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Contents - Spirit of the Word - Covenant Eschatology - Introductory Note - New Stuff
Whispers of the New Covenant
by Ray Prinzing
12 - NEW WINE IN THE CLUSTER
"Thus says the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for My servants sakes, that I might not destroy them all. And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of My mountains: and Mine elect shall inherit it, and My servants shall dwell there." (Isaiah 65:8-9)."Lo, I cannot find a man, nay who has walked this way before,
For the path is newly opened by a recent swinging door,
And the predecessors vanish with the dawning of the day,
While the hidden ones are stirring, for the past has passed away.Now the lame shall rise to victory and the legs of faith be strong,
For the cause results in triumph and results to LIFE belong.
From the precious vintage rip'ning is the first fruits cluster rare,
And the blessing bides within it of the changing blood and air.O, you cannot find a vessel that has held what's now in view,
For the perfects' surely birthing in which makes all things new.
So no seeking unto others of a fleeting day and age
Will upturn a single leader whence to look for wisdom sage.Be it known, it's you God's calling to announce in golden tone
That the Day of Christ is bursting in the minds of men, alone.
Yea, alone and separated have they waited through the night,
Knowing well the death of spirit, till returned it bursts the light.Few the shackles still abiding, but they're those of iron worth
And must break in final loos'ning by the shaking of your earth.
Do not fear the crucial crisis in the spirit, body, mind,
For your God leads onward surely where His fullness is defined."
(Author unknown)THERE IS A CHOICE VINE! The New Covenant, of which Jesus Christ is the Mediator, yes, the Guarantee. Of Him it is written, "He takes away the first, that He may establish the second." (Hebrews 10:9). He truly RODE OUT THE OLD, fulfilled it, and then HIS WALK was in the new, of which we also read that HE IS "The Way, The Truth, and The Life." And then we have the glorious promise that "As in (Greek, in, with, by) Adam all die, even so in (in, with, by) Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order."
(1 Corinthians 15:22-23).The totality of victory is secure. "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." (Habakkuk 2:14).
Indeed, "Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God." (Luke 3:5-6).
BUT, for the outworking of this glorious purpose and triumph, it remains, "EVERY MAN IN HIS OWN ORDER." For wide sweeping as it all is, all-inclusive, all-victorious, yet it is being wrought in us individually, by the sovereign handiwork of God. So the truth of a FIRSTFRUITS becomes essential to our understanding, as the Spirit draws to Himself one by one a people that shall become ONE IN HIM! Jesus combined both the individuality of this working, and its totality, when He said, "No man can come to Me, except the Father which has sent Me draw him: - It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes unto Me." (John 6:44-45).
Thus we find in our text passage five very special words: cluster, servant, seed, elect, inheritor. None of these give reference to massive numbers for a beginning-- but are in line with Luke 12:32, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." A LITTLE FLOCK, indeed, just a SEED! For, "I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob." (Isaiah 65:9).
"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He says not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to your seed, which is Christ." (Galatians 3:16).
"Your seed, which is Christ." There is a rule to be followed in studying the Greek text, that, where the identifying article "the" is given, so as to read "the Christ," it is speaking of identity, but where that article is missing, it is speaking of quality. In this verse the identifying article is not there, so it is not referring solely to the identity of our Lord Jesus Christ, but rather it speaks of the quality of the ANOINTING, and thus speaks of that whole enchristed (anointed) first fruits body of which He is the Head. So when we have reference to the SEED, it is not only speaking of our Lord, who truly is THE SEED, but it includes all of those who are now becoming ONE IN HIM-- a corporate body of first fruits who are all anointed with the same QUALITY of anointing that abode upon Him. It is His anointing, for He is the Anointer, and "God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts." (Galatians 4:6).
The SAME SPIRIT which abode in The Son in fullness, is now to abide in us. Of Jesus it is written, "God gives not the Spirit by measure unto Him." (John 3:34). Of us it is written that we have this "Spirit of promise" as an earnest, but we are also to come into His fullness, as "through union with Him, you, too, are filled with it."
