Sanctification – New Wineskins
Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:14,17 (NLT)
When we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we embark on a journey of sanctification marked by His grace and love. As we journey with Him, His Holy Spirit will reveal the areas in our lives where we need to change so that we can be receptive to the new things He wants to do in us. This is not an easy process and will require us to be willing to be stretched so that we can be a receptive conduit of this new life he has for us.
Jesus used a parable to speak of the new life, the new covenant of grace and love He came to bring. A new covenant that has the power to transform, heal, and restore. In this short parable, He uses the analogy of wine and wineskins to illustrate a powerful message. Matthew 9:17 (NKJV) says,
“Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Wineskins used in those days were made of goat or sheep skin. As they got older, they became dry and brittle. They didn’t have the capacity to stretch and would break easily. Therefore, new wine needed to be poured into new wineskins, which were more flexible and able to stretch to accommodate the fermenting process as it continued in the wineskin.
Intoxicated With New Wine
Jesus used this parable to make it clear to us that He can only pour the wine of the new covenant into our lives when we are willing to be renewed and transformed by Him. When we are willing to be stretched and made pliable in His hand. When we are willing to be wineskins, vessels that will let go of our old life and be renewed by His love and grace. Vessels that will not live for themselves, but for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:15). When the life of Christ dwells in us, we are being transformed into His image. This transformation leads to new desires, new longings, new hopes, new dreams and new loves. We are no longer drunk with the wine of our old lives. We are intoxicated, under the influence, of the wine of the new covenant that gives us His joy unspeakable, His peace that the world cannot comprehend and His steadfast and eternal love that will not let us go.
O love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, That in thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be. George Matheson
Reflection
Are you willing to be stretched by God so that He can fill you with the new wine, the new things that He wants to do in your life? Take time to think about the things that may be hindering you from being a receptive vessel for His new wine.
Prayer
Thank You, Lord, for the price You paid for me so that the wine of the new covenant can be poured into my life. Help me submit to your stretching so that I can receive Your new wine. Lord, I give everything to You that might be hindering me from receiving this new life You have for me. Transform my life so that I can experience the fullness of Your joy, peace and love. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
