“Water Turned Into Wine”
We cover the first “miracle” of Christ in this study. The word translated as miracle in our Bibles is from the Greek word “dunamis” or Strong’s G1411. Dunamis is primarily the word for POWER as it is most often translated. All the miracles depict the power of the Lord at work in the lives of His people. This outward miracle of water being turned into wine is also the first inward miracle the Lord works within us that brings us into faith [believing upon Him] and thus begins our being transformed by grace into the kingdom of God.
Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
The entire scriptures are written in parable using spiritual language and dark sayings to hide the meaning of the Scriptures and keep all but the chosen few in darkness. Here is just one of the many witnesses to this truth.
Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Ears to hear and eyes to see are indeed a blessing only the Lord can give that comes to very few in the appointed times (Mat 13:16, Mat 22:14). Another layer of the Lord’s cloaking is that it’s not just the words but the events themselves that are done in parables.
Mar 4:11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
Let’s keep these truths in mind as we search for the application and spiritual significance to us of the Lord’s actions. Here is this event, both a parable and a miracle as foretold in the Gospel of John.
Joh 2:1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
Joh 2:2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
Joh 2:3 And when they [the disciples] wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
Joh 2:4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
Joh 2:5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
Joh 2:6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
Joh 2:7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
Joh 2:8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
Joh 2:9 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,
Joh 2:10 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.
Joh 2:11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
Let’s begin by noting that this miracle takes place on the third day after John the Baptist tells [us] of the coming of the Lord, the one who comes after him. We are gathered to Christ on the first day (John 1:35-40) and then on the second day, all the disciples begin to walk with Christ and were told of the many miracles and great things to soon come (John 1:43-51). These three days symbolize our entire walk, the entire process with Christ that culminates at the wedding feast on the third day. It is at this wedding where we begin to eat and drink with Him in the kingdom of God. This is our day of perfection when we partake of the true bread of life and the new wine and are being raised up to new life with Christ.
Luk 13:32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.
Hos 6:2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Christ shows us in parable that eating his body and drinking His blood was the wine [faith and grace] of the new testament, the essence of eternal life. New life comes only by death and that is what the living waters do when our time and hour for judgment is come when grace and truth meet us.
Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
We are raised to life through death as we drink with our Lord in His kingdom within us (Luk 17:21). The gathering of the disciples and the mother of Jesus at this wedding feast represents “the day of the Lord” when we begin to eat of His flesh and drink of His blood [the wine, the cup of His indignation against our flesh. i.e. the scourging grace] the very things necessary to die to death [the second death] in order to live with Christ.
Joh 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
This gathering at the wedding in Cana [meaning “the branches”] is the gathering together of the church who are also the disciples of the Lord and collectively known as His mother and the brethren.
Mat 12:49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
Mat 12:50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
This first parable foretells of things that are not yet (Rom 4:17) as Christ reveals His secrets to His prophets (Amo 3:7) beforehand.
Joh 2:3 And when they [the disciples] wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
Joh 2:4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
This feast is a shadow of us being gathered with Christ. As His disciples, the Lord puts into us zeal and desire to know Him and seek His ways. That is how we are drugged to Him. That is what the wine will bring about and why we are given a desire to drink it at first not knowing the judgment it entails. The wine the Lord serves is the faith of Christ which is far more than just knowledge of the Scriptures. Drawn disciples want to know Him not know about Him. This gift only comes and grows by eating His body and drinking of His wine [His cup].
Water is a symbol for the Word of God but is differentiated from wine. Wine denotes the cup of the New Testament, also known as the cup of wrath of God against all our flesh and sins that we must drink to enter into the Kingdom. There is no escaping our drinking this cup of wine (Jer 25:28) it is the one baptism of fire by which we are saved in the times appointed.
Mat 20:23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with…
The law and the prophets bring us to a point but they do not convert us. To be transformed, faith is needed that brings with it the grace and truth that will save us. When the living Christ is come, then the water is turned into wine and we grow in understanding which is transforming and healing us.
Mat 13:15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Turning water [knowledge of the scriptures] into wine [knowing the Lord in spirit and in truth] symbolically is what happens in the day of the Lord in the hearts and minds of every man. It is by going through “this hour” that the spiritually dead are risen and come to know the Lord receiving the great reward of His mind and His holiness.
Joh 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Christ’s time or “hour” had not yet come as He answered His mother as the 3.5 years of walking and preparing His disciples was not finished. Later when His time to suffer drew nigh, the Lord tells us what to expect when He comes again in Spirit and in Truth and meets us again in the kingdom of God within.
Luk 22:14 And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.
Mat 26:27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
Mat 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Mat 26:29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. [the kingdom within you]
It is during this hour of judgment that we will be healed of all our spiritual infirmities and come to know the truth casting out all lies and defiling spirits of Spiritual Babylon (Luk 7:21, Rev 18:10). This hour is the hour of our dying the Second Death as our Lord led the way.
