Hillsong Worship – New Wine

With 11 separate Hillsong reviews out of the way, I can safely say that I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Most of it has been good thus far; However, no artist is perfect.  Not even an artist whose popularity has surpassed Christian superstars such as Chris Tomlin or Michael W. Smith.

Somehow I’ve managed to avoid these two artists after this website started 13 months ago.  Any suggestions?  I’ve had a few people email me, asking why I have nothing from…

Oh, sorry about that, my ADD is kicking in!  I get easily distracted, much like the dogs in the movie “Up”.  Now, where were we?  Oh right, Hillsong.  I was going to review Hillsong Worship’s New Wine.  Before I lose my concentration again, let’s rush into it.

Speaking of Rush, I loved him when he first appeared in Megaman 3, that trusty red dog…

NOTE: For this particular review, I am interested in what the Bible teaches about New Wine.  Hillsong’s abhorrent usage as part of their Apostolic Church is something worth considering for anyone interested in their original intent.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.  I strongly encourage you to consider the potential blessings and dangers of this artist‘s theology by visiting Resources.

1. What message does the song communicate?

The core of this message is God’s transformative power to mold us from our old lives (the “old flames”), pressing and crushing us as we submit to His will into a new vessel, new wine that seeks to desire Him.  Through this transformative process, we become vessels for the Holy Spirit as He commands us to live a holy life.

I enjoy the poetic language offered using figurative language that most Christians will understand, combining theological thought in a cohesive whole, magnifying a single attribute of God, namely, molding sinners into saints.  However, there is a problem with Hillsong’s usage of “new wine”.  As I will explain in section 2, this is about a new covenant, not a new self.  It compromises an otherwise excellent message.

Score: 8/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

Overall, it is mostly Biblical, though with possible miscommunication on evading personal Biblical study and minor concern regarding a lack of explanation on the new power described.  There is also an issue with the beginning of the song in comparison to Scripture.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

In the crushing
In the pressing
You are making new wine

The end of the Chorus reveals the identity of “You” as Jesus.

My initial thought is that this imagery describes God’s discipline of His children to aid us in becoming better than we are, yielding the perfect fruits of righteousness (Hebrews 12:4-11).  Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 9:14-17, Mark 2:18-22, and Luke 5:33-39 regarding old/new wine, according to Gill’s commentary, is that the new wineskins are sinners saved by grace, vessels of righteousness regenerated by the Holy Spirit.  This is consistent with Hillsong’s point regarding new wine contextualized by the rest of the lyrics.

If the new wineskins are the vessels, then the new self must be the new wine (Ezekiel 11:19, Romans 6:1-7, Romans 8:12-13, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 5:16-18, Ephesians 4:22-24, Ephesians 2:14-16, Colossians 3:10, and 1 Peter 2:24).

Another common interpretation of “new wine” is that Jesus rejects Pharisaical teaching, ushering in a new religion of Christianity. This plays into the hand of the NAR movement. There are a few problems with this view:

1. Jesus didn’t have a problem with the teaching of the Pharisees. His issue was their behavior. For example, in Matthew 23:1-4, Jesus laid out the difference between the teaching of the Pharisees and their acts. He says to do as they say, but not as they do.

Side note: How many times have our parents told us that? At least, my parents did. But, children tend to do as their parents and often not what they say!

2. The larger context of this parable is in response to the Pharisees’ questioning why Jesus’ disciples do not fast and pray as the disciples of Pharisees and disciples of John the Baptist. Jesus responds that His disciples will fast and pray when He is taken from them. This is an Old Testament practice that Jesus does not reject.

Luke 5:39 specifically has been marinating within me.  This passage doesn’t show up in Matthew or Mark and seems to indicate that the wineskins are people. The person requires transformation before they stop saying “the old is good enough”, willing to drink new wine. So, the wineskin is the transformed life, not the wine itself.

This begs the question: what is this “new wine”? Jesus’ overarching message is to establish a new covenant, where there would be forgiveness of sins. This connects with wine in Matthew 26:27-28, Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 11:25, and Hebrews 13:20 and aligns with the Scriptures you provided. The promised Holy Spirit comes with the package, reiterated at the beginning of Acts 1 and begins to enter the disciples of Jesus post-ascension in Acts 2.

