Photo by Patrick Fore
With 11 separate Hillsong reviews out of the way, I can safely say that I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.Ā Most of it has been good thus far; However, no artist is perfect.Ā Not even an artist whose popularity has surpassed Christian superstars such as Chris Tomlin or Michael W. Smith.
Somehow I’ve managed to avoid these two artists after this website started 13 months ago.Ā Any suggestions?Ā I’ve had a few people email me, asking why I have nothing from…
Oh, sorry about that, my ADD is kicking in!Ā I get easily distracted, much like the dogs in the movie “Up”.Ā Now, where were we?Ā Oh right, Hillsong.Ā I was going to review Hillsong Worship’s New Wine.Ā Before I lose my concentration again, let’s rush into it.
Speaking of Rush, I loved him when he first appeared in Megaman 3, that trusty red dog…
NOTE: For this particular review, I am interested in what the Bible teaches about New Wine.Ā Hillsong’s abhorrent usage as part of their Apostolic Church is something worth considering for anyone interested in their original intent.
Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!Ā ReadĀ About the Berean TestĀ andĀ Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.Ā IĀ strongly encourageĀ you toĀ considerĀ theĀ potentialĀ blessings andĀ dangersĀ ofĀ this artistās theology by visitingĀ Resources.
1. What message does the song communicate?
The core of this message is God’s transformative power to mold us from our old lives (the “old flames”), pressing and crushing us as we submit to His will into a new vessel, new wine that seeks to desire Him.Ā Through this transformative process, we become vessels for the Holy Spirit as He commands us to live a holy life.
I enjoy the poetic language offered using figurative language that most Christians will understand, combining theological thought in a cohesive whole, magnifying a single attribute of God, namely, molding sinners into saints.Ā However, there is a problem with Hillsong’s usage of “new wine”.Ā As I will explain in section 2, this is about a new covenant, not a new self.Ā It compromises an otherwise excellent message.
Score: 8/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
Overall, it is mostly Biblical, though with possible miscommunication on evading personal Biblical study and minor concern regarding a lack of explanation on the new power described.Ā There is also an issue with the beginning of the song in comparison to Scripture.
Lyrics posted with permission.*
[Verse 1]
In the crushing
In the pressing
You are making new wine
The end of the Chorus reveals the identity of “You” as Jesus.
My initial thought is that this imagery describes God’s discipline of His children to aid us in becoming better than we are, yielding the perfect fruits of righteousness (Hebrews 12:4-11).Ā Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 9:14-17, Mark 2:18-22, and Luke 5:33-39 regarding old/new wine, according to Gill’s commentary, is that the new wineskins are sinners saved by grace, vessels of righteousness regenerated by the Holy Spirit.Ā This is consistent with Hillsong’s point regarding new wine contextualized by the rest of the lyrics.
If the new wineskins are the vessels, then the new self must be the new wine (Ezekiel 11:19, Romans 6:1-7, Romans 8:12-13, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 5:16-18, Ephesians 4:22-24, Ephesians 2:14-16, Colossians 3:10, and 1 Peter 2:24).
Another common interpretation of “new wine” is that Jesus rejects Pharisaical teaching, ushering in a new religion of Christianity. This plays into the hand of the NAR movement. There are a few problems with this view:
1. Jesus didn’t have a problem with the teaching of the Pharisees. His issue was their behavior. For example, in Matthew 23:1-4, Jesus laid out the difference between the teaching of the Pharisees and their acts. He says to do as they say, but not as they do.
Side note: How many times have our parents told us that? At least, my parents did. But, children tend to do as their parents and often not what they say!
2. The larger context of this parable is in response to the Pharisees’ questioning why Jesus’ disciples do not fast and pray as the disciples of Pharisees and disciples of John the Baptist. Jesus responds that His disciples will fast and pray when He is taken from them. This is an Old Testament practice that Jesus does not reject.
Luke 5:39 specifically has been marinating within me.Ā This passage doesn’t show up in Matthew or Mark and seems to indicate that the wineskins are people. The person requires transformation before they stop saying “the old is good enough”, willing to drink new wine. So, the wineskin is the transformed life, not the wine itself.