Joh 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. [and how is that accomplished]
Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
It is this judgment, this scourging grace that comes with our faith that is the word in action that becomes wine. This wine makes the new man merry as we rejoice more and more as Christ is revealed in us.
Psa 104:15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.
Zec 10:7 And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.
It is the Lord’s angels (aka His Messengers, the very Elect) who preach the everlasting gospel (Rev 14:6) and bring the wine to the gathered disciples. The purpose of this wine is proclaimed by these same angels.
Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation [the wine of the gospel]; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
The instructions of Christ to the servants to bring forth new wine is instructive when we can see with spiritual eyes.
Joh 2:6 (NKJV) Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.
Joh 2:7 (NKJV) Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
Joh 2:8 (NKJV) And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.
The six stone vessels represent us in our carnal unconverted state. The six vessels like the number six symbolize man and specifically man’s flesh (666). We are likened unto stones, hard-hearted and it is by this miracle of destruction by the Word [i.e. judgment, every stone is thrown down – Mat 24:2], that we are being made new and become the lively or precious stones (Rev 21:19) that make up the wall of the great city spiritual Jerusalem.
1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Our unconverted vessel is first filled with the water representing the Word of God. That water is then converted into wine that brings about the destruction of death within us and the remaking of a new vessel or temple.
Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Two or three firkins (KJV) or “twenty or thirty gallons” as the NKJV translates, speaks to the differences in measures of faith between the unique vessels that comprise the Body of Christ. Everyone gets the same water of the Word yet the measures of faith and what we can bear in manifold temptations and trials are different as determined by God.
Rom 12:3 (NKJV) For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Rom 12:4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,
When we [each stone vessel] are filled to the brim with the Word of God, there is no room left for any lies (demons) to return and take root. This is how a vessel of stone is sanctified and prepared for every good work.
Joh 2:9 (NKJV) When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.
Joh 2:10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
The master of this feast is you and me in our immaturity and lack of understanding of the ways of the Lord. Until we ourselves draw of these living waters and drink this wine, we will not understand the ways of God until we ourselves begin to serve it to others. The flesh and our carnal mind prefer the old wine of the law that has us responsible for our salvation and being justified by our own works. What flesh wants to be a slave and dependent upon the Lord for all things?
Luk 5:37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.
Luk 5:38 But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.
Luk 5:39 And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”
A new vessel is needed for the new wine and the wine itself will bring that new vessel forth! The new wine of the gospel is the best wine because it is what is saving us as we drink it and put to death our carnal mind and learn to walk by faith. Learning to drink this wine is part of the patience of the saints and how we are brought to the place to seek it knowing the death it works against our old man is bringing forth the blessing of God our new man.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die [the second death] in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
Our being filled with this new wine is the beginning of our walking by faith embracing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith, belief has now come!
Joh 2:11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.
The first outward miracle Christ performed is also the first inward miracle Christ performs in the kingdom of God within us. Being filled with the knowledge of the Word that washes us, is then followed by that same water being turned into wine when our hour of judgment is come [the coming with fire].
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
It is through the water and the fire that we are given our reward and become rich in heavenly things.
Psa 66:10 For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried [in the fire]
Psa 66:12 Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place.
The coming of Christ to us twice is revealed in hidden parable by first filling the stone vessels with water and then secondly transforming that water into wine. The Lord begins preparing us from this very first miracle for service in His kingdom preaching the gospel unto all the world within and without.
Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
This miracle within us (Mar 4:11 – all things are done in parable) is what brings us into true faith when we actually believe in the Lord. With this belief, thus, begins our day of salvation with is likened unto a thousand years [2Pe 3:8] and which will culminate in the greatest blessing of all time as we are being made partakers of His Holiness by drinking the wine (Heb 12:10-11).
Joh 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Joh 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
Joe 3:18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
Drinking the wine of the gospel is what gets us beyond knowledge and brings us into true understanding and intimacy with our Lord where we love Him.
Eph 3:19 And to know the love [obedience] of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
The end of the miracle is that the disciples begin to follow Christ as He did not stay still but began moving through all the cities and towns within Israel in the kingdom of God within you and me.
Joh 2:12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.
Having been served this wine of the gospel, we are becoming spiritual wine stewards ourselves in service to Him. Bringing the gospel to the rest of the dead within and without (i.e the Gentiles). The spiritually dead have never tasted of this new wine that is the very best the Lord makes. Yet a day, the last days for each, will come. Faith will be followed with grace (wine) and all the dead (Gentiles) in the earth will be sanctified.
Rom 15:16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.
We as the army of the Lord, speak the words of fire to those prepared to hear which is the same as serving our hearers a cup of wine that is working righteousness in them.
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress [wine] of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
There are much more details and instructions on how we are to properly eat and drink in the kingdom of God and consume this wine.
1Co 10:21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.
There are indeed different tables and cups of wine and we best not mix the two up. Lord willing those can be topics for future studies.
Sincere comments and questions are always welcome. You can also email me directly at peterjwilson56@gmail.com