Therefore, the new wine is the new covenant and the new wineskins are vessels willing to enter into this new covenant with Jesus, prepared to receive the Holy Spirit. Then, Hillsong is on the right track, but incorrect in the usage of wine in their song. God has already made new wine, the new covenant, about 2,000 years ago. He is making new wineskins, prepared hearts that enter into this new covenant and receive the Holy Spirit.

This also means that Gills’ commentary is incorrect.

In the soil I now surrender
You are breaking new ground

Based on the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, and Luke 8:4-15, Christ uses changes the condition of the soil that enables us to surrender to His will, often through other people (John 4:38).

[Pre-Chorus]

So I yield to You and to Your careful hand
When I trust You I don’t need to understand

While biblical faith requires us to surrender and trust in Jesus, we must not become complacent and blindly follow without understanding.  The Scriptures command us to study to show ourselves approved, rightfully dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).  No, we do not need to understand everything; However, the wording here can dissuade from Scriptural study.

[Chorus]

Make me Your vessel
Make me an offering

Consistent with 1 Corinthians 6:19, under New Testament theology, our bodies are living temples housing the Holy Spirit.

Make me whatever You want me to be

That is, make me holy (Leviticus 11:44-45, Leviticus 19:2, Leviticus 20:7, Romans 6:1-14, Ephesians 4:1, Colossians 1:10-14, 1 Peter 1:13-16, and 1 Peter 2:16).

I came here with nothing
But all You have given me

Though we came into this world naked and with nothing (1 Timothy 6:7), Christ has given us the best thing: Himself.  This is summarized in the famous verse known as John 3:16.

Jesus bring new wine out of me

See commentary on Verse 1, lines 1-3.

[Verse 2]

In the crushing
In the pressing
You are making new wine
In the soil I now surrender
You are breaking new ground

Repeats Verse 1.

[Verse tag]

You are breaking new ground

Repeats final line of Verse 1.

[Bridge]

Where there is new wine
There is new power

Though not explained, the new power is the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) within the new covenant.  Though not described, the old power is human effort to obey God’s laws.  They don’t save us (Acts 13:39, Romans 3:20-21, Romans 4:13, Romans 9:32, Galatians 2:16, Galatians 3:10-13, and Galatians 5:4).

There is new freedom

Hillsong offers an explanation at the end of the Bridge.  The freedom here is a shift from slavery of sin to slavery of righteousness, eloquently summarized in Romans 6:20-22.

The Kingdom is here

That is, the Kingdom of God.  There are too many Bible passages to list here.

I lay down my old flames
To carry Your new fire today

See commentary in line 3.

Score: 6/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Those who are not Christians or understand basic Christian theology will be highly confused with all the imagery and “Christian-ese” thrown around.  They will probably understand this to be a Christian song given the word “Jesus” in the Chorus; However, not much else is offered that will aid unbelievers.  It is not their fault though; this song was not written with them in mind.  The issue with “new wine” mentioned in previous sections will probably not faze unbelievers much, but something that requires explanation.

Score: 4/10

4. What does this song glorify?

Outsider test notwithstanding, its beautiful, poetic text honors Christ in describing His transformative power; However, Hillsong’s misinterpretation of “new wine” snatches some of it away.

Score: 7/10

Closing Comments

Hillsong Worship’s New Wine is mixed (pun intended). Its poetic and beautiful lyrics shine through, using language that, unfortunately, only Christians and the astute unbeliever will understand. It is mostly biblical, with a disturbing misinterpretation of “new wine” that is more covenantal than Hillsong leads us to believe and impact God’s inherent glory. It compromises an otherwise powerful message exalting His methods to change lives from eternal separation to eternal life with Him.

For these reasons, I cannot recommend this song for corporate worship.

Final Score: 6/10

Artist Info

Track: New Wine (listen to the song)

Artist: Hillsong Worship

Album: There Is More (Studio Sessions)

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2018

Duration: 4:02

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

*Copyright © 2018 Hillsong Music Publishing (APRA) (adm. in the US and Canada at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Updates:

05/07/2021 – Per Artist Theology announcement, I expanded the red text to encourage others to study Hillsong’s theology.

02/21/2020 – After a lengthy email discussion with Nathan, I’ve changed my view on the meaning of “new wine”.  This alters my review score from 8/10 to 6/10.

10/14/2019 – Thanks to the challenge of commenter Binny, I realized that I did not provide Scriptural support for my interpretation of “new wine” and the vessel therein.  I added that to section 2, Verse 1.