This begs the question: what is this “new wine”? Jesus’ overarching message is to establish a new covenant, where there would be forgiveness of sins. This connects with wine in Matthew 26:27-28, Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 11:25, and Hebrews 13:20 and aligns with the Scriptures you provided. The promised Holy Spirit comes with the package, reiterated at the beginning of Acts 1 and begins to enter the disciples of Jesus post-ascension in Acts 2.
Therefore, the new wine is the new covenant and the new wineskins are vessels willing to enter into this new covenant with Jesus, prepared to receive the Holy Spirit. Then, Hillsong is on the right track, but incorrect in the usage of wine in their song. God has already made new wine, the new covenant, about 2,000 years ago. He is making new wineskins, prepared hearts that enter into this new covenant and receive the Holy Spirit.
This also means that Gills’ commentary is incorrect.
In the soil I now surrender
You are breaking new ground
Based on the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, and Luke 8:4-15, Christ uses changes the condition of the soil that enables us to surrender to His will, often through other people (John 4:38).
[Pre-Chorus]
So I yield to You and to Your careful hand
When I trust You I donāt need to understand
While biblical faith requires us to surrender and trust in Jesus, we must not become complacent and blindly follow without understanding.Ā The Scriptures command us to study to show ourselves approved, rightfully dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).Ā No, we do not need to understand everything; However, the wording here can dissuade from Scriptural study.
[Chorus]
Make me Your vessel
Make me an offering
Consistent with 1 Corinthians 6:19, under New Testament theology, our bodies are living temples housing the Holy Spirit.
Make me whatever You want me to be
That is, make me holy (Leviticus 11:44-45, Leviticus 19:2, Leviticus 20:7, Romans 6:1-14, Ephesians 4:1, Colossians 1:10-14, 1 Peter 1:13-16, and 1 Peter 2:16).
I came here with nothing
But all You have given me
Though we came into this world naked and with nothing (1 Timothy 6:7), Christ has given us the best thing: Himself.Ā This is summarized in the famous verse known as John 3:16.
Jesus bring new wine out of me
See commentary on Verse 1, lines 1-3.
[Verse 2]
In the crushing
In the pressing
You are making new wine
In the soil I now surrender
You are breaking new ground
Repeats Verse 1.
[Verse tag]
You are breaking new ground
Repeats final line of Verse 1.
[Bridge]
Where there is new wine
There is new power
Though not explained, the new power is the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) within the new covenant.Ā Though not described, the old power is human effort to obey God’s laws.Ā They don’t save us (Acts 13:39, Romans 3:20-21, Romans 4:13, Romans 9:32, Galatians 2:16, Galatians 3:10-13, and Galatians 5:4).
There is new freedom
Hillsong offers an explanation at the end of the Bridge.Ā The freedom here is a shift from slavery of sin to slavery of righteousness, eloquently summarized in Romans 6:20-22.
The Kingdom is here
That is, the Kingdom of God.Ā There are too many Bible passages to list here.
I lay down my old flames
To carry Your new fire today
See commentary in line 3.
Score: 6/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
Those who are not Christians or understand basic Christian theology will be highly confused with all the imagery and “Christian-ese” thrown around.Ā They will probably understand this to be a Christian song given the word “Jesus” in the Chorus; However, not much else is offered that will aid unbelievers.Ā It is not their fault though; this song was not written with them in mind.Ā The issue with “new wine” mentioned in previous sections will probably not faze unbelievers much, but something that requires explanation.
Score: 4/10
4. What does this song glorify?
Outsider test notwithstanding, its beautiful, poetic text honors Christ in describing His transformative power; However, Hillsong’s misinterpretation of “new wine” snatches some of it away.
Score: 7/10
Closing Comments
Hillsong Worship’sĀ New Wine is mixed (pun intended). Its poetic and beautiful lyrics shine through, using language that, unfortunately, only Christians and the astute unbeliever will understand. It is mostly biblical, with a disturbing misinterpretation of “new wine” that is more covenantal than Hillsong leads us to believe and impact God’s inherent glory. It compromises an otherwise powerful message exalting His methods to change lives from eternal separation to eternal life with Him.
