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New Wineskins
And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God. Mark 14:23 to 25
There is no doubt here that wine represents the blood of Christ.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he that eateth me, he also shall live because of me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven: not as the fathers ate, and died; he that eateth this bread shall live for ever. John 6:53 to 58
It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, are life. John 6:63
Jesus explains that the spirit, the blood, the bread and the words that He has spoken are interchangeable. They all are life.
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, The old is good enough. Luke 5:37 to 39
The old wineskins is the hierarchical Levitical priesthood. The fresh wineskins are the present servants of God. The old wine are the teachings of the old testament and the new wine are the teachings of Jesus during His special ministry.
And so any hierarchy in church administration is bound for failure and is not right. The ministry should serve the people not look down on them or rule over them. This is my understanding. Prime examples of hierarchical churches are the Roman Catholic Church, The Anglican Church and The Greek Orthodox Church. The Worldwide Church of God was also structured in this way and has since splintered off into many groups. As in many protestant organizations the mode of operation of these groups is administration from the top down. Jesus gave an outstanding example of walking among the people and helping them in a real and effective way. He helped those in greatest need the most. He did not go around giving people false hope, He healed them of their illnesses. He gave credit where credit was due; like to the man of whom he said so great a faith have I not found in Israel (Matthew 8:5 to 13) and the term, for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters table, made it into the Bible (Matthew 15:27).There is something to be learned from the members of the church. There are people to edify.
2007 Jacques Gauvin
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