Hi guys.

I was asked upon invitation to this group to create a forum for theological discussions, but I would like to request that it is not limited to that only. If anyone has something that they feel God has put upon their hearts, be it for personal growth or an idea that strengthens or teaches the assembly; please feel free to share it here so that we may all be edified in the faith. This one may be a bit overboard in terms of length. It was a short sermon I gave during the weekend.

Luke 5: 33-39

33) And they said unto Him, ‘Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise, the disciples o the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink?

34) And he said unto them, can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?

35) But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

36) And he spoke also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old, if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new, agreeth not with the old.

37) And no man putteth new wine into old bottles, else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.

38) But new wine must be put into new bottles, and both are preserved.

39) No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth the new, for he saith, The old is better.

This parable I believe is indicating two different subjects as the implication of both the ‘garment’ and ‘wineskin’ metaphors. I say this due to the original Greek which translates to “new” in each case. There are in fact three different Greek words; ‘agnophos’ ‘kainos’ and ‘neos.’

Now, in regards to the ‘garment’ it seems likely that this is referring to the Old Covenant and has much to do with Jesus fulfilling the law. We know that the law was perfect, it was given by God, but in time, it became a stipulation for holiness, rather than an act of love and consent to the One who created and first loved us. It has been said that love is not a big thing, but rather a thousand little things. If we are to read James chapter one, we know that it is faith first, that is love, and then works, that is the little things. Works don’t indicate love, but love always precedes works, and I believe this is what Jesus was himself trying to show. The New Covenant begins as we devote ourselves to Christ and the Father who loves us also, but this is given by more than implication and signs, as was originally given to the Jews, or so it must have appeared to the Pharisees who demanded the works of Jesus and his disciples, accusing them of being unholy because they healed on the Sabbath, and ate grain in an unclean manner. The fact is, that Abraham had God first, and considered works in his enlightenment, even going so far as to take his only son as a sacrifice, because he loved and trusted God more than the works themselves. Isaac was essentially a work, as he was promised to Sarah who was barren, who believed, eventually, that he would be born. Isaac showed their faith and the promise of God, but the faith and promise existed before Isaac.

So the new garment is Jesus coming to show the way to the Father in his perfect obedience born out of a oneness with the Father.

In the parable, the “new” used in the garment part is in Greek “agnophos” which means unwrought or incomplete wherein it holds that the departure of the bridegroom, as referenced earlier in the passage, is prophecy indicating the tarrying of the disciples in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit was given, especially since it is at this time that the relationship between man and God is re-established and the elimination of routine formalities is completed. That is to say, they are not done for routine’s sake, but rather for God. The fulfilment of this prophecy can and probably should be observed as variable to each individual. It is also certain that the preliminary to individual variability was accomplished when the veil was torn as all barriers between man and God are removed for everyone who pursues friendship and oneness with the Father. There exists now only the requirement of a prepared and truthful heart. This is affirmed by the wineskin part of the parable as the Greek for “new” in this case is “kainos” which indicated reconditioning and renewing. (The ‘new’ preceding wine is ‘neos’ which is directly equitable with our regular interpretation of ‘new’) In the production of wine, old wineskins were treated with water and olive oil, which is perhaps an allusion to water baptism, or the act of denying ourselves daily, and following Jesus, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, to transform them from a brittle state to a flexible state to accommodate the production of gasses in the fermenting process. Holding the conclusion that water is our preparation, and olive oil is the anointing of the Spirit, the wine that fills these vessels likely represents the changing of our nature unto the nature of God. The wine is yet new when it is placed in the wineskin, but ages to continually.

Romans 1:17

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written; the just shall live by faith.

We continue in this state of anointing and filling from quality to quality.

Again, this not only shows that works did not easily survive in the flesh, it also shows how Jesus and the Holy Spirit call and prepare us as vessels for the nature of the Father without bursting (or falling apart if you prefer) and thereby wasting the new wine, and since we are prepared not by our own calling, we must therefore be absolved of the necessity of physical cleanliness and physical tradition by the supply of his grace to us.

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