TRANSFORMING YOU FROM THE WATER OF THE WORDINTO THE WINE OF THE WORD
09-05-04 (Luke
8:11) Now the parable is this: The
seed is the word [logos] of
God. (John
1:14) And
the Word [of God - logos] was
made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. [When
did He receive the glory that his disciples beheld?] 1.
(Mat 3:16,17) And Jesus,
when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo,
the heavens were opened unto him, and he [John
the Baptist] saw the
Spirit of God descending like a
dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 2.
(Mark 1:9-11) And it came
to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was
baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water,
he [John the Baptist] saw the
heavens opened, and the Spirit like a
dove descending upon him: And
there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased. 3.
dove = Heb: a dove (appar. from the warmth of their mating):--dove,
pigeon /// to effervesce; wine (as fermented); by impl.
intoxication:--banqueting, wine, wine [-bibber]. 4.
(Luke 3:21-23 & 4:1,2) Now when all the people were baptized, it
came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and
praying, the heaven was opened, And
the Holy Ghost descended
in a bodily shape like
a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my
beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. And Jesus himself began to be about
thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was
the son of Heli, //// (Luke 4:1,2) And
Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost
returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being
forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and
when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 5.
(John 1:28-34) These
things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The
next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the
sin of the world [kosmos vs. aion].
This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me:
for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest
to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with
water. And John bare record, saying, I
saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode [remained]
upon him. And I knew him not: but
he that sent me to baptize with
water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit
descending, and remaining on him,
the same is he which baptizeth with
the Holy Ghost [i.e. dove]. And
I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. (Rom
12:1,2) I beseech you therefore, brethren
[saved, born-again], by the mercies
of God, that ye present your bodies [i.e.
vessels - containers] a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God, which is your reasonable service. And
be not conformed [to
the same pattern] to this world: but
be ye transformed [to
a different pattern] by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove [discern]
what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 1.
(Luke 2:40) And
the child grew, and waxed strong [increased
in vigor: be strenghtened] in spirit, [being]
filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. 2.
(2 Pet 3:18) But
grow in grace [the divine influence
upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude], and
in the knowledge [understanding]
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever.
Amen. 3.
(Luke 2:42) And when he
was twelve years old, they went up
to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. ////
(Luke 2:45-47) And when
they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it
came to pass, that after three days [symbol
of the death, burial, and resurrection] they found him in
the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors [instructors:
masters, teachers (of the Law)], both hearing them, and asking them
questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding
and answers. 4.
Commentary:
The water of the word (seed – logos: John 1:14) was made flesh, as the body
of Jesus the man (child). Jesus is the express seed, the Word of God, the
Bible. The seed grew naturally (His body) and spiritually (His mind).
Metaphorically speaking, He grew in
understanding of the world (natural) and in understanding of heaven
(spiritual). At “about thirty years of age” (the original qualifying
age of entrance into the priesthood: Num 4:3) when Jesus the man (child)
attained full maturity, when the seed of Him had grown up and matured into a
fully ripened tree of life, He ceremoniously received the symbol of the full
anointing [Aaron: Lev 8:12], the
dove from heaven, and became Jesus the Christ (He entered into the
priesthood). The water of the seed had been progressively, supernaturally,
transformed over thirty years of growth into wine (fruit – rhema -
revelation), much like fine wine fermenting in a wooden keg. 5.
Commentary:
This exact same supernatural transformation is experienced in us when we
become born-again, i.e. when we willingly receive the seed of Jesus Christ,
the word of God, into our body. However, we experience this transformation as
a much slower jagged (2 steps forward, one back) process because of the sin
existing in us (Psa 51:5; Gal 3:22; 1 John 1:8) which inhibits, hinders,
obstructs, blocks, limits our understanding of God. In Jesus the
transformation was smoothly progressive (no obstructions) because in Him was
“no sin” (5 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5). 6.
(Mat 7:13,14) Enter ye in
at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way,
that leadeth to destruction [damnation],
and many there be which go
in thereat: Because strait is the gate
[narrow (from obstacles standing close
about)], and narrow
[to crowd:--afflict, throng, suffer
tribulation, trouble] is the way
[road], which leadeth unto life,
and few there be that find
it. Commentary:
This supernatural transformation from the water of the word into the wine of
the word is immediately exemplified by Jesus’ very first miracle, that of
transforming the water in the six waterpots of stone, representing the vessels
or bodies of men and women, into wine (John 2:1-11). THE VERY FIRST TRANSFORMATION: ETERNAL SALVATION(John
2:1-11) And the third day [symbol
of the death, burial, and resurrection] there was a marriage in
Cana of Galilee [symbol of the marriage
supper of the Lamb]; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was
called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted
[lacked] wine,
the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto
her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come [symbol
of His crucifixion on the cross for the sins of the world]. His mother
saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there
were set there six waterpots of stone,
after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three
firkins apiece [18 or 27 gallons x
7 lbs = 126 or 189 pounds]. Jesus saith unto them, Fill
the waterpots with water [i.e. the word
of God, the Bible]. And they
filled them up to the brim [with
the Bible]. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the
governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had
tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the
servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the
bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good
wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast
kept the good wine until now. This
beginning of miracles did Jesus in
Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on
him. 1.
(Exo 16:15-18) And when
the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It
is manna [“bread from heaven”
John 6:31,32]: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them,
This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. This is the thing
which the LORD hath commanded, Gather
of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according
to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his
tents. And the children of Israel did so, and
gathered, some more, some less. And when they did mete [measure]
it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that
gathered little had no lack;
they gathered every man according to his eating. 2.
(John 6:31-35) Our fathers
did eat manna in the desert [lonesome,
waste: desert, desolate, solitary, wilderness]; as it is written, He gave
them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my
Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For
the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the
world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
And Jesus said unto them, I am the
bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never
hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never
thirst. Amen |