There’s a beautiful story in the Scriptures of a Jewish man who is traveling on a road, and on his way he is beaten up, hurt badly, robbed, and ends up in really bad shape. The first two people that go by decide not to help him, but then a Samaritan comes by, sees him, and the Bible says he does something amazing. He pours wine and oil on his wounds (see Luke 10:25-37).
The Holy Spirit is referred to as wine in the Scriptures. Paul actually makes a comparison by saying, “Be not drunk with wine... but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18 KJV). Wine is interesting because it possesses many qualities that are very similar to those of the Holy Spirit. First of all, wine is aged. The best wine is aged wine.
You remember the story of the wedding in Cana? It was the setting for Jesus’ first miracle. I love this story for so many reasons. First and foremost, I love it because it involves Jesus. I love anything that involves Him. Secondly, it’s a beautiful picture of His relationship with His mother and of the beautiful, natural nature of Jesus. He was not too spiritual to attend a wedding and celebrate with those who are celebrating.
Mary comes to the Lord because there is a problem at the wedding. They had run out of wine. And so, the master of the ceremony was a bit stressed. Mary came to the Lord and told Him. After dialoguing with Mary and after a little back-and-forth with His mother, Jesus gave direction, and He told the servants, “Fill up the vessels with water” (see John 2:7). And they filled up the vessels with water, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, that water was turned into wine. Everyone began to drink after the miracle took place. And the people said, “You have saved the best wine for last. Typically, the best wine is first, but you saved the best for last” (see John 2:10).
Isn’t this a picture of the Holy Spirit in so many different ways? It is an especially beautiful picture of the way of the Holy Spirit. As amazing as Pentecost was, for instance, He promises that the latter will be greater than the former—that the reign, that the glory of the latter house would be greater than that of the former house (see Hag. 2:9). And the way of the Holy Spirit is always to multiply Himself.
The river of God that we see in Ezekiel 47, it goes from shallow to deep. That is always the progression of the Lord. Now, that’s not to say that every person who is born again continues to go deeper and deeper. It’s only to say that the will of God is that we go deeper and deeper. If we start off shallow, grow into depth, and then move into the shallows again, it is not because of the Lord. God’s way is increase. Even when He prunes, it’s so that we might bear more fruit. So it’s not a shock to us that Jesus waited until the very end of the wedding not only to turn water into wine, but also to make sure that it was much better than the best wine man could offer at the beginning of the wedding. It’s also important for us to notice and understand that the Lord waited until they ran out of their own wine, which was man-made. This would cause them to ask for the wine that comes from Jesus, the Holy Spirit. And this is what the Lord is wanting from us. He’s wanting us to realize that anything that’s man-made, anything that finds its origin in the flesh, while it might look good and taste good, it’s not eternal; it runs out. The wine that comes from Heaven, it never runs out.
David said it this way: “My cup runs over” (see Ps. 23:5). The Greek translation from the Septuagint would say it this way: “I am intoxicated with wine from your cup.” Even in the Old Covenant, David knew, because by the Spirit he had seen the beauty of the New Covenant, that there was a beautiful secret, that the blessing of the New Covenant was this: God would love in men. That God the Holy Spirit would make His home in our bodies, and that we would no longer have to go to the temple to find Him but that our bodies would become the house of God. That deep within us we could always drink of the wine of the Holy Spirit.
What Does the Wine of the Spirit Do?
First of all, that wine was used in the story of the Good Samaritan to disinfect and to bring healing to the wounds of the man who was hurt so badly. The oil would cover and protect the wound and cause the wound to begin closing. It would keep infection from setting in long term. It would become a calming agent to the wound. But the initial application would have been the wine because alcohol disinfects. Now, this is a picture of the blood of Jesus, no doubt, but it is also a picture of the wine of the Holy Spirit and His work. The Holy Spirit not only protects us and empowers us, but He also disinfects us. He is actually the One who brings and carries the benefits of the blood of Jesus to our lives. That’s what the Bible teaches—that the blessings of Abraham have come to us by the Spirit (see Gal. 3:14). In fact, the blood and the Spirit and water, the Bible says, work together; they bear witness in Heaven and on earth (see 1 John 5:8). It is the same today. The Holy Spirit and the power of the blood, they work in perfect harmony. In fact, the Bible says that it was through the blood of Jesus that the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead (see Heb. 13:20).
Next, when wine is consumed in the Spirit and we are filled with the Spirit, we experience what David called “an intoxication.” There is a beautiful drunkenness in the Holy Spirit. This is full of joy, full of peace. There is a holy inebriation that comes to those who are constantly beholding the Lord. The early saints of old talked about this. The 120 in the upper room on the day of Pentecost were called drunkards because of the work of the Holy Spirit. Some believe that this is because they spoke in tongues, but that is not the case. Let me ask you a simple question: If your friend, who spoke perfect English and only perfect English, all of a sudden began to speak perfect Portuguese, would you attribute to that to drinking alcohol? No. In fact, your conclusion would be the exact opposite. You wouldn’t say, “You must be drunk.” You would say, “You’re a genius.”
So why were they called drunkards? It was because of the effect that the Holy Spirit was having on them, the joy that He was producing in their souls, the way that they were declaring the Word of the Lord in the native tongues of all who were listening. You see, it’s not just what we preach, but how we preach it. It’s what oozes out of us when we speak. The wine of Heaven brings a happiness and a peace that nothing else can. I believe that this is one of the gifts from the Lord that helps us experience the following Scripture: “We are in the world but not of the world” (see John 17:14). In other words, our bodies are planted here on earth. Our minds are dealing with both worlds; but deep in our spirit, the new wine of Heaven begins to flow, and we receive this heavenly drink that causes us to lose sight of all that holds us. All the fear and all the worry that the world offers begin to dissipate, and we begin to live a true heavenly life.
Now, any good wine is also hidden and covered. This speaks of value. I’ve been in caves in Italy that hold hundreds of bottles of wine. The reason they’re hidden down there is because they’re valuable. While the Holy Spirit is given to all who love Jesus, the new wine of Heaven is not experienced by all Christians. This is because there is a side of the Lord that causes Him to hide Himself. In fact, the Bible says in the Book of Isaiah, “I am the Lord who hideth” (see Isa. 45:15). There is this side of God because of His supreme value, which demands that we seek Him. As those wine bottles hide in those dark caves, so there are aspects of the Holy Spirit that we can find only in solitude by digging into the depths of His heart. Yet as we dig and walk and trust and listen into areas that few have, we can count on the Holy Spirit to unlock the wine of Heaven that’s been covered and aged for years.