Hilltop Community Church of Richmond, California

Use of Alcohol at Hilltop Community Church

Why Hilltop Community Church advocates abstinence concerning the use of alcohol, tobacco, and narcotics (drugs)? Why not allow moderation?

First Corinthians 6:19, 20 has historically been held in high regard by holiness and Pentecostal Christians. "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." This and other passages warning against drunkenness have been considered sufficient reason for advocating complete abstinence from the use of alcohol, tobacco, or narcotics. Not only is the human body the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is not to be defiled; but there are other reasons for complete abstinence: (1) contemporary society is plagued with the destructive consequences of these three addictive substances and (2)even moderate use of the substances, especially alcohol and drugs, leads too often to destructive addictive habits.

Alcohol

The Scriptures speak often of the destructive power of alcohol. Noah’s drunkenness brought shame to his family (Gen. 9:20-27). Lot’s drunkenness resulted in an incestuous relationship with his two daughters (Gen. 19:30-38). An inebriated Xerxes sought to humiliate Queen Vashti publicly (Est. 1:9-22). The consumption of alcohol impairs judgment, inflames passions, and invites violence (Lev. 10:8-11; Prov. 20:1, 23:29-35, 31:4,5).

Alcoholism and the depression associated with it often leads to a breakdown of moral inhibitions, indiscreet or violent behavior, or loss of consciousness (drunkenness). Long-term drinking can terminally damage liver, pancreas, brain, or heart. Binge drinking on university campuses has caused instant death. It is estimated there are 14 million problem drinkers in the United States. Half of the fatal automobile accidents are caused by alcohol-impaired drivers. The annual cost of alcohol-related accidents, illness, violent crime, and loss of work time is estimated to exceed 100 billion dollars.

Illegal Drugs

Though drug use is not specifically mentioned in the Bible, its impact on the drug user and on society far exceeds the evil results of alcohol abuse. The addictive nature of certain drugs is so powerful that a single episode can hook an individual for life. Furthermore, the irreversible physical damage to one’s organs and mental capacities makes drugs extremely dangerous. The greatest danger is the all-consuming control of one’s life, constantly interrupting one’s focus on work and destroying personal relationships and spiritual well-being. Beyond the personal toll of drug addiction is the disastrous burden placed on families and society.

Alcohol and illegal drug use are well documented factors in domestic violence, road and work rage, child abuse, suicide, and a variety of other socially destructive behaviors. Alcoholism and drug addiction present a national crisis threatening to destroy the fabric of our society.
Tobacco

While smoking and chewing tobacco does not impair one’s judgment nor carry many of the relational side effects of alcohol and illegal drugs, tobacco has now proved to be a primary health concern. Yet young people year after year are becoming hooked on the habit through effective ad campaigns that deceptively associate smoking with maturity and popularity.

For many years the surgeon general of the United States has warned society of the dangers of smoking, even to the point of forcing tobacco companies to place the warning on their products. But not until the casualties of mouth and lung cancer and addiction to tobacco began to increase did people take the warning seriously. When it became evident that non-smokers were becoming victims of diseases caused by inhaling second-hand tobacco smoke, then society began mounting major opposition to the use of tobacco. While medical studies in recent years have shown conclusively that smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, the church has opposed the use of tobacco because it is a habit that is harmful to a Christian’s testimony as well as to a Christian’s body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

With these realities about alcohol, tobacco, and drug use, the argument for abstinence is well established. The Christian is called to a higher standard of self-control and self-denial concerning those things not beneficial to his physical and spiritual well being. To argue for any level of "moderate use" of alcohol, narcotics, or tobacco is to be insensitive to the weight of Scripture and the present perils of our society. Christians realize the pressing need for a pure testimony before our world. As the apostle Paul said, "I urge you . . . in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:1,2).