(Colossians 2: 10, Williams).As we already have observed in the previous chapter, our UNION with Him, our taking HIS YOKE upon us, to be joined into one with Him, requires that we share in the "fellowship of His suffering, being made conformable unto His death." Yet it is this IMMERSING INTO CHRIST which makes us a part of the SEED company of the new creation order which live by the new covenant. "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. - And if you be Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:27,29).
Truly, this is the SEED through whom "shall all nations be blessed." Spoken of also in Psalm 22:30-31. "A seed shall serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that He has done this."
Obviously this is speaking of that new covenant generation, because they "declare His righteousness," which is the result of His grace. They will not glory in any self-righteousness which is the result of self-works, as under the first covenant. It cannot be emphasized too often, it is totally HIS SOVEREIGN GRACE, and they declare "that HE has done this." Not that He is someday going to do it, but rather THAT IT IS DONE, wrought in a people who become a manifestation of His grace, of His righteousness. LIVING EXPRESSIONS of His handiwork. It is a state of being which verifies the message they speak.
Currently we are in a process of BECOMING. "For as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." (John 1:12).
"We don't know what we shall become in the future. We only know that, if reality were to break through, we should reflect His likeness, for we should see Him as He really is.'' (1 John 3:2, Phillips). How wonderful shall be the seed of the new covenant species that He is bringing forth. They are a first fruits of all the harvest which is to follow, "every man in his own order."
Not only is He bringing forth a CORPORATE SEED after His own kind, but they are a SERVANT-seed. There must always be a balance in our thinking on these things. It is true, we are to be "kings and priests unto God," (Revelation 1:6), but we are also called TO SERVE. As we come to know His total Lordship in our life, and our relationship to Him as His servants, then we are privileged, as overcomers, to share His throne. We will not be haughty and high-minded over our kingship, but we will share in the humility of our Lord, who truly was SERVANT OF ALL. For He "made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:7). He truly revealed unto us the blessedness of subjection to the Father, in away that only HE could reveal how marvelous it is to be a servant. "I can of Mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which has sent Me." (John 5:30).
There is a reason why the Spirit has so often richly anointed the chorus which we have sung these past few years---
"You are Lord, You are Lord,
You have risen from the dead, and You are Lord,
Now my knee shall bow, and my tongue confess,
That You, O Christ, are Lord."Why has He blessed this chorus so often? Because it both exalts Him in His Lordship, and it brings us into acknowledgment of our relationship and position of being the servant. Self cannot glory, so long as we are proclaiming HIS Lordship. And how we need to be cognizant of this fact. For, "The disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above his Lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his Master, and the servants his Lord." (Matthew 10:24-25).
In all things HE will always have the pre-eminence. He is the Head of the body. Yet there is a "growing up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ." (Ephesians 4:15). There is a "headship" position which shall be shared by all those who OVERCOME-- for "To him that overcome I will grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne."
(Revelation 3:21).Long ago Jesus said, as He walked among men, "The foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head." (Luke 9:58). This means a lot more than that He had no home, no bed and pillow upon which to place His head. Indeed, we see it as a comment upon the fact that at that time there was no corporate body with whom to share His headship realm, for He was yet in the process of preparing a people in whom He could dwell, and with whom He could share this position.
The Psalmist in a measure saw this need, and said, "I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob." (Psalm 132:4-5). But it was not a building that God desired to dwell in, it was a PEOPLE, and in due time God told David that rather than David building God an house, God would BUILD HIM-- God wanted him to become His dwelling place-- A ZION PEOPLE. "For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation. This is My rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it." (verses 13-14). Praise His name!
One with our Master, sharing His throne, yet this is not a place to be selfishly grasped. "But whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:26-28).
