New Wineskins
The goal of God is to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
“He made known to us the mystery of His will…to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” Ephesians 1:9-10 (NIV)
This goal of God is in accordance with the Lord’s Prayer: “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” God’s goal according to the Lord’s Prayer is the unity between the will of heaven and the will of earth.
Jesus instructs us to pray the Lord’s Prayer because on earth we do not perfectly manifest the will of the Father. Salvation is about bringing the human will, once enslaved to sin and dark forces, into alignment with the divine will (what I like to call the “divine design.”) When this occurs, we will fully experience the life of God on earth as the Father’s intends us.
The move from the old age into the age of the kingdom of God (the new creation) requires spiritual process. This spiritual process is the surrendering of the human will so that the divine will may fully take up residence in our hearts and minds. The old wineskin must be made new to receive in order to receive and hold God’s new wine. The new wine is a more perfect expression of God’s kingdom working in and through our human condition.
“‘No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.” Mark 2:21-22 (NIV)
The person most resistant to receiving God’s new wine is the same person reading this text. A new wineskin requires us to surrender our entire being to God - in mind, body, and spirit. This surrender is terrifying because we are addicted to the comfort and sense of security offered to us by our materialism. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. The kingdom comes through the transformation of our human consciousness so that we can truly know the will of God.
If you are going through something that has you saying to God, “Why am I (or we) going through this?” it is because trials and battles expand our capacity to receive and know the true presence of God. Sufferings bring us into contact with the inner Self, the Holy Spirit, the presence of God that has been given to man through Jesus Christ. The old wineskin, the man of the old creation is passing away, so that the new creation reality may come forth and receive the blessings of God. As the children of God, everything (absolutely everything) works toward this end.
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed…And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:18-19, 28 (NIV)
New wine means an entirely new way of being. The new man experiences a spiritual life with God that surpasses mere knowledge. As we grow into the image of Christ, a more perfect unity is achieved between heaven and earth, allowing us to truly walk in accordance with the will of God.