Concerns:

The use of alcohol, narcotics, and tobacco mentioned above exact a heavy toll, not only on the addicted person, but also on all of society. Drug abuse can make an addict incapable of being a productive individual in the larger society, thus increasing the financial burden on the rest of society. Medical treatment for injuries and illnesses caused by the addictions further consumes resources that could be put to much better use. And as drug abuse often leads to criminal activity, society pays a double cost in added insurance and law enforcement costs. We call upon all of society to fight these addictive substances used by Satan to keep individuals in bondage to his power over their lives.

For Further in depth study see remaining article.

Probably the most concise yet through study on the use of wine in the Bible is found in the Full Life Study Bible published by Zondervan and copyrighted by Life Publishers International in 1992.

Wine in the Old Testament

Numbers 6:3 (NIV)
3 he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or from other fermented drink. He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.

Hebrew Words for Wine

In general, there are two Hebrew words that are translated as “wine” in the Bible. (1) The first and most common word is yayin, a generic term used 141 times in the Old Testament to indicate various kinds of fermented or unfermented wine (see Neh. 5:18, which speaks of “wine [yayin] of all kinds”). (a) On the one hand, yayin is applied to all kinds of fermented grape juice (see Ge 9:20-21; 19:32-33; I Sa 25:36-37; Pr 23:30-31). The tragic results of using fermented wine are described in various places in the Old Testament, notably Pr 23:29-35 (see next section).
            (b) On the other hand, yayin is also used for the sweet unfermented juice of the grape. It can refer to fresh juice as it is pressed from grapes. Isaiah prophesies, “No one treads out wine [yayin] at the presses” (Isa.16:10); likewise Jeremiah says, “I have stopped the flow of wine [yayin] from the presses; no one treads them with shouts of joy” (Jer 48:33). In fact Jeremiah even refers to the juice still in the grape as yayin (see Jer40:10, 12). Further, evidence that yayin at times refers to unfermented juice of the grape is found in Lamentations, where the author describes nursing infants as crying out to their mothers for their normal food of “bread and wine” (La 2:12). The fact that unfermented grape juice can go by the term “wine” is supported by various scholarly studies. The Jewish Encyclopedia (1901) states: “Fresh wine before fermentation was called yayin-migat [wine of the vat] (Sanh, 70a).” Also the Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971) attests to the fact that the term yayin was used to refer to the juice of the grape in several stages, including “the newly pressed wine prior to fermentation.” The Babylonian Talmud ascribes to Rabbi Hiyya a statement concerning “wine [yayin] from the press” (Baba Bathra, 97a). And in Halakot Gedalot it is said, “One may press out a cluster of grapes, since the juice of the grape is considered wine [yayin] in connection with the laws of the Nazirite” (cited by Louis Ginzberg in American Jewish Yearbook, 1923, pp. 408-409). For a discussion of oinos, the NT Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word yayin, see articles on Wine in the New Testament Times below (1) and (2).

            (2) The other Hebrew word translated “wine” is tirosh, a word meaning “new wine” or harvest wine.” Tirosh occurs 38 times in the Old Testament; it never refers to fermented drink, but always to the unfermented fruit of the vine, such as the juice that is still in the grape cluster (Isa 65:8) or sweet juice from newly harvested grapes (Dt 11:14; Pr 3:10; Joel 2:24). Brown, Driver, Briggs (A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament) states that tirosh means “must, fresh or new wine”; The Jewish Encyclopedia (1901) says that “ ‘tirosh’ includes all kinds of sweet juices and must, and does not include fermented wine.” Tirosh has “some good in it” (Isa 65:8); fermented wine, however, “is a mocker” (Pr 20:1) and brings drunkenness.

            (3) In addition to these two words for wine, there is another Hebrew word that occurs 23 times in the Old Testament and often in the same context –shekar, usually translated as “beer” (e.g. 1 Sa 1:15) or “fermented drink” (e.g., Nu 6:3). Some scholars say shekar most often refers most often refers to a fermented drink, perhaps made from palm juice, pomegranates, apples, or dates. The Jewish Encyclopedia (1901) suggests that when yayin was distinguished from shekar, the former was a form of fermented drink diluted with water whereas the latter was undiluted. At times, however, it can refer to a sweet satisfying unfermented juice (Robert P. Teachout, “The Use of ‘Wine’ in the Old Testament,” Th.D, dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminar, 1979). Shekar is related to shaker, a Hebrew verb that can mean “to drink freely,” in addition to “to make drunk,” In most instances, it is best to understand that when yayin and shekar are used together, they form a single figure of speech referring to intoxicating beverages.