Jesus gave the most marvelous illustration for the proper attitude of His servants, in Luke 22:27. "For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he that sits at table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves." Ah, consider this the next time that God provides you with an opportunity to share of the living Word. Perhaps with your neighbor as you visit out in the yard-- you are the servant, they are as the guest sitting at meat (the table), you have the lowly position, they are the honored ones. That is the balancing attitude for our servant ship, even though we are to reign as kings and priests unto our God. That is new covenant humility!
"His servants shall serve Him: And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads." (Revelation 22:3-4).
There will be no divided allegiance. There will be no divided interests-- His, and theirs. For His name, His character, all that He is shall be fully written in their foreheads. "I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people." (Hebrews 8:10).
Not only are the first fruits of the new covenant generation called a SEED, and called a SERVANT, but they are also referred to as "Mine elect." The word literally means: to be chosen. And never is the operation of NEW COVENANT GRACE seen more clearly, than when it comes to God's choosing a people for Himself. "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy." (Romans 9:15-16).
We are chosen-- not because of anything in us, no merit, no desirableness, for we all have "sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Nevertheless, in mercy He says, "You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." (John 15:16). He blinds whom He blinds, and He chooses whom He wills, not on a whim, nor with caprice, but in infinite wisdom, as He works all things together after the counsel of His own will, and with a view towards the goal when ultimately "in Christ shall ALL be made alive." Praise His name!
Called a seed, called a servant, called His chosen, they are also spoken of as "an INHERITOR of My mountains." The Hebrew word for "inheritor" is "yarash" meaning: to occupy, be in possession; and holds within it the thought of driving out any previous tenants, so as to possess their place.
How clearly this new covenant inheritor is seen fulfilling this role, in Revelation 12:7-8, 10. "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. - And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ (His anointed ones)..."
The Lord has His ANOINTED ONES who are ascending! And there is a realm that is descending, for verse 9 reads, "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." God shall have an INHERITOR of His mountains, driving out any previous usurper of that domain. Thus, "The saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever." (Daniel 7:18). Praise God!
These "inheritors" are not like that one who said, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." (Isaiah 14:13-14).
Such self-aspiration, self-exaltation, self-promotion will never be found in God's NEW COVENANT PEOPLE. They will never be driven by feverish acts of their own will to try and raise themselves to a more rarified atmosphere. They will never be motivated by the competitive drive of this world, dragging another down as they seek to elevate themselves. They will never desire the chief seats to be recognized and admired by others. They will never seek to escape the issues at hand, and drift away in fantasy on a pink cloud, nor seek to dull their senses with even a religious ecstasy of soulish emotion. Nor will they try to be "god" and always have the last word, etc. for this whole spirit of "I WILL" shall be thoroughly purged out, and their one all-consuming prayer, from every fiber of their being, remains, "not my will, but Yours, be done." Amen!
But while there is no SELFISH GRASPING, there is a mountain to be inherited. "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King." (Psalm 48:2). Will mount Zion be inherited? YES! For, "I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father's name written in their foreheads." (Revelation 14:1). They have not arrived here through self-effort, but through HIS GRACE. For He "has raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ." (Ephesians 2:6).
It is true, "The good news of the kingdom is being preached, and every one strives violently to go in - would force his own way, rather than God's way into it." (Luke 16:16, Amplified). Many see the blessings of the new covenant, and the kingdom of God, and they would try and FORCE THEIR OWN WAY into it. They become violent to fulfill their self-motivated desires. However, every usurper will be cast out. "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted, shall be rooted up." (Matthew 15:13).
Yet how beautifully Jesus stated it: "Blessed are the meek: for they shall INHERIT the earth." (Matthew 5:5). There is a meekness which is essential in all of our inheriting-- for the gifts are freely given by God, through His grace, and to be received with a grateful heart, and thanksgiving unto Him.
So we have-- a seed, a servant, a chosen, an inheritor. But there is one more word which deserves our attention, THE CLUSTER. This is not the whole harvest, this is but that first-ripe cluster of grapes that belongs to the CHOICE VINE. He is that Vine, the new covenant belongs to that vine, and there is a cluster which is also identified with that choice vine. Praise God!
