In Spirit and In Truth— Part 3
New Wine in Old Bottles
And he spoke also a parable unto them: No man puts a piece of a new garment upon an old. If otherwise, then both the new makes a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agrees not with the old. And no man puts new wine into old bottles, else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desires new, for he says, The old is better. [Luke 5:36-39]
Few of you will agree with this, but according to the words of Jesus, the reason why Christians continue to cling to the rituals and observances of the Old Testament is because after having learned about them, they believe the old way is better.
Because so many Christians are very carnal, they prefer to relate to God through physical things rather than spiritual. The Old Testament used physical things by which to worship God; whereas the New Testament worship is spirit to spirit with only two physical customs of water baptism and communion (the Lord’s Supper) which are clearly presented as being outward representations of spiritual truths. It’s certainly easier to relate to God in a physical way, but because God is a Spirit, the only way to truly worship Him is spiritual or by the spirit.
I’ve heard this statement dozens of times, and I even said it before I knew any different, so please understand that I’m not criticizing anyone. “I wish Jesus were here in His physical body.” Most Christians would prefer the physical Jesus to be here instead of having relationship with God by faith through the Spirit of God.
A life of faith is a hard one to the carnal person who relies on his physical senses to support what he believes. Faith is difficult to comprehend in the physical mind, but it is God’s desire for us to have relationship with Him by faith. He is a God of faith and His pleasure is released by faith (Hebrews 11:6). I’ll address this in a later chapter about the Holy Spirit, but let us remember what Jesus said, Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. [John 16:7]
Here’s a great truth that the Lord gave me as I was writing this: The customs, rituals, feasts, and laws of the Old Testament actually blind us to the reality that is in Christ. The Bible says, And not as Moses, who put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished. But their minds were blinded. For until this day remains the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament, which veil is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. [2 Corinthians 3:13-17]
The veil covering Moses’ face prevented the children of Israel from seeing the glory of the Old Testament, but the Bible says that the law actually blinds our hearts to the true and complete revelation of God that is in Christ. It’s as if once we see the Lord Jesus, the veil is removed, but as soon as we begin to look for Him through the Old Testament types and shadows, we become blinded again. This is so true.
We can see this perfectly in the behavior of the glorified Jesus with the disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke’s gospel (Luke 24:13-32). In His glorified state, Jesus was both physical and spiritual, but His own disciples did not recognize Him, yet they saw Him physically. The Bible says, And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and broke, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. [Luke 24:30-31]
Having not recognized Jesus by the spirit, the Lord did something physical to remind them of a shadow or type of Christ (the breaking of bread) but once their spiritual eyes were opened and they knew Him by the spirit, He vanished from their physical sight. The Bible records their words after this happened, And they said to one another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? [Luke 24:32]
The Lord’s disappearance clearly represents His true will for His disciples to know Him by the spirit—by faith—instead of through physical things. When they had not known Him through His word, Jesus reminded them of something He had done previously (the miracle of the loaves, the Last Supper) to draw the men’s hearts closer, but once they saw Him by faith, He disappeared. Their hearts knew Him by the spirit through His word (the burning within when He spoke and taught the scriptures), but they were not using their heart. This is what happens when we attempt to know God through shadows and types. We ignore what is bearing witness in our spirits while seeking a sensory fulfillment.
We see another occasion where the Lord encountered His disciples after the resurrection. At the end of John’s gospel, the Lord appeared to the disciples while they were fishing. The Bible says, But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, Children, have you any meat? They answered him, No. And he said to them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find. They cast therefore and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore, the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coast unto him (for he was naked) and did cast himself into the sea.
And the other disciples came in a little ship (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits) dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus said to them, Bring of the fish which you have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty-three; and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus said to them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples dared ask him, Who are you? Knowing that it was the Lord. [John 21:4-12]
Similar to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Jesus used a physical thing to remind them of Himself and according to the scripture, it was by this they knew it was Him.
Let’s take the temple, for example. We read in Scripture that the temple was a majestic place, filled with gold, silver, and precious stones. The queen of Sheba actually remarked how breathtaking Solomon’s temple was. We see today in many Christian churches remnants of this ornate structure in order to emulate the temple of old—whether it be fine carpet and furniture with candlesticks, etc., and stained glass.
Many would proclaim, “Oh, how awesome it would be to see the inner court of the temple with the veil and behind the veil being the holy of holies!”
