fast often and make prayers; likewise also those of the Pharisees; but Yours eat and drink.” Luke 5:33 And the Lord gave His presence among His disciples to be a rebuttal to their argument. And though John was not in accord with the religious leaders in terms of conduct yet he was classed along with them, because both they and him were under the Law. “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” Matthew 11:13 So the line is now drawn between the Lord’s disciples and those under the Law.
So it is the Lord’s grace and mercy that distinguished His disciples from that of John’s and Pharisees’, which allowed His disciples to be in a state of celebration in eating and drinking. And the Lord associating fasting to an act of mourning says, “Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?” Matthew 9:15 Meaning those under the Law were in a state of mourning and that was on the account of their sins. And when the Lord gave an example of prayer said, “The Pharisee having stood, was praying toward himself thus: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of the men—swindlers, unrighteous, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice in the week; I tithe all things, as many as I gain.’” Luke 18:11-12 The Pharisee used his deeds to be a means to justify himself even against the one who lacked these things. So fasting in this case was an illustration of those who worked for righteousness/under the Law contrasted against those who were freely justified by His Grace.
“For from His fullness, we have all received and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:16-17
Then New Wine is referring to teaching. In Revelation it says of Babylon, “With whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and those dwelling on the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.” Revelation 17:2 That is they have taken her teaching and through it they were misled into immorality. The concept of wine and teaching is brought into accord if we compare it with the Lord’s statement about Jezebel, “You tolerate the woman Jezebel, the one calling herself a prophetess and teaching and misleading My servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols.” Revelation 2:20 Both Jezebel and Babylon produced the same outcome of immorality, but it is expressed as one having taught it, from the other they drank from it.
So the New Wine which Jesus Christ brought is, “grace and truth.” And the point of the Lord’s parable is to illustrate how this truth was to be received. Now the cross of the Lord is a pivotal point in history, it divides between Law and Grace but most importantly between flesh and Spirit. So the presence of the Lord in the midst of His disciples in the flesh was a portrayal of what was to become a reality in every believer beyond the cross. “But I tell you the truth, it is profitable for you that I should go away; for unless I go away the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” John 16:7 [And] “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.” John 14:18 So even though His disciples have not quite experienced the reality of the new birth as to be made a New Wineskins, His presence in the flesh was a means that made His teaching palatable to them. Time and time He took them aside and explained His words to them. “He would not speak to them [the people] without parables; but privately He would explain all things to His own disciples.” Mark 4:34
“Now you are not in flesh but in Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you; but if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him.” Romans 8:9
So in the parable the wineskins refers to people, the old meaning being in the flesh and the new being in the Spirit. And it is having the Spirit of God, what makes one into a new creation/new wineskin. So the new wine is referring to what the Lord Himself teaches us, the things that consist of the Spirit life. “It is the Spirit giving life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life.” John 6:63 These are the teachings which the natural man cannot quite comprehend. The purpose being for us to receive these new teachings on a new way of life, which the Law similarly sought to impart according to the flesh. But in order to appropriate spiritual truths, one first has to be in the Spirit. So Paul says, “But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to understand them, because spiritually they are discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14
Now before going further we need to make it clear that the new wine is not referring to the Holy Spirit. The Lord said, “The Spirit of truth, whom the world is not able to receive, because it does not see Him nor know.” John 14:17 This is the main grounds that disqualifies why the new wine is not referring to the Holy Spirit, simply because it is impossible for old wineskins to receive Him or know Him. And most importantly having the Spirit of God does NOT destroy anyone. But John puts it planely and says, “the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” That is through Moses was Old wine and through Jesus Christ is the New wine. The key point for us to see is, the Holy Spirit takes the place of the Lord Jesus Christ, what the Lord was in the flesh to His disciples the Holy Spirit is to us in the Spirit. And He teaches us the same truth that came through the Lord Jesus Christ. “When He the Spirit of truth, shall come, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak from Himself, but whatever He may hear, He will speak. And He will declare to you the things coming. He will glorify Me, for He will take from that which is Mine and will disclose it to you.” John 16:13-14 That is to say, it is only through the Holy Spirit that the New Wine that came through Jesus Christ will make sense.
“Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit from God, that we may know the things having been granted to us by God.” 1 Corinthians 2:12
So in the parable the Lord makes two points of comparison. First He says, “no one puts new wine into old wineskins;” which would result in the old wineskin breaking and the new wine being lost. We have shown above how the presence of the Lord made all the difference in understanding His teachings. That is while His disciples among whom He dwelt understood those outside and those who did not believe in Him were perplexed by His teaching. “Therefore many of His disciples, having heard, said, “This word is difficult; who is able to hear it?” John 6:60 and walked away. The essence being faith in Christ is a precondition to knowing the truth. Now Grace is the most important teaching we need to get hold of, but at the same time to one who has NOT laid the foundation in Christ and is still in the flesh it will only serve to destroy him. Because he has not comprehended or valued Christ, therefore to him grace is an excuse for freedom to sin. He with a natural mind has sought to grasp spiritual truth. Therefore the old wineskin/flesh is destroyed in sin and the precious teaching of grace made of no value.
Second, “no one having drunk old wine desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.” This point is clearly illustrated in the prayer of the Pharisee, that he was content in his doings and he, having justified himself by himself, saw no need for the grace of God. And his own justification and his own estimation of others as sinners deluded him into self exaltation. So to him the teaching of grace will only serve to make him equal to the one he despised, so he prefers the old. And will say, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?”
“But whenever one shall have turned to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:16-17
That is when one receives the Lord as to have His Spirit then he will also have eyes to see and understand these truths. And Paul follows that with, “And we all having been unveiled in face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.” [vs. 18] That is as we behold and grasp the truth of God [in our new state] because we now have the mind of Christ to understand, the Spirit of God transforms us into the very image of the Lord we behold. So Grace is working and bearing fruit in us, and it is in the knowledge of truth the power of the Spirit is made manifest, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set free you.” John 8:31-32 And the Lord specifically associating this freedom to sin, says, “Truly, truly, I say to you that everyone practicing the sin is a slave of the sin.” [vs. 34]
So when new wine [Grace] meets new wineskin [Spirit] then both are preserved meaning the wine and the skin mature together, growing in the knowledge of His grace and are strengthened. In the gospel of John the first miracle the Lord performed was turning the water into wine. [John 2:1-11] The stone jars which normally were filled with water used for purification, washing and cleansing of the flesh according to the law, this is what the Lord turned to wine, to be a drink of celebration, that is of His grace. So He turned Law to Grace. “For the end of Law is Christ, unto righteousness to everyone believing.” Romans 10:4 They could not go to those jars to draw water to cleanse their flesh any more but to drink and celebrate in His presence. No longer outward but inward. So to the one in the Spirit, Grace is the power of righteousness in the Spirit as the Law is the strength of sin to the flesh. [1 Corinthians 15:56]
And Paul in his letters to the Romans and Galatians has captured for us the heart of the parable of the Lord. By conveying the same message using two means of expression. He first writes to the Romans, “For sin will not rule over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.” Romans 6:14 Now he makes this statement being ROOTED in the verse, “So also you, consider yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus.” [vs. 11] And to the Galatians he expresses the same point saying, “Now I say, walk by the Spirit, and you should not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16 [&] “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.” [vs. 18]
All these statements are all part of a whole; they do not work apart from one another. The one who is NOT under Law but under Grace, is the One who is LED by the Spirit, that is he is Dead to Sin and living to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore one who is under Grace is the one who is in the Spirit. Inversely the one under the Law is one who is in the flesh and sin. So the one whom Sin will NOT rule over is one who is walking in the Spirit. Because the Spirit through Grace, supplies what he needs to walk in this life of righteousness. “If you by the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” So Spirit and Grace work together. So the common idea that there is danger in Hyper-Grace or Too Much Grace is ill-founded. Grace is the only way to live in the Spirit, as such you can NEVER have too much of it. So to seek to curtail Grace is to hinder life in the Spirit.