"From the precious vintage rip'ning is the first fruits cluster rare.
And the blessing bides within it of the changing blood and air.""As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it." (Isaiah 65:8).
The first time the word "cluster" is used in the Scripture is in Genesis 40:10, at the time Joseph was in prison, and the butler told Joseph a dream, for him to interpret. In the dream was a cluster of grapes, "and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup." The point we are after is this illustration of a cluster of grapes-- not a great amount, just enough to be pressed into a cup. But it also betokens the glory of the NEW WINE that shall be forthcoming in all its reality.
We also notice that it was PRESSED into the cup. God's first fruits company of the new covenant order are truly being---
"Pressed out of measure, and pressed to all lengths,
Pressed so intensely it seems, beyond strength;
Pressed in the body and pressed in the soul;
Pressed in the mind till the dark surges roll.
Pressure by foes, and a pressure from friends;
Pressure on pressure, till life nearly ends.Pressed into knowing no helper but God;
Pressed into loving the staff and the rod.
Pressed into liberty where nothing clings;
Pressed into faith for impossible things.
Pressed into living a life in the Lord,
Pressed into living a Christ-life outpoured."
(Louise S. Pridgeon)A CUP to drink! Jesus asked them, "Are you able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto Him, We are able." And then He said, "You shall drink indeed of My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with..." (Matthew 20:22-23). But it is one thing to talk about "drinking the cup" and quite another thing in the actual experience, as we share "the fellowship of His sufferings." Yet we read that "He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink all of it." Did you notice that wording? He took it, AND GAVE THANKS! Can we also GIVE THANKS while we share with Him the cup, and give our life as an offering of the choice vine cluster.
"Will you be poured out as wine upon the altar to Me?
Will you be broken as bread to feed the hungry?
Will you be so one in Me that I may do just as I will
To make you life, and light, and love, My Word fulfill?""But I say unto you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." (Matthew 26:29). He drank a cup with man, and promised there would be a day when man would drink WITH HIM, of that NEW WINE, in His kingdom, sharing the New covenant. Then all the former things will have passed away. "He takes away the first, that He may establish the second." Amen!
Though there is a drinking of the "cup of suffering" now, we rejoice to know that we shall yet drink of that NEW WINE of His kingdom, to share with Him all of its glorious reality. We now belong to the CHOICE VINE, and though at this time there is but a CLUSTER-- in due time there shall be a full harvest.
There's new wine in the cluster, and we have caught the scent,
A first fruit generation that's onward, upward bent.
With man He was partaker, He shared with us the cup,
A painful, blest communion. In suff'ring yet we sup.
But He has promised new wine, to in His kingdom share,
A holy generation that shall His image bear.
Yet first we are His servants, acknowledge Him as Lord,
Our will in His becoming, obed'ent to His Word.
A seed, yea, His anointed, to by His Spirit live,
That out of His great blessing to others we can give.
Elect, fully His choosing, an act of sovereign grace,
Laid hold of for becoming anew creation race.
All that we are, and shall be, past ages have concealed,
But look we for the dawning when all shall be revealed.
Redeemed from earth's corruption, loosed from its vanity,
To find our satisfaction in His reality.Contents - Part 13 - Spirit of the Word -
Covenant Eschatology - Introductory Note - New Stuff
Preface
1 - He Takes Away The First
2 - God Was In Christ
3 - Ending The Stone Age
4 - God's Commandments Are Promises
5 - Jesus, The New Covenant 'Yes'
6 - With Shoutings Of Grace
7 - A New Covenant Spirit
8 - A New Covenant Generation
9 - New Covenant Security
10 - A New Covenant Name
11 - Embracing The Choice Vine
12 - New Wine In The Cluster
13 - In That Day
14 - Kingdom Of The New Covenant
15 - Beholding--Near And Afar Off
16 - Summary