Old Testament Perspective on Fermented Wine

There are various places in the Old Testament where the use of yayin and shekar as fermented beverages is condemned.

            (1) The Bible first describes the evil effects of intoxicating wine in the story of Noah (Gen 9:20-27). He planted a vineyard, harvested it, made intoxicating wine from the grapes and drank from it. Doing so led to drunkenness, immodesty, indiscretion and the family tragedy of a curse placed on Canaan. During Abraham’s time intoxicating wine was a factor in the incest that led to the pregnancies of Lot’s daughters (Gen 19:31-38).

            (2) Because of the corrupting potential of alcoholic drinks, God commanded all priests of Israel to abstain from wine and other fermented drink during their time of ministry. God regarded the violation of this command sufficiently serious to warrant the death penalty for the offending priest (Lev. 10:9-11).
            (3) God also revealed his will concerning wine and fermented drink by making abstinence a requirement for all who took the Nazirite vow.

            (4) Solomon’s God –given wisdom led him to write: “wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise” Pr 20:1 (this verse describes the nature and potential evil of fermented drink. Note that the intoxicating drink itself is condemned along with its effect. (a) Wine as “a mocker” frequently leads to disdain for what is good. (see also Pr 9:7-8; Pr 13:1; Pr 14:6; Pr 15:12) Alcoholic beverages as “a brawler” often cause disturbances, hostility and conflict in families and society. (b) Wine and intoxicating drinks are labeled a mocker and a brawler regardless of the quantity used. (c) “Whoever is led astray” into thinking that intoxicating beverages are acceptable, good, healthy, or safe when taken moderately ignores Scripture’s clear warning found in Proverbs 23:29- 35. “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights and your mind imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. "They hit me," you will say, "but I'm not hurt! They beat me, but I don't feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?"

The Nazirites and Wine

Nazirites were expected to declare that any Israelite should live on as high a level of separation and commitment to God as they themselves did. Numbers 6:2 speaks of a special voluntary vow and the person taking the vow was to be an example of total devotion to God that comes from the heart and is expressed in self-denial, a visible profession and personal purity. The Nazirite’s complete devotion serves as an example of what every Christian should seek to be. God gave them clear instructions concerning the use of wine. (1) Nazirites were to abstain from “wine and other fermented drink” (Nu 6:3; Dt.14:26) in fact, they were not permitted to eat or drink any product made from the grape, either in liquid or solid form. Most likely God gave this command as a safeguard against the temptation to use intoxicating drinks and against the possibility of a Nazirite drinking alcoholic wine by mistake (Nu 6:3-4). God did not want a totally devoted person to be exposed to the possibility of intoxication or addiction (Lev 10:8-11; Pr 31:4-5). Thus, the highest standard put before God’s people with respect to alcoholic beverages was total abstinence (Nu 6:3-4).

(2) Drinking alcohol often leads to various other sins (such as sexual immorality or criminal activity). The Nazirites were to eat or drink nothing that came from the vine in order to teach them that they must avoid sin and anything that borders on it, leads to it, or tempts one to commit it.

(3) god’s standard for the Nazirites of total abstinence from wine, and fermented drink was ridiculed and rejected by many in Israel during Amos’s day. This prophet stated that the ungodly “made the Nazirities drink wine” (Am 2:12). The prophet Isaiah also declared, “Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions. All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth” (Isa 28:7-8) This occurred because these leaders refused God’s high standard of total abstinence (Pr 31:4-5).
(4) The essential spirit of Naziritism—i.e., total concecration to God and his highest standards—is a demand placed on the believer in Christ (Ro 12:1; 2 Co 6:17; 7:1). Abstinence from anything that might draw one into sin, stimulate a desire for harmful things, open the way to drug or alcohol addiction, or cause a brother or sister to stumble is as necessary for the believer today as it was for the Nazirite in Old Testament times (1 The 5:6; Titus 2:2).