For these reasons, I cannot recommend this song for corporate worship.
Final Score: 6/10
Artist Info
Track: New Wine (listen to the song)
Artist: Hillsong Worship
Album: There Is More (Studio Sessions)
Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)
Release Year: 2018
Duration: 4:02
Agree?Ā Disagree?Ā Don’t be shy or have a cow!Ā Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
*Copyright Ā© 2018 Hillsong Music Publishing (APRA) (adm. in the US and Canada at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Updates:
05/07/2021 – Per Artist Theology announcement, I expanded the red text to encourage others to study Hillsong’s theology.
02/21/2020 – After a lengthy email discussion with Nathan, I’ve changed my view on the meaning of “new wine”.Ā This alters my review score from 8/10 to 6/10.
10/14/2019 – Thanks to the challenge of commenter Binny, I realized that I did not provide Scriptural support for my interpretation of “new wine” and the vessel therein.Ā I added that to section 2, Verse 1.
Comments
Jord
Would love to hear some thoughts- as as a worship leader, i often refer back to this site to gauge the community commentary as a choose songs to introduce..
I’ve avoided this song due to confusion around the meaning of the new wine, however i recently heard a message that spoke from John 2: Jesus’ first miracle at the Cana wedding. Jesus’ method of producing this new wine (the outcome, the power, the solution) was one that was unexpected and defied understanding (1 Corinthians 1:27); all that was required was obedience from the servants in the lack of understanding. In this context, the new wine isn’t the covenant, rather the miracle that Jesus brought forth out of vessels of plain water. Not our way, but His, in His infinite wisdom above our understanding.
After the message, this song immediately came to mind, and seemed to make perfect sense in context. The crushing and pressing; the processing, obedience in trial or lack of understanding that we go through- Jesus will use this to further His Kingdom for His glory. I agree that it can be difficult to reconcile the message of a song like this without prior context, however when context is provided, i think that it conveys a powerful message.
I haven’t yet seen any references to John 2 in this review or the commentary.. thoughts?
Maria Rolland
As I was reading Haggai 1 this morning this song came to mind.
Haggai 1 mentions God withholding new wine because of the peoples disobedience and neglecting worshipping God.
“And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.ā
Haggai 1:11 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/hag.1.11.ESV
Also, this passage later speaks about the people of God rebuilding the temple.
Therefore to add on to your review, I would add the bit about “breaking new ground” could refer to the rebuilding of the temple or the rebuilding of the temple walls. And the “new wine” referred to may come from newly committed hearts. God blessing.
Not necessarily a reference to the new covenant. That is where some minds will go, but I don’t see anything in the song that makes me think that was the intent.
Lastly, the line ” when I trust you I don’t need to understand”
I do believe while we need to study the scriptures, faith requires submitting even when we don’t understand. Often trusting God precedes understanding.
This is especially true in loss and pain. In the pain and loss I have been able to trust that though I do not yet understand why, God is good and can be trusted.
Thank you for sharing your thoughtful and through review, clearly it stirred up lots of thoughts and conversation.
Vince Wright
Maria,
Thank you for your comments! I tend to think along New Testament lines because, well, we are in the New Covenant! As you said, the rest of the lyrics make it difficult to see “new wine” as newly committed hearts, although that concept is part of the package of becoming a follower of Jesus. We become committed to Him instead of ourselves.
-Vince Wright
Amanda
In the Old Testament the Israelites were asked to bring “new wine” as a drink offering along with grain and oil. The Apostle Paul referred to himself twice in the NT as being poured out as a drink offering. This in addition to believers being described as bearing fruit as branches of the vine, means there is plenty of room for the metaphor used in this song. Metaphors in poetry and song don’t have to come from Scripture, however, as long as the truths they illustrate do.
Sheryl
I donāt agree with this criticism of the song use of new wine as a metaphor for the christian rebirth I think an artist can use any metaphor he chooses to get us to understand the continuity of our rebirth as sinners saved by Christ.
