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What We Believe and Why - Vol. II
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1982
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.

Chapter Twenty Six
Pure, Perfect, and Practical

INTRODUCTION: TEXT: Matthew 26:26-29

In continuing our study of why we use wine in the Lord's Supper, we shall consider the divine logic and sensibility of the practice.

III. THREE BASIC BIBLICAL ARGUMENTS LEAD US TO THE USE OF WINE IN THE LORD'S SUPPER.

A. Wine in the Lord's Supper presents an UNPOLLUTED PICTURE.

1. Already we have pointed out that the ingredient in the cup pictures the blood of Christ. Consider both Matthew 26:28 and I Corinthians 11:25-26.

2. We have furthermore pointed out that Christ's blood was pure and perfect.

a. I Peter 1:19 calls it the precious blood of Christ, "as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot."

b. John plainly said, "in him is no sin." (I John 3:5)

c. Remember also I Peter 2:22, II Corinthians 5:21, and Hebrews 7:26.

3. To properly picture the pure blood of Jesus Christ, the substance in the cup must be a pure ingredient, otherwise the picture is polluted.

a. An impure substance in the cup cannot properly picture the pure blood of Christ.

b. A pure substance in the cup is required to present an unpolluted picture of Christ's blood.

4. Any stage of the fruit of the vine short of wine presents a polluted picture.

a. It is only by the process of fermentation that the impurities of grape juice are completely removed.

b. Remember that grape juice is a leavened substance. It cannot rightly be called wine, "sweet" or "old." It is called "must." It contains numerous impurities. Encyclopedia Brittanica, under its discussion of wine chemistry says, "The surfaces of ripe grapes are covered with large numbers of yeasts, molds, and bacteria, including the true wine yeast: saccharomyces ellipsoideus. Grape juice would ferment with the aid of the wild yeasts...when fermentation is complete the wine is racked off or separated from the lees or sediment. This contains precipitated organic matter, yeast, and acid potassium tartrate (cream of tartar), which is less soluble in the presence of alcohol."

c. It is a documented and observable fact that grape juice is an impure substance. Even if it be cooked so as to kill the live bacteria in it, the bacteria, though dead, remain in the juice. The impurities of the juice still have not been removed.

d. In the chemical process of fermentation, these impurities are removed. They are not just killed. They are actually separated so that wine, the pure state of the fruit of the vine, can be "racked" or drawn off without any impurities. When fermentation brings about this separation in grape juice, the impurities settle to the bottom as dregs, or "lees" and wine is left sitting on top of this mass of impurities. That is what Isaiah is talking about in Isaiah 25:6 when he speaks of "wine on the lees." Metaphorically, this same picture is seen in Jeremiah 48:11 and in Zephania 1:12.

e. When the process of fermentation has completed itself, a total purge has been wrought in the fruit of the vine, and the resulting product, wine, is pure. This is what Deuteronomy 32:14 is speaking about when it speaks of "the pure blood of the grape." Nothing short of wine constitutes "the pure blood of the grape" or pure fruit of the vine. Yes, grape juice is the fruit of the vine, but it is not the pure fruit of the vine. Some people contend that since Matthew 26:29 mentions "the fruit of the vine" for the cup, as Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, He could have only been talking about grape juice. Such thinking is extremely shallow, for wine is just as much the fruit of the vine as grape juice is. The main difference is that wine is pure and grape juice is not. All of the arguments about grape juice being pure, about sweet wines, etc., cannot get around the fact that the impurities are still there. Only fermentation can produce the pure fruit of the vine.

5. Wine, being pure, can properly picture Christ's blood, and grape juice, being impure cannot. Wine presents an unpolluted picture of Christ's blood, and grape juice presents a polluted picture. Thus, here is extremely good Biblical logic for the use of wine in the cup in the observance of the Lord's Supper.

B. We have an UNQUESTIONABLE EXAMPLE which teaches us to use wine in the Lord's Supper.

1. The example is that of the Lord Jesus Christ.

a. Colossians 1:18 says Christ is "the head of the body, the Church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence." Folks, Christ is the example that takes priority above all other examples.

b. Peter said, "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow his steps." (I Peter 1:21)

c. Jesus Himself said, "I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." (I John 13:15)

d. If we can learn what Jesus Himself used when He instituted, or set up the Lord's Supper, then we will know what the right ingredient for the cup is, for we should surely follow His example. Jesus' example is the perfect example.