However, as beautiful and precious was the temple of old, our temple now is contained within a carpenter from Nazareth. To be honest, to the carnal mind, the majestic building seems much more appealing.
Many times I have heard Christian preachers refer to the church building as the “House of God”. In fact, Jesus referred to the temple in this way, which is why many people view the church building as such. However, the Bible does not contradict itself or the words of Jesus when it calls us the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Even during Jesus’ ministry, the physical temple in Jerusalem was the house of God because Jesus had not yet died and been glorified, sending the Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
Now, under the New Testament, God dwells not in temples made with hands, but He dwells within His people (Acts 17:24-28). Therefore, and I know this may offend some of you, the church building has no greater significance than any other building made by man. Let me repeat this: God does not dwell in buildings made by human hands. He dwells in His people. The reason any building would be special would be because people of God are in it.
We have terrible things occurring in the name of preserving the sanctity of the church building like spreading red paint (symbolic of blood) or anointing oil across thresholds of the church. Again, we see Christians using pictures, types, and shadows of Jesus instead of honoring and acknowledging the reality of Christ. Nowhere in the New Testament does it sanction or command that the church building or any physical structure be “anointed” with blood or oil for some redemptive or protective purpose.
In the same light, we can see that many people are ignorantly defiling the true temple of God. If someone were caught “desecrating” the church building with graffiti, most Christians would be the first to suggest harsh punishment for him. However, those same people would not hesitate to gossip and slander another brother or sister. Let me ask you… which is the true sin of defiling the temple of God—graffiti or gossip?
The Bible says, Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity, so is the tongue among out members, that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. [James 3:5-6]
God promises in His word, I will never leave you, nor forsake you. [Hebrews 13:5] However, in spite of this promise to NEVER leave you, many Christians make a practice of asking God to “be with us” during the church service. And once the service is over, we ask God to “be with us” during the time we are away from the “House of God.”
During “worship” we believe that our song and praises actually “usher in the presence of God” and that God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3) while in truth the ushers actually “usher” in the presence of God because God’s presence is in His people. Under the Old Testament, God did not permanently indwell people, but for us in Christ, God indwells us with His Spirit.
What part of I will never leave you, nor forsake you do we not understand? How offensive this must be to God who has made a promise to us, but we don’t trust that He will keep it! When we say these things we are, in essence, completely taking Jesus out of the equation. It’s hypocrisy to the tenth power! And this is what religion is—hypocrisy!
Another aspect of the old wine we view as being better is our concept of the angry and wrathful God of the Old Testament. Truth be known, most Christians love to hear stories about God’s judgment, and how He wiped out entire cultures and people who waged war against Israel. We love to hear the preacher loudly proclaim, Vengeance is mine, says the Lord! imagining our “loving” God sending lightning bolts to destroy people who have offended us. We take pleasure in the passage from Romans 12:19-20 (Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord. Therefore, if your enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink. For in doing so, you shall heap coals of fire on his head) to mean that if we don’t avenge ourselves, God will douse them with gasoline and set them on fire.
We see this through Christian “activists” who attend gay pride parades with signs saying, “You’re Going to Hell!” and picket abortion clinics with their condemning words to the women who enter, “Abortion is Murder!”
Oh, don’t many Christians love to send people to hell! Do you know why so many Christians want people in hell? It’s because they are only doing what they perceive their father to want. Because they are relating to God through the Old Testament, they continue to view God as a wrathful and vengeful God instead of His true nature and character represented perfectly by Jesus. Let us remember what Jesus said to the religious Jews. You are of your father the devil; and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own; for his a liar, and the father of it. [John 8:44]
The same people whom Jesus said were of the devil also accused Him of being of the devil. Do you see how religion causes us to emulate the devil, and also for us to see God’s true nature as evil? If this were true of the religious Jews in that time, it is certainly true of us in our day.
I remember ministering to a man who had told me that his dad had died of cancer. We were seated at a table in the showroom of a store where I used to work, and I began to tell him how God wanted his dad healed, and that it wasn’t God’s fault that he had died. However, this man did not want to hear about God’s love, but rather said that God had punished his dad for things he had done to him, his mother and the rest of his family. He actually seemed pleased that God would exact vengeance upon his dad for his terrible deeds. When I tried to challenge him with God’s love, this man actually got angry and stormed out of the store. I won’t dare attempt to judge this man’s heart, but by all appearances, he actually wanted his own father in hell. That kind of attitude is not of God, but rather it’s of the devil. But yet, this man claimed to be a Christian.
