In most churches, the wine has been replaced by grape juice. The use of grape juice has become so common, that (young) Christians don’t know any better than to use grape juice instead of wine. But what many Christians don’t know is the hidden meaning of wine. If you knew the symbolic meaning of wine, then you would know, why the wine has been replaced by grape juice in the church. Because today’s communion and the wine replaced by grape juice symbolize the state of the Body of Christ; the Church. What is the what does the wine represent in communion? The wine represents the blood of Jesus, wherewith He has cleansed us from all our sins and iniquities. The New Covenant is in the blood, through which we have access to the Father. By drinking His blood, we not only become partakers of His inheritance, but we also become partakers of His passion and death, which means that we should die to our flesh.
Do followers of Jesus Christ die to the flesh?
We might say, that the church is carnal and lives in sin and iniquity. The church uses the love and the grace of God, as an excuse to stay carnal and to keep sinning. Most believers are not willing to give up their old ‘self’.
It happens often, that when a believer notices that another believer lives in sin, the believer uses love and the grace of God, to make the sin of that person all right. Believers don’t confront and correct each other anymore.
Even the leaders of the church don’t confront and correct the members of the church anymore, but they allow everything. Most churches are more focused on prosperity and figures than being focused on the spiritual state of the church.
They don’t remove the sins from their lives and from the church anymore, but they tolerate and accept all sins and iniquities.
Because of this behavior, the church has become weak and powerless in comparison to the first church in the Book of Acts.
The wine replaced by grape juice in the church
In many churches, the cross and the blood of Jesus is not preached anymore. While the cross and the blood of Jesus is the most important thing, and should never be left out. By His blood, we have been redeemed, and we have been reunited with God our Father. There is power in the blood of Jesus. Without the blood of Jesus, there’s nothing. We live in a New Covenant, that is sealed with the blood of Jesus.
The Church has put water into the wine, literally, and figuratively. Well, actually that’s not true. The Church hasn’t put water into the wine, but has replaced the wine with grape juice, which is worse.
Nowadays, the church makes its own rules, and makes adjustments in the commandments and the Word of the Lord. Where does it say, that we should take grape juice? Where does God say this or where does Jesus say this?
The fermentation process symbolizes death and life
Death, and life are in the wine; the old and the new creation. Through the fermentation process, the grape juice is turned into wine. This fermentation process makes wine so special, and it’s because of this fermentation, that wine distinguishes itself from grape juice.
The fermentation process symbolizes the death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (grape juice turned into wine).
During the fermentation process, the yeast cells convert the sugars, into alcohol, and when they have nothing left to feed on, they die in their dirt. Just like Jesus died in our dirt, and took all our sin and iniquity upon Himself, so that we could become a new creation.
When we drink of the wine, we participate in the passion and death of Jesus Christ. By becoming a partaker, we identify ourselves with Him; with His death and His resurrection.
That means, that just like Jesus, we must die and lay down our flesh, before we can become the new creation.
The grape juice symbolizes the old creation. But the wine symbolizes the old creation, who has become the new creation (sugars turned into alcohol). We die in our filthiness, which means that we die to our flesh, and we become the new creation; born in the spirit, through the Holy Spirit of God.
Dying to self isn’t preached anymore
In grape juice there is no fermentation process, that takes place. There’s no process of dying, and that’s exactly what happens in most Churches, and in the lives of many Christians. Believers stay the old creation and live just like the world.
They don’t die to the flesh, but they keep walking after the flesh and use the love and grace to make it all right. Yes, they use ‘love’ and ‘grace’ to justify themselves, so that they won’t feel guilty (Read also: ‘Can you live in sin and be saved?‘).
But there’s no one, who can change the spiritual law. There’s no one, who can do anything about the commandments and the will of God, even if they are being changed by people.
Because God will always stay the same, yesterday, today, and forever more. That’s why He and His words are reliable and you can trust Him.
His will, His law, and His commandments, which the Word made known to the people, will always remain the same.
The written law doesn’t have any power. The Lord God gave them out of His Spirit (out of the spiritual world) and translated them into human language.
