What is the symbolism of wine in the Bible?
Introduction
Wine has profound spiritual meanings in the Bible.
From the Old Testament to the New Testament, the Bible highlights various significance of wine.
For example, wine is a crucial ingredient in the offering offered to the Lord.
Also, Jesus used wine to teach spiritual truths and lay the foundation for some practices in Christianity today.
Keep reading this article if you want a spiritual perspective of wine using a biblical lens.
The Symbolism of Wine in the Bible:
Holy Spirit
“Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18)
Wine in the Bible signifies the Holy Spirit, the perfect and superior alternative to the satisfaction people seek in bottles of wine when in misery or finding happiness.
While wine makes you drunk and ruins your life, the Holy Spirit fills you with joy, peace, and boldness.
Acts 2:1-15 exemplifies this truth after the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles of Christ.
The Bible records that the Holy Spirit activated the gift of new tongues and the ability to speak diverse languages in the apostles.
The people couldn’t understand the bizarre experience and concluded that the apostles were full of new wine (Acts 2:13).
However, Paul spoke with boldness, denying that they were drunk on natural wine but on God’s Spirit that has empowered them to prophesy, see visions, and dream dreams as prophesied by the prophet Joel in the Old Testament.
As a result of Peter’s sermon, three thousand souls were won for Christ that day.
Therefore, wine represents the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which empowers and emboldens believers.
That is why Ephesians 5:18 recommends the infilling of the Holy Spirit as against physical wine.
Newness
“Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:17)
Jesus speaking here, presents a parable able the wine and wineskin.
Jesus said a new wine is poured into an old wineskin; it breaks because an old wineskin is overstretched and lacks elasticity. However, a new wine is preserved in a new wineskin because it has the capacity to expand as the wine ferments.
The new wine represents Jesus’ new ways, teachings, and doctrine, which is quite different from what the religious teachers and leaders were accustomed to.
So, to receive the salvation and life Jesus offers, one must get rid of the old order, mindset, and life.
Any attempt to mix them will lead to disaster.
The Good News of Jesus Christ is the new wine.
This Good News is a package of blessings, healing, salvation, breakthrough, and victory. But to receive it, you must be transformed.
You must be born again and have a new heart (new wineskin) to accept it and prosper.
The blood of Jesus
“Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:27-28)
Another symbol of wine in the Bible is the atoning blood of Jesus. Jesus used wine to represent His blood and bread to represent His flesh at the Last Supper with His disciples before His crucifixion.
The wine, which stands for Jesus’ blood, represents His ultimate sacrifice on the cross for the cleansing and forgiving of our sins.
Jesus commanded us to take the Holy Communion to remember His sacrifice and celebrate the gift of salvation we have received.
Joy and celebration
“Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; For God has already accepted your works.” (Ecclesiastes 9:7)
What is a celebration without good wine and food? That will be like going to the cinema without a movie showing.
The Bible recommends a good wine for celebration.
We must understand that the Bible does not promote drunkenness, fiasco, or provocative celebration.
Scriptures have warned us to practice moderation and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23, Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Corinthians 9:25).
So, the Bible’s recommendation for wine usage for celebration is not a license to sin.
That being said, wine symbolizes merriment, rejoicing, and celebration.
A good example is the wedding in Cana, where Jesus was a guest.
The wine was served, and Jesus turned water into wine when their reservoir ran dry.
Divine provision
“Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine.” (Genesis 27:28)
Still about wine and celebration, and Jesus’s first miracle: turning water into wine, wine symbolizes divine provision.
Jesus was a guest at a wedding in Cana where His mother, Mary, was also present.
Unfortunately, the wine finished while many guests haven’t been catered to.
This could cause great embarrassment. Mary, who knew her Son had divine powers, pleaded with Jesus to intervene to salvage the situation.
Jesus accepted after pleading and turned jars filled with water into wine. It was recorded that Jesus’ wine tasted better than the one they previously had (John 2:9-10)
So, when God blesses you and your family with wine, He is rolling away embarrassment and blessing you with a divine gift at the right time you need it.
Therefore, wine represents a timely divine provision, leading to the end of lack and disgrace.
Connection to Christ
“He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” (John 6:56)
Jesus is the source.
Without Him, we are nothing.
Acts 17:28 describes this connection to Christ perfectly. “For in Him we live and move and have our being.”
His blood, also represented as wine, connects us to Jesus.
His blood or wine brings us to union with Jesus.
We become one with Him like a bride and bridegroom are joined to become one by the marriage covenant.
John 15:1-6 uses the analogy of the vine and its branches to paint the picture of our connection and relationship with Jesus.
Spiritual productivity
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Jesus is the true vine.
