16But no one puts a piece of unshrunk (new) cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. 17Nor is new wine put into old A skin was a bag made from the skin of an animal. New wine was always put in a new bag so that the bag would stretch as the wine continued to ferment, and then the bag would harden. An old bag would burst if new wine was put in it.wineskins [that have lost their elasticity]; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the [fermenting] wine spills and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, so both are preserved.” Matthew 9:16-17 AMP
We are all made of clay, and regardless of how we are shaped, or how we change our shape whether naturally or through surgical enhancements we will be made of the same thing. What we can change is what we are filled with, which in turn causes a change to what we are made of. This parable is important because it provides those people who come to Christ after having lived an unsaved life an example of the necessary changes that they need to make in order to live a true new saved life in its fullness. Like all parables, this is an example using images that they understand to explain a deeper meaning. In this example, when making wine, you must crush grapes, add sugar and yeast among other things and during the fermentation process it will cause the wineskins to expand/swell before ultimately adjusting to its new shape containing a fully aged, new wine. Anyone listening to this story and understanding the process to make new wine would have understood that you can’t reuse wineskins to make new wine because the old skin no longer retained the flexibility nor tightness/shape to adjust to the swelling and settling that the wine would undergo during the process. Once a wineskin has undergone this process, it can no longer return to the shape or undergo this process with a new batch of wine/grapes. For humans, this is reflective of when we take on the new mind of Christ and become new creatures in Christ. When we accept Christ, we also accept the Holy Spirit which fills us with his presence and gives us access to God. In order to receive the Holy Spirit we must make room to allow him to enter. Our clay bodies can only be filled with one thing at a time; we are either consumed with our flesh and the sin it brings, or the holy spirit which leads us to the Father. We become new creatures which require us to take on a new mind and be born again, which is essentially putting off the old mind and body like old wineskins. Our old mind can’t handle the promises of Christ, the holy spirit, or the changes that are required with becoming a new creature in Christ. The old way of thinking and believing have to shift for you to be able to see natural things in the spiritual realm, and accept salvation/forgiveness. You can’t function or even accept the Holy Spirit and the promises of Christ as long as you have your former mindset/old wineskins. Your flesh and new spirit man will continue to battle one another until you ultimately choose to serve one, and remove the other. Trying to house the holy spirit (new wine) man in your old mindset (old wineskin) would cause you to burst at the seams and lose Christ because your old way of doing things would prevent you from accepting the promises and walking in the newness that you have been called to.
Reflection Time
Are you a new creature in Christ? Have you accepted the newness, or are you still conducting yourself and thinking with “old wineskins.” What do you need to accept your “new wineskin?”