Joel
Wine, new or old is taking millions of people to their death. The one who is either addicted to, or idolizes wine will find reason to continue their behavior. As someone who was delivered from my slavery to alcohol, I cannot support these lyrics. I am washed in the Blood of Jesus and celebrate the Eucharist with bread and unfermented grape juice. This song isn’t wrong in my opinion, it just has the potential to cause someone to stumble. I understand that this is “off message” but I am a warrior for the simple minded, like me.
racefangurl
I think new wine in the Bible means unfermented maybe?
Barbara Olson
Joel
As a Christian whose family has addicted members I agree with you. I don’t know what “Jesus bring new wine out of me ” means. And knowing how easily addicts are triggered a song with the title “New Wine” is inappropriate. There are many other songs that worship and glorify God. Doctrine and Scripture are clear and Scripture says the the Bible is proven by the Bible and this song is questionable. Symbolism is good if it clear and “New Wine ” is muddy.
Rick Morgan
I am so saddened by so many of the comments here. It makes me think of Todd Friel absolutely mocking Bethel worship. My heart breaks as I think how this grieves the Spirit of God.
For Christians in Germany and Nazi occupied territories during the Holocaust, there was really only one question. Will you help protect the Jews. For true followers of Jesus, it didnāt matter if you were Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal or whatever, there was really only one issue.
The time is coming (and is already here in many ways) when true believers will need to stand together, if we are to stand at all. Doctrine is important, and we must differentiate between the true gospel and a false gospel, but for someone to say that I am believing in a false Jesus simply because I believe that apostles exist today is wrong on so many levels. I believe in the Apostles Creed. This statement and the others like it, needs to be how we know who is our brethren are.
God help us!
Rick Morgan
Rick Morgan
Darla,
I am so saddened by so many of the comments here. It makes me think of Todd Friel absolutely mocking Bethel worship. My heart breaks as I think how this grieves the Spirit of God.
For Christians in Germany and Nazi occupied territories during the Holocaust, there was really only one question. Will you help protect the Jews. For true followers of Jesus, it didnāt matter if you were Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal or whatever, there was really only one issue.
The time is coming (and is already here in many ways) when true believers will need to stand together, if we are to stand at all. Doctrine is important, and we must differentiate between the true gospel and a false gospel, but for someone to say that I am believing in a false Jesus simply because I believe that apostles exist today is wrong on so many levels. I believe in the Apostles Creed. This statement and the others like it, needs to be how we know who is our brethren are.
God help us!
Rick Morgan
Neal Cruco
Rick,
It is not clear whether you are defending the NAR specifically (and if so, to what extent), but I will leave some articles here that quite thoroughly explain its problems.
https://www.gotquestions.org/New-Apostolic-Reformation.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/New-Apostolic-Church.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/apostles-prophets-restored.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/cessationism.html
As the Church, we can and should work across denominational differences for the glory of God, rather than let Satan set us to fighting over secondary matters. But I will speak out, as I have the opportunity, against groups who claim to belong to Christ yet teach a different Gospel than He taught. Satan’s most effective work is done within the Church, and these groups (including Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses) are his unwitting agents.
“I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.
“Let Godās curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.” – Galatians 1:6-9 (NLT)
Rick Morgan
Neal,
My favorite NAR quote comes from ihopkc’s explanation of their stance on the NAR:
“While any Christian scholar has an ability to name a movement, the question remains whether any organized movement exists and whether IHOPKC is part of that movement.”
from
https://www.ihopkc.org/press-center/faq/ihopkc-part-new-apostolic-reformation/
I am not defending the NAR, because in my opinion, it doesn’t exist. Since you were so kind (sarcasm) to send me some links, I thought I would return the favor and send you some of my links, probably mostly from Dr Michael Brown, but that seemed to me like we would be in a kind of pissing contest, so I won’t.
Since you ended with scripture (which by the way, I just shared those very passages from Galatians at our church in a foundations class, where I was teaching about the diety of Christ), I thought I would end with scripture.
Rev 6:17 NKJ “For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
I’m guessing that you’re of the opinion that we won’t be around for any of that (aka pretrib rapture), but if we’re still here then, maybe then you’ll understand what I was trying to say, and really you won’t even have to wait until then.
I said previously:
The time is coming (and is already here in many ways) when true believers will need to stand together, if we are to stand at all.Ā The persecution is coming, and for many (even in America) it is already here.