Wine in the New Testament

Luke 7:33-34
33        For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'
34        The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." '
(NIV)

Wine: Fermented Or Unfermented?

The following is an examination of the most common Biblical word for wine. The Greek word for “wine” in Luke 7:33 is oinos. Oinos can refer to two distinctly different types of juice of the grape: (1) unfermented juice, and (2) fermented or intoxicating wine. This is supported by the following data.

The Greek word oinos was used by secular and religious authors in pre-Christian and early church times to refer to fresh grape juice. (see Aristotle, Metereologica, 387.b.9-13). (a) Anacreon (c. 500 B.C.) writes, “Squeeze the grape, let out the wine [oinos]” (Ode 5). (b) Nicander (second century B.C.) writes of squeezing grapes and refers to the produced juices as oinos (Georgica, fragment 86). (c) Papias (A.D. 60 -130), an early church father, mentions that when grapes are crushed they yield “jars of wine [onios]” (cited by Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 5.33.3-4). (d) a Greek papyrus letter (P. Oxy. 729; A.D. 137) speaks of “fresh wine [oinos] from the treading vat” (see Moulton and Milligan The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, p. 10). (e) Athenaeus (A.D. 200) speaks of a “sweet wine [onios]” that “does not make the head heavy” (Arthenaeus, Baquet, 1.54). In another place, he writes of a man gathering grapes who “went about, and took wine [oinos] from the field” (1.54). For more detailed discussions on the use of oinos by ancient writers, see Robert P. Teachout, “The Use of ‘Wine’ in the Old Testament” (Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1979).

The Jewish scholars who translated the Old Testament into Greek about 200 B.C. used oinos to translate several Hebrew words for wine (see article on Wine in the Old Testament). In other words the New Testament writers undoubtedly knew that oinos could be either fermented or unfermented juice from the grape.

As with secular and religious Greek sources, an examination of New Testament passages also reveals that oinos may mean either fermented or unfermented wine. In Ephesians 5:18 the command, “do not get drunk on wine [onios],” refers to alcoholic wine. One the other hand, in Revelations 19:15 Christ is pictured as treading the winepress. The Greek test read: “He treads the winepress of the wine [onios]”; the oinos that comes from the winepress would be grape juice. In Revelations 6:6 oinos refers to grapes on the vine as a crop not to be destroyed. Thus, for believers in New Testament times, “wine” (onios) was a general word that could be used for two distinctly different grape beverages—fermented and unfermented wine.

Finally, ancient Roman writers have explained in detail various processes used in dealing with freshly squeezed grape juice, especially ways to preserve it from fermenting. (a) Columella (On Agriculture, 12.29), knowing that grape juice would not ferment if kept cool (under 50 degrees) and oxygen free, writes as follows: “That your grape juice may be always sweet as when it is new, thus proceed. After you apply the press to the grapes, take the newest must [i.e., fresh juice], put it in a new container (amphora), bung it up, and cover it up very carefully with pitch lest any water should enter; then sink it in a cistern or pond of cold water and allow no part of the amphora to remain above surface. After forty days take it out. It will remain sweet for a year” (see also Columella, Agriculture and Trees; Cato, On Agriculture). The Roman writer Pliny (first century A.D.) writes: “as soon as the must [grape juice] is taken from the vat and put into casks, they plunge the casks in water till midwinter passes and regular cold weather sets in” (Pliny, Natural History, 14.11.83). This method would have worked well in the land of Israel (see Deut. 8:7; 11:11-12; Psalm 65:9-13). (b) Another method to keep grapes from fermenting was to boil them into a syrup. Ancient historians actually referred to this product as wine (onios). Canon Farrar (Smith’s Bible Dictionary, p. 747) states that “the wines of antiquity were more like syrups; many of them were not intoxicant.” Also, The New Bible Dictionary (p.1332) notes that “there were means of keeping wine sweet all year round

Use of Wine in the Lord’s Supper

Did Jesus use fermented or unfermented grape drink when he instituted the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:17-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)? The following data support the conclusion that Jesus and his disciples drank unfermented grape juice.