Grace is an all encompassing means that brings to pass the will and purpose of God, in spiritual people, made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace is what is acceptable to God, which gives God ALL the glory. It contains the purpose of God, it contains the favour of God, it contains the power of God, it contains the working of God. Righteousness is the foundation and the life of righteousness is expressed in the Spirit through the Grace of God by faith. Grace is the free working of the Spirit of God. “The just [righteous] shall live by faith.” Hebrews 10:38 & “It is of faith that it might be according to Grace.” Romans 4:16 Meaning the Spirit only acknowledges faith in the grace of God and works those things we have knowledge of in the Lord. God does not want us to strive and work, the labour is only to come to the knowledge of His truth and rest in Him by faith. “For God is the One working in you both to will and to work according to His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13
These being said, the possibility that the liberty that comes through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ might be misunderstood by some was not lost on the early Christians. Paul says to the Galatians, “For you brothers were called to freedom, but not the freedom for [an opportunity to the flesh]. Rather, serve one another through love.” Galatians 5:13 and Peter also says, “Beloved, I exhort you as aliens and sojourners, [to abstain from fleshly desires], which war against the soul, keeping your conduct among the Gentiles honourable.” and he follows that with “as free, and not having the freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as servants of God.” 1 Peter 2:11-12,16 However such manifestations are only a problem in cases where there is lack of knowledge of the Lord. And Paul counters with, “walk by the Spirit, and you should not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
It might seem counterintuitive because we think it is my flesh that needs grace, but that is not true. My soul needs forgiveness, “We should draw near with a sincere heart, in full assurance of faith, our hearts having been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our body having been washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22 The body is washed by pure water, that is the word, “He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water by the word.” Ephesians 5:26 But in Galatians Paul showed the old man, the flesh is only deserving of death, “Now those of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Galatians 5:24 And in Romans he says, “For if you live according to flesh, you are about to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13 By the Spirit is by Grace through faith. So our flesh nature does not need grace, only death. There is no means that is given to us by God to justify the flesh, not Law nor Grace.
And in Ephesians Paul pointed at the knowledge of the Lord as a means that enabled us to put off the old manner of life and put on the new saying, “But you have not learned Christ this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him just as the truth is in Jesus.” Ephesians 4:20-21 That is through the knowledge of Him we grow to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. [Ephesians 4:13,15] So as we behold the Lord, with unveiled face, we are transformed into the very image of the Lord by the Spirit. [2 Corinthians 3:18] [M.C] says, “Unfortunately we look at the bible as a mirror to see our faults but that is not the purpose. We ought to look at the bible and see Jesus and say that is me.”
“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves,” James 1:22
As we apply what we know to be true of Him to be true in us, by stepping out in faith by acting/imitating Him then the Spirit of God strengthens us by His grace. Resembling Jesus is an act of faith. “He might give you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power by His Spirit in the inner man, for Christ to dwell in your hearts through faith.” Ephesians 3:16-17 Who we are is Christ in us, we are united as one Spirit with Him and it is through knowing Him that we exhibit Him. “But grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18
Nevertheless the error the parable of the Lord points to is one of ROOT, when one in the flesh seeks to appropriate spiritual truth. And it is this issue of Old WineSkins that Paul, Peter and Jude are referring to. Jude says, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following after their own passions of ungodlinesses.” These are those causing divisions, worldly-minded, not having the Spirit.” Jude 1:18-19 And Peter supporting the teaching of Paul through whom the full measure of the Grace of God was revealed to the church says, “As also in all the letters, speaking in them concerning these things, among which some things are difficult to be understood, which the ignorant and unestablished distort to their own destruction, as also the other Scriptures.” 2 Peter 3:16 The unestablished, the worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit, in pursuit of their own passions have distorted the teaching to their own destruction.
“For there will be a time when they will not endure sound teaching, but according to the own desires, having an itching ear, they will gather around them teachers to suit themselves, and indeed they will turn away from hearing the truth, and will be turned aside unto myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4
And Paul, giving reason to the problem of how they are driven by their own fleshly desires to shape the word of God says, “They will not endure sound teaching, but according to the own desires,” Therefore they will seek out teachers that would validate them rather than be open to the truth of God. And it is this pursuit that causes these old wineskins to burst, unable to comprehend the New Wine. [Dr.B] says, “The condition to deny ourselves that is the life of the flesh is what most find unacceptable.” And it is in this condition they seek to appropriate Grace for the purpose of justifying the flesh, and it will not bear fruit. They have missed the simplicity of the matter, God only requires a willing decision form us and NOT effort, the supply of strength is from Him in His grace. It is, “When one turns to the Lord.”
Many teachers have used the Corinthians as an example of how unruly believers can be. But we fail to account that Paul’s patient approach to instruct them and guide them to maturity was finally met with the most basic and fundamental question; Why Grace has not manifested the desired effect? So Paul finally admonished those who have not repented from the old manner of life saying, “Examine yourselves whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Or do you not recognise yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are unapproved?” 2 Corinthians 13:5 Paul questioned the very foundation on which their faith is based, do you indeed have Christ? Are you even in the Spirit? Are you indeed under Grace? Which is the aspect the Lord addresses in the parable, New Wine and Old wineskins.
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us that, having denied ungodliness and worldly passions, we should live discreetly and righteously and piously in the present age.”
Titus 2:11-12
Bread Bait. 
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