Mat 12:25b NKJ “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
God help us!
Rick Morgan
Ted Myrrh
Jesus used Figurative language with the Israelites to conceal his message in alegorical symbolic language. they being too theological and legalistic he was concealing things intentionally for those who are not childlike in understanding. the symbol as with many biblical symbols can have multiple meanings, levels and revelations….this is the very reason God speaks in symbols because he is the creator of all things in the universe as living lessons. yes we should examine theology and test everything but sometimes we just need to live in the wonder of the spirit of the message and not be “straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel” “the letter kills but the spirit gives life” The law is harsh and black and white but the spirit of the law is love and faithfulness. we can be so consumed with details that we miss the point. In this case the point is worship and surrender to God and being useful to him, not “smart” and “correct” in our theology.
Vince Wright
Ted,
Thank you for your comment! I am having a hard time discerning if you agree or disagree with me, If the latter, can you explain where specifically I am mistaken?
-Vince Wright
David
Yes we donāt have to understand everything (Prv3:5-6).
But Jesus hid things from those with hard hearts but permitted His disciples to understand the analogies He made.
And in John 15:15 He says that He confides everything with us because where His friends. And in the next chapter He says that the Holy Spirit will guide us in to all truth.
1 Tim 4:16 says to watch your life and doctrine closely. We should be careful about singing songs that donāt line up with scripture and try to avoid it if possible.
The only thing I like about this song is the surrender in the chorus.
And yes, we should be yielding to the Spirit, but God doesnāt ask us to sacrifice the bible for the Holy Spirit or vice versa for that matter. To many believers make the mistake of trading one for the other.
But weāre supposed to worship in BOTH Spirit AND truth.
Rick Morgan
I am so saddened by so many of the comments here. It makes me think of Todd Friel absolutely mocking Bethel worship. My heart breaks as I think how this grieves the Spirit of God.
For Christians in Germany and Nazi occupied territories during the Holocaust, there was really only one question. Will you help protect the Jews. For true followers of Jesus, it didn’t matter if you were Lutheran, Catholic, Pentecostal or whatever, there was really only one issue.
The time is coming (and is already here in many ways) when true believers will need to stand together, if we are to stand at all. Doctrine is important, and we must differentiate between the true gospel and a false gospel, but for someone to say that I am believing in a false Jesus simply because I believe that apostles exist today is wrong on so many levels. I believe in the Apostles Creed. This statement and the others like it, needs to be how we know who is our brethren are.
God help us!
Letolo
When I first heard this song I was at my lowest, I did not need any Bible reference because it made so much sense. It woke my spirit.The song says “So I yield to You and to Your careful hand, when I trust You I don’t need to understand” I really didn’t understand why I had to go through what I went through, God carried me through it anyway and deep down my soul He was closer to me than I knew. That is why though troubled I still kneeled down to Him in prayer.All I wanted was to be closer to God all over again.Through Jesus I was in hope and faith that my prayers where reaching God, I had to surrender myself.The words : “So make me Your vessel/Make me an offering/Make me whatever You want me to be/I came here with nothing/But all/You have given me/Jesus, bring new wine out of me/Jesus, bring new wine out of me/Jesus, bring new wine out of me”,
made me believe that through Jesus my spirit would be renewed just like new wine, so that I can therefore mature in God love and have my faith strengthened.
Pastor Olatunbosun Korede
Pastor Korede (Lagos Nigeria Africa)
Wonderful song. I am really inspired by the song. The song brought a new wave of the Spirit to us as we fellowship in church. We understood the context of the song in love. We belive in simplicity of the gospel in Africa while we make room for understanding and tolerance. We are not focusing on any error in the lyrics. It was the motive of the writer of the song that the Holy Ghost used to bless us mightily in church. God bless Hillsong family. Motives and the reason why we do what we do matters most to God. There is no perfect theology among men without error i.e either error by personality or of ignorance. God blesses our heart more than our acts. However, we must do our best to act right when such knowledge of rightness in the things of God is available to us
Shalom.
Vince Wright
Pastor Olatunbosun Korede,
Thank you for your thoughts! This seems a commentary on the entire website rather than this single song.