Neither Luke nor any other Biblical writer uses the word “wine” (Greek onios) with regard to the Lord’s Supper. The first three Gospel writers use the “fruit of the vine” (Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 22:18). Unfermented wine is the only truly natural “fruit of the vine,” containing approximately 20 percent sugar and no alcohol. Fermentation destroys much of the sugar and alters what the vine produced; Fermented wine is not the product of the vine.

The Lord’s Supper was instituted when Jesus and his disciples were eating the Passover. The Passover law in Exodus 12:14-20 prohibited, during Passover week, the presence and use of seor (Exodus 12:15), a word referring to yeast or any agent of fermenting wine. Furthermore, all hametz (i.e., anything that contained any type of fermentation was forbidden (Exodus 12:19; 13:7). God had given these laws because fermentation symbolized corruption and sin (cf. Matthew 16:6, 1 2; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8). Jesus, the Son of God, fulfilled the law in every requirement (Matthew 5:17). Thus, he would have followed God’s law for the Passover and not used fermented wine.

A rather lively debate has taken place over the centuries among Jewish rabbis and scholars as to whether fermented products of the vine were allowed in the Passover. Those who held to a stricter and more literal interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures , especially Exodus 13:7, insisted that no fermented wine could be used on this occasion.

Some Jewish sources affirm that the use of unfermented wine at the Passover was common in New Testament times. For example, “According to the Synoptic Gospels, it would appear that on the Thursday evening of the last week of his life Jesus with his disciples entered Jerusalem in order to eat the Passover meal with them in the sacred city; if so, the wafer and the wine of…the communion service then instituted by him as a memorial would be the unleavened bread and the unfermented wine of the Seder service” (see “Jesus,” The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1904 edition, V.165).

In the Old Testament, fermented drink was never to be used in the house of God, nor were the priests allowed to draw near to God in worship while drinking intoxicating beverages. Jesus Christ was God’s high priest of the new covenant, drawing near to God for the sake of his people (Hebrews 3:1; 5:1-10).

The value of a symbol is determined by its capacity to conceptualize the spiritual reality. Therefore, just as the bread represented Christ’s pure body and had to be unleavened (i.e., uncorrupted with fermentation), the fruit of the vine, representing the incorruptible blood of Christ, would have been best represented by juice that was unfermented (cf. 1 Peter 1:18-19). Since Scripture states explicitly that the process of corruption was not allowed to work in either the body or blood of Christ (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27; 13:37), both Christ’s body and blood are properly symbolized by that which is uncorrupted and unfermented.

Paul instructed the Corinthians to put away spiritual yeast, i.e. the fermenting agent of “malice and wickedness,” because Christ is our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). It would be inconsistent with the goal and spiritual requirement of the Lord’s Supper to us something that was a symbol of evil, i.e. something with yeast

Wine in New Testament Times Part 2

John 2:11
11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.
(NIV)

Wine: Mixed or Full Strength? Historical data concerning the making and use of wine by the Jews and other nations in the Biblical world indicate that it was (a) often unfermented and (b) normally mixed with water. There are two other processes of dealing with grapes, preparatory to mixing them with water.

One method was to dehydrate the grapes, sprinkle them with olive oil to keep them moist and store them in earthenware jars (The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, V.882; see also Columella, On Agriculture, 12.44.1-8). A very sweet grape beverage could be made from these stored grapes at any time by adding water and steeping or boiling them. Polybius indicated that the Roman women were allowed to drink this kind of grape beverage, but were forbidden to drink fermented wine (see Polybius, Fragments, 6.4; Pliny, Natural History, 14.11.81).