He ‘translated’ them out of the spiritual world, into the realm of the senses. The law was given for man’s benefit, not to punish people, and put restrictions upon them, but to warn them, and help them, to not become a prisoner of the devil (the adversary of God). God only wants the best for you!
The lies of the devil uncovered
Many excuses and reasons are being given as to why the wine has been removed from many churches and congregations, and why it is better to drink grape juice. Here are some reasons:
“We have to consider ex-alcoholics who are sitting in Church, we may not lead them into temptation. By drinking wine, they will be tempted to start drinking again”
A convert, who used to be an alcoholic has become a new creation. The person has been delivered from the addictive spirit of alcoholism. The person has died in Christ to the lusts and desires of the flesh. The spirit of the person is raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit walks and now the person walks as a new creation, after the Spirit. When this person drinks of the cup, which is filled with wine, it will not make the person addicted again. Because the addictive spirit, who was active in the flesh can no longer manifest himself, because the flesh has died in Christ. The power of alcoholism was broken, at the moment the person was delivered and became born again. Therefore the power of alcoholism doesn’t have any power over the person anymore (Read also: ‘Deliverance from the power of alcohol‘).
As a new creation, the person reigns over the powers and forces of the darkness, instead that these powers and forces reign over the person.
When we replace wine with grape juice, due to this reason, then we make people the center of the church and the congregation, instead of Jesus.
We let the flesh reign above the Spirit, and we adjust the commandment of Jesus, to a human being. Which is a bad thing to do.
This also says a lot about the state of the church. Because people have become the center of attention.
The church is focused on people instead of Jesus. It looks a lot like new age, where everything revolves around people and themselves.
“Yes, but when we changed the wine into grape juice, we experienced many (healing) miracles during communion”
The devil wants to remove the blood from the Church, so he also wants to remove the wine. It reminds him of his defeat. The devil can also do miracles and wonder, look at satanists, occultists, witches, magicians, etc.
Even in churches, where the devil has taken his place, he performs many signs and wonders. Even among Christians, when believers bear the fruit of the flesh, but perform miracles, you have to be extra cautious.
Jesus warns His followers that there will be many false prophets, who will do great signs and wonders. It will look like these prophets are sent from Him, but they aren’t. Everything looks so real, that even the followers of Jesus could be deceived (Mat 24:24)
“Yes, but in the old days the wine differed from the wine we have nowadays; the wine didn’t contain as much alcohol, as it does now”
Really? Let’s have a look at Genesis 9:21. We read about Noah, becoming drunk on wine. If the wine was indeed different, and if it indeed didn’t contain that much alcohol, how did Noah become drunk?
And not only Noah became drunk on wine. In Genesis 19:33, were read about Lot, and how his daughters got him drunk, with……. wine.
The drink offering in the Old Covenant
When we look at the Jewish law, we read in Exodus 29:40, Leviticus 23:14, Numbers 15:5-10, Numbers 28:7,14 that for the drink offering they used wine and not grape juice.
The Hebrew word for wine is yah’-yin (nr 3196 Strong’s concordance) and means: wine (as fermented); by implication intoxication: (banqueting) (wine) wine (-bibber)
We can say and conclude that wine has a very special meaning throughout the Bible. Nowhere in the Bible is the wine replaced by grape juice.
How can we change a commandment of God,
for a human being?
Let us repent from this deed of rebellion against God and bring the wine back where it belongs: in the Church; the Body of Christ. When we have communion with the Lord Jesus, then the whole church partakes of His passion and death, and the redemption Jesus has brought to us by His blood. When we drink of the cup, we are partakers of His death, by dying to your flesh.
The wine tastes bitter, and that’s what dying of the flesh is. It isn’t nice and sweet, like grape juice, but it’s bitter.
Let’s make Jesus Head of the Church, instead of throwing Jesus out of the church. Let us stay obedient to Jesus and keep His commandments. Instead of adjusting His commandments and His will to the desires and lusts of the people.
Thy silver is become dross,
thy wine mixed with water:
Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves:
everyone loves gifts, and follows after rewards:
they judge not the fatherless,
neither does the cause of the widow come unto them
(Isaiah 1:22-23)
‘Be the salt of the earth’