Part of its purpose is to find theological errors and expose them for others to consider.
If you want to continue use this song, great! I am happy for you.
-Vince Wright
Jj
My daughter and I also were not comfortable with this song/ noting that new wine is not as good as aged wine/ but biblical research showed us that new wine is often used in reference to offering, tithing and a blessing can be found in it. It also refers to a remnant of Israel as a nation (Isaiah 65:8). But we canāt find anything scripturally that says we are crushed or pressed into new wine.
And also we canāt find the phrase āold flamesā in the Bible nor ānew fireā in reference to our spiritual walk. So we are just not too pleased with this song, although the intentions seem God honoring. We truly have been paying attention to lyrics in our church these days! We just want to praise Jesus and God and Not sing about us!
Vince Wright
Jj,
Thank you for your comments! Evidently, I thought it took a more figurative overtone, but I suppose we’ll have to disagree on that.
-Vince Wright
Samuel
Why are people bashing HillSong Worship everywhere. I have not seen any Gospel Group of Artist as good and prolific like this guys. This post i’m sure tried explain the lyrics of the song based on the context. What if Jesus was not mentioned at all, and still has a message of Salvation referring to him as “Lord”. What then would you say? Like the writer said, no one is perfect. Say what you like, millions all over the World are blessed by HillSong Worship, and if don’t like it or satisfied, please come up with your own Worship team. I’m speaking out this way cos I have seen many Youtube videos criticise them with no genuine intention to correct what they feel is wrong, just a way to rubbish the Church(team). They are just not happy a church can be that successful musically. Let’s not forget, Darlene Zschech was part of this ministry and probably one of the founding members of Hillsong Worship. So there is a legacy. If you are not blessed by this lyrics, you can begin by checking your Spiritual life. There is an issue you need to address, please. By the way, you have done a good job in this review. I stumbled on the site while looking for exactly what i see here cos I was about to minister the song in church. God bless us all, Shalom!
Vince Wright
Samuel,
Thanks for your comments! I believe most of your comments are directed towards the commenters and not me. I gave this song a favorable score overall. Correct me if I am mistaken.
-Vince Wright
Corey Drotzur
If I were to put dog poop in a brownie mix, would that make the recipe favorable or not favorable? In the same manner, if any portion of a song disagrees with scripture, then the entire song must be rejected.
Vince Wright
Corey,
Thank you for your comments!
I believe that songs are more akin to real and fake $100 bills that are intermixed within the same pot. Songs are a series of truth statements, questions, exclamations, and filler. Much like $100 bills, these could be separated out. This becomes more difficult legally, especially when songs are used for corporate worship. However, from a personal perspective, separation is possible.
In your recipe example, ingredients are blended together and cannot be separated. I do not believe songs operate this way.
-Vince Wright
Corey
To your example, the fake $100 bill is still fully counterfeit. That bill is thrown out. The real $100 bill can be viable.
But then we get into whether all modern music is good or bad. No; however, if a particular music industry primarly develops music that drives the emotion rather than the Holy Spirit, then that industry needs to be heavily scrutinized. Where in scripture do we see where emotion and worldly performance as primary players in music?
Binny
The analogy of winepress pressing the vine is given for the judgement of Jesus on the wicked. Winpress is the analogy for Godās wrath. Rev 14:17-20. Iām not sure it is the apt anology for Godās discipline of saints.
I’m not able to see new wine as an anology for refined life in the Bible. In fact Luke 5:39 says old is good.
This song may be poetic but does not arise out of full understanding of the word of God.
tastywallet
Binny,
Thank you for your challenge! You have made two different points here, so allow me to address them one at a time.
Your first point is in regards to Revelation 14:17-20. This utilizes the winepress as an analogy for God’s wrath, that is correct; However, it is not my belief that Hillsong had this passage in mind when referring to “new wine” the way they did, given the context of these lyrics.