He is our source of life and spiritual nourishment to produce fruit.
These fruits are highlighted in Galatians 5:22-23, including love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness, self-control.
However, when talking about spiritual productivity, the vine and branch were used, an obvious reference to where grapefruits for wine come from.
The physical representation of these spiritual fruits is grape fruits used for making wine. Therefore, wine is a symbol of spiritual productivity.
Anyone connected to Jesus Christ, the vine, bears fruits. However, those disconnected dry up and die eventually die.
Salvation
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” (Isaiah 55:1)
Another symbol of wine in the Bible is the free gift of salvation. Isaiah 55:1 beckons on those poor in spirit, those who lack the capacity to save themselves, to come to buy free wine.
The verse calls upon them to drink and eat and be filled.
Those who drink from the cup of wine Jesus offers receive His blood that washes one of all sins and presents them holy and acceptable before God.
Also, the wine, which symbolizes the Holy Spirit, fills them with power and boldness to do God’s work.
They will be empowered to preach the Gospel and win souls like Peter did after the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Wine in the Bible as Medicine
“No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.” (1 Timothy 5:23)
The Bible also gives us insight into the unique use of wine in the past.
We see Paul recommending wine to his protegee, Timothy, to cure his stomach pain and infirmities.
This shows the use of wine as medicine and treatment for sickness.
It is unclear if there were specially processed wines with herbal mixtures that served as medicine, but the Bible clearly mentions wine as medicine for physical illness.
Proverbs 31:6-7 as a temporary treatment for mental and emotional distress and pain. “Give wine to those who are bitter of heart. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.”
As such, wine also serves medicinal purposes in the Bible and helps people clear their minds during heartbreaks and emotional pains.
Use of wine vs. wine abuse in the Bible
Although wine has significant spiritual meanings in the Bible, and it encourages its use for merriment, Holy Communion, and treatment, believers must understand that there is a thin line between the wise use of wine and drunkenness.
We must not cross.
We must know when we are using or abusing wine to not sin against God and cause health and other problems for ourselves.
Two people in the Bible show the negative impact of wine abuse on one’s life and the dangers of lack of self-control.
One was Noah and Lot.
After the flood, Noah indulged himself in wine. He became drunk to the point that his cloth fell off his body (Genesis 9:21).
Unfortunately, his younger son, Ham, saw his nakedness – a taboo in the old days. Noah realizing this, placed a curse on Ham’s descendant in Genesis 9:25.
Another instance of the danger of wine abuse or drunkenness is found in Genesis 19:30-38. Lot and his two daughters had just escaped the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and settled in the mountains of Zoar.
His mischievous daughters thought they couldn’t get any men to marry them, so they connived and gave Lot wine until he was drunk, and they both slept with him and had children for him.
So, we must know where to draw the line when using wine to avoid sin or do something we regret for the rest of our lives.
Some negatives symbolism of wine in the Bible
Lack of self-control
The Bible in Ephesians 5:18 and Proverbs 20:1 show us that wine abuse shows a lack of self-control.
And those who cannot control their appetite for wine will be subject to mockery in society and fall into various sins and wicked acts.
A sign of poverty
The Bible also presents the love of win as an express lane that leads to poverty (Proverbs 21:17, Isaiah 5:11-12).
Drunkards are rarely in their right sense.
They do not make the right decisions in business and family matters. Therefore, they are also two steps ahead into poverty.
The hangover from wine abuse makes one sick and weak to engage in any creative activity or hard work.
Meaning a wine abuser is also lazy. And the Bible says those who do not work become poor. That’s the rule of life.
A sign of the flesh
Drunkenness is one of the fruits of the flesh (1 Corinthians 5:11, Galatians 5:21).
Those who abuse wine are prone to evil. And the Bible says they shall not see the kingdom of heaven.
That is why God made provision for the Holy Spirit, pouring like wine from above and empowering believers to subdue and conquer the flesh and produce fruits of the spirit.
A sign of God’s judgment
When wine stops flowing, it’s a sign of God’s judgment in a person’s life. It shows that God is cutting off one’s source of life, blessings, and sustenance.
When the prophet Jeremiah was professing God’s judgment upon Moab, he said, “And from the land of Moab; I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses; No one will tread with joyous shouting—Not joyous shouting!” (Jeremiah 48:32-33).
So, another effect of experiencing God’s wrath is that joy and celebration go away because wine is a vital ingredient for celebration, as we have earlier said.
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David Akeju is a Christian writer who believes in the transformational power of God’s Word. His articles and books have been published on global platforms, and thousands of lives have been touched. He works with pastors and ministers, churches and ministries, and brands.