2. To institute the Lord's Supper, Jesus used the same food and drink that had been used in the Jewish celebration of the Passover.

a. In the celebration of the Passover, only unleavened foods and beverages could be eaten or drunken. On the night of the Passover, God told Israel to annually remember the Passover event with a feast. (Exodus 12:14) He said, "Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel." (Exodus 12:15) He continued in verses 18-20, "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread."

b. We are not left to speculate as to whether wine or grape juice was used in the observance of the Passover. As we have already proven, grape juice is full of leaven. It is not free of leaven until fermentation occurs and removes it, leaving wine. Since it was unlawful for Jews to have on their person, to have in their homes, or to consume anything leavened during the Passover celebrations, they could not drink grape juice. The only fruit of the vine lawful to them at that time was wine.

c. Now Jesus came together with His apostles on the night before His crucifixion, and He kept the Passover celebration. He told His apostles to tell a certain householder, "The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples." (Matthew 26:18) Jesus didn't come breaking the law. He came fulfilling it. He said in Matthew 5:17, "I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." If it was lawful to use only unleavened food and drink at the Passover, and it was, then Jesus used unleavened food and drink when He celebrated it. Since He used a beverage of the grape, (Matthew 26:29), that beverage had to be wine, for only wine is the unleavened beverage of the grape.

d. While Jesus was eating the Passover meal with His disciples, He took the bread and beverage of the Passover, and used them to institute the Lord's Supper. Matthew 26:26-27 says, "And as they were eating (the Passover [verses 18-19]), Jesus took bread (Passover bread) and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take eat; this is my body. And, he took the cup (the Passover cup which could only contain wine), and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it."

e. Some argue that the New Testament does not specifically say Jesus used wine in the Lord's Supper. That is true, but by the same token, it does not specifically say He used unleavened bread. However, in both cases, we know from Old Testament considerations that He used unleavened bread and drink.

3. It is not too difficult to ascertain what Jesus used in the cup of the Lord's Supper. He used wine, and the scriptures are explicit that we should follow His example. His is an unquestionable, perfect example. Thus, again the sensibility of using wine in the Lord's Supper emerges.

C. Furthermore, the use of wine in the Lord's Supper is an UNREBUKABLE PRACTICE.

1. Its use was practiced by the early churches of the New Testament.

a. This is seen in I Corinthians 11. Paul is discussing the observance of the Lord's Supper with the Corinthian Church, and he begins be commending them for keeping "the ordinances, as I delivered them unto you." (verse 2) Their offense was that they came together with divisions and offenses among themselves, and in the process made a meal of the Lord's Supper. (verses 16-22)

b. In the process of this abuse of the Lord's Supper, some of the Corinthians got drunk. (verse 21) Long arguments have been advanced about how the proper beverage of the grape for use in the Lord's Supper is a beverage that will not intoxicate. That certainly was not the case here in the scriptures. And, the fact that it wasn't lays those long arguments to rest. Here is a church whom Paul commends for using the right elements in the Lord's Supper, but then rebukes for their misuse of those proper elements. And the proper element in the cup made drunk those who consumed it. And that is what the proper element for the cup, wine, will always do, when over-consumed.

2. Now, in view of the fact that the Corinthians got drunk on what was in the cup, it is self evident that it was wine, and not grape juice. Thus, it becomes a scriptural conclusion to say that the churches of the Bible used wine in their observance of the Lord's Supper.

a. I Thessalonians 1:7 establishes the fact that the God approved practices of the early Bible churches are examples for us to follow.

b. Thus, since the early churches practiced the use of wine in the Lord's Supper, it becomes for us an unrebukable practice. It is a practical practice, especially in view of the fact that once fermentation is completed, wine is pure, and can easily be preserved for hundreds of years. Such is not true of grape juice. The natural bacteria and impurities therein make it difficult to preserve. They quickly bring about its spoilage or fermentation.

3. Some argue that wine is evil.

a. Wine is not evil. It is man that is evil. Truly, men do sometimes abuse wine, as did the Corinthians, but such evil does not lie in the inanimate object which has no mind and no morals. Such evil lies in the heart of him who misuses it.

b. True, wine can be tempting, just as money, sex and food can. But surely, no one can say there is something wrong with money, sex or food providing they are used in the proper way. Likewise, there is nothing wrong with using wine in the Lord's Supper, provided it is used the proper way.

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"