Your second point challenges Scriptural usage to make the point that I believe Hillsong makes about new wine. In fact, I did not provide any, prompting me to re-examine my own review and update section 2. I’ll copy what I wrote in this reply:
Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 9:14-17, Mark 2:18-22, and Luke 5:33-39 regarding old/new wine, according to Gill’s commentary, is that the new wineskins are sinners saved by grace, vessels of righteousness regenerated by the Holy Spirit.Ā This is consistent with Hillsong’s point regarding new wine contextualized by the rest of the lyrics.
-TastyWallet
Lee
Hebrews teaches us that Christ was perfected through suffering. Not that He became perfect but by resisting temptation even in suffering, He proved His perfect character. The wird Gethsemane means oil press. I think the winepress is God’s anger exacted upon the sin. We are all under this judgment but those who turn to the Lord from the pressure of the WordPress will stay faithful to the Lord. Those who do not turn to the Lord under the pressure will suffer for eternity.
Sheryl
I agree with Binny. This song always makes me do an “arf?? š¶š¤” whenever I hear it. Poetry is all good and well but from what I’ve researched, the metaphors they’re using have no direct scriptural point of reference. What the heck is “new wine”?? And where does the Bible say anything remotely in alignment with power being found in or around it? This is total nonsense and florid babbling. It uses just enough vaguely Biblical words to fool the seasoned but unalert Christian into swaying gently and being lulled to sleep because, unfortunately, we do tend to hear things “as they should be” or as we’re sure they were “probably meant.” The Bible has plenty of gorgeous imagery and vividly poetic language on its own. There’s no need to cobble random things together to try to evoke… What?? Again, I have no idea what new wine is supposed to actually be Biblically representative of (without having to do a fair amount of mental stretching and filling in blanks). It’s a nice-sounding thing. But at the end of the day it’s hollow. Sorry if I come off incensed, but this song truly annoys and offends me. It’s the worship music equivalent of Pringles. What’s that stuff even made of? Grody reconstituted potato slurry pressed into something palatable for ppl that don’t want to/can’t seem to find the time to eat real food.
tastywallet
Sheryl,
Thank you for your thoughts! I’ve already explained what I thought New Wine meant in my post, but in case you missed it, it is the new wineskins describing the New Covenant between God and Israel found in Matthew 9:14-17, Mark 2:18-22, and Luke 5:33-39.
-TastyWallet
bec
hi, i am not sure that the scripture you provided explains why the song says we are being crushed and pressed. i donāt believe that the hebrews passage explains the discipline of our Father this way. the original language is more about correction, instruction and training and it makes sense with the rest of scripture and who Jesus revealed God to be if this is verbal. God has created and done so many things with His words, Jesus used His words for the training of the disciples not to mention the healing and miracles he did. we do not have a Father who sanctifies is by crushing and pressing us. Jesus was the one who experienced the crushing for our iniquities (judgement for sin) on the cross (isaiah 53:5).
also, new wine in my understanding of scripture is the new covenant of grace and old wine is law/religion/self effort so no crushing or pressing of us needs to happen to create it – Jesus did it all with His finished work!!! new wine skins are our acceptance of His life within us, His righteousness and His Spirit.
this is all to say that this song seems not to describe a picture of God that is accurate or makes re how He has revealed Himself through Jesus.
Vince Wright
Bec,
Thanks for your challenge! I can’t say that I immediately agree with your analysis, but at least I have a new perspective to ponder.
-Vince Wright
bec
thanks Vince. š one cool thing about us all being in the family of God is that we can talk about things like this and know that when it all boils down we are still brothers and sisters and that Love (Jesus) is the centre of any matter. š all the best with your writing!
Vince Wright
Bec,
Much appreciated, thanks! š
-Vince Wright
David
I agree with Bec that Believers are not crushed or presses because of the finished work of Jesus, itās the unbelievers that are crushed (in Revelation).
I understood the new wine skins to be the New Covenant, and the wine to be the forgiveness, grace, and Presence of the Holy Spirit which is only possible within the New Covenant.
lynwerd
Hello tastywallet, I thought it was very helpful. Thank you, God bless you!
Vince Wright
Lynwerd,
Thank you! I am glad that my review helped.
-Vince Wright
tastywallet
Sheryl,
Thank you for your comments! Did you read what I thought is the New Wine? If so, what are your thoughts on my commentary?
-TastyWallet