The Bible says, If a man says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loves God loves his brother also. [1 John 4:20-21]
In the spring of 2007, a student at Virginia Tech shot and killed 22 people and then himself. While the media and country were mourning the 22 victims of this tragedy, one victim remained unmentioned—and this was the killer. This isn’t a popular sentiment, but he was just as much a victim in this incident as the others. The devil inspired him to snuff out the lives of 22 people, and then take his own life. My heart grieved not only for the families of the murder victims, but also for the family of the murderer.
I posed this question to a group of about 350 people on MySpace.com asking, “If today you knew for a fact that the murderer at Virginia Tech was now in heaven with Jesus, how would you feel?”
Out of about 50 people who responded, about half said in one way or another that they would be angry to know he was in heaven. The remaining answers ranged from joy to a theological response. By their answers, almost half of the people (all of them were professed Christians) wanted this man in hell.
How is it then possible for us to love people the same way God loves them (as we are commanded to do) if we want people in hell?
I want to challenge you right now to examine your own heart. Most of us have had people whom have hurt us greatly. We have enemies and unfortunately for some even people we hate. If it would make you angry to know that any person was in heaven, then this means that you want them in hell. You may not view it this way, but this is the truth.
The prodigal son’s brother in Luke’s gospel is a great example of this. Jesus teaches that upon learning that his brother had returned home and his father was celebrating, he was angry, and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and entreated him. [Luke 15:28]
Jesus also taught another parable where a landowner had hired laborers to work his vineyard, and after hiring men all day, the ones hired first complained that the others were treated as equals even though they did not bear the brunt of the work. The Lord’s response to this is represented by the answer of the landowner: Friend, I do you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a penny? Take what is yours and go your way. I will give unto this last, even as unto you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own? Is your eye evil because I am good? [Matthew 21:13-15]
We see this also in the behavior of the servant who was forgiven a great debt by his lord, but afterward, this same man refused to have mercy on someone who owed him a small amount. When his lord found out what was done, he called his servant and said, O you wicked servant. I forgave you all that debt because you desired me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, even as I had pity on you? [Matthew 18:32-33]
In light of the extreme price Jesus paid to remove the debt we owed to God for our sin, we have absolutely no right to walk in unforgiveness toward anyone. Whatever someone has done to us is nothing in comparison to what we’ve done to God. Someone may say, “But you don’t know what this person has done to me.” My answer is, “But you don’t know really how bad sin is, and what Jesus has done for you!”
Here are some other examples of how we still relate to God through the Old Testament:
- We still bring our sacrifices to the temple to be cleansed from sin. This is done in the form of confessing sins according to 1 John 1:19. The Bible teaches that the daily sacrifices for sins was done away with in Christ, and that through His atonement, we should not make any remembrance of sins, and our consciences should have been purged from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 7:27; Hebrews 8:14; Hebrews 10:1-4).
- We are still taught to keep the Sabbath, but now it’s on Sunday and called “The Lord’s Day.” The Bible teaches that the Sabbath rest of the Old Testament was a picture of the rest we have in Christ; and this rest is not restricted to a particular day or time of year, but is a perpetual rest (Hebrews 4:1-16; Colossians 2:16-17; Romans 14:5-6).
- In spite of God’s grace and unconditional love, we are taught that God is angry and is judging people’s sins—holding them against people, even Christians. The Bible teaches against this truth in many places (2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Hebrews 8:8-13; Hebrews 10:16-17).
- We are taught that God’s blessing is part of His grace, but we are still required to tithe, give, or other works of service in order to have God’s blessing, favor, and protection. The Bible teaches that the grace of God is accessed by faith alone, and that any actions on our part are a result of faith, and not done in order to earn any blessing or favor (Ephesians 2:4; Romans 5:1-2; James 2:14-26; Romans 11:6).
The book of Hebrews exhorts us on several occasions to move away from the old wine to the new. Let us consider these exhortations carefully so we can worship God in Spirit and in truth.
Therefore, we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. [Hebrews 2:1]
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. [Hebrews 3:1]
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. [Hebrews 3:12]
Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. [Hebrews 4:1]
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God. [Hebrews 6:1]
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds. [Hebrews 12:1-3]
In Spirit and In Truth Part 3
The Purpose of the Law Part 1
The Purpose of the Law Part 2
Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life Part 1
Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life Part 2
Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life Part 3
The Comforter Part 1
The Comforter Part 2
God is Love Part 1
God is Love Part 2
God is Love Part 3