Another method was to boil freshly squeezed grape juice until it became a thick paste of syrup (grape honey); this process made the juice storable, removed any intoxicating quality because of the high concentration of sugar, and preserved its sweetness (see Columella, 12.19.1-6 and 20.1-8; Pliny, 14. 11.80). This paste was then stored in large jars of skins. The paste could be used as a jam for bread or dissolved in water to make grape juice once again (The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, V.882-884). “It is probable that the grape was largely cultivated as a source of sugar: the juice expressed in the ‘wine press’ was reduced by boiling to a liquid…known as ‘grape honey’” (The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, V.3050). References to honey in the bible frequently speak of grape honey (called debash by the Jews) rather than the honey of the bee.

Water, then could be mixed with dehydrated grapes and with grape syrup, as well as with fermented wine. Greek and Roman authors gave various ratios that were used. Homer (Odyssey IX.208ff) mentions a ratio of twenty parts water to one part wine. Plutarch (Sumposiacs, III.ix) states, “We call a mixture ‘wine,’ although the larger of the component parts is water.” Pliny (14.6.54) mentions a ratio of eight parts water to one part wine.

Among Jewish people in Bible times, social and religious customs mandated never serving unmixed wine, especially if it was fermented. The Talmud (a Jewish work that describes the traditions of Judaism from about 200 B.C. to A.D. 200) discusses in several tractates the mixture of water and wine (e.g., Shabbath 77a; Pesahim 1086). Some Jewish rabbis insisted that unless fermented wine was mixed with three parts water, it could not be blessed and would defile the drinker. Others demanded that ten parts of water must be mixed with one part of fermented wine before it would be acceptable.

An interesting passage emerges in the book of Revelation: when speaking of “the wine of God’s fury” an angel declares that it will be “full strength”. It was so stated because the readers normally would expect all grape beverages to be mixed with water

In summary, the normal uses of wine by the Jews in Biblical days differed from today’s uses. The wine of old was (a) freshly squeezed grape juice, (b) preserved grape juice, (c) juice from dried grapes, (d) grape wine made from grape syrup and water, and (e) unfermented or fermented stored wine diluted with water at a ratios high as 20 to 1. If the wine was fermented and served unmixed, it was considered barbaric, defiling and incapable of being blessed by the rabbis. In the light of these facts, it is impossible to defend the modern-day practice of drinking alcoholic beverages on the basis of the Jews’ use of “wine” in Biblical times. Furthermore, Christians of Biblical days were even more cautious about the various kids of wines than the Jews.

Jesus’ Glory Revealed Through Wine.

            In his second chapter, John records that Jesus made “wine” out of water at a wedding at Cana. The question is, “What kind of wine?” As we have seen, it could be fermented or unfermented, full strength or diluted. We must determine our answer to this question by contextual implication and moral likelihood. The position of this study is that Jesus made wine (onios) that was pure unfermented grape juice. The following data supply strong rationale for rejecting the opinion that Jesus made intoxicating wine.

The primary object of this miracle was to reveal his glory (John 2:11) in such a way as to induce personal faith in him as God’s holy and righteous Son who came to save people from their sin (2:11; cf. Mt 1:21). To suggest that Christ showed his divinity as the One and Only Son of the Father (john 1:14) by miraculously creating gallons of intoxicating wine for a drunken party (note 2:10, which implies that the people had already drunk freely), and that this was immensely important to his Messianic mission, requires an irreverence few are willing to display. It would testify more to God’s honor, and the honor and glory of Christ, to believe that Christ supernaturally created the same juice of the grape that God makes annually through the process of his natural created order. This miracle, therefore, points to Christ’s sovereignty over the natural world and becomes a symbol of his power to transform sinful people spiritually into God’s children (John 3:1-15). Because of this miracle “we have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14; cf. 2:11).

It is contrary to Scriptural revelation concerning Christ’s perfect obedience to his heavenly Father (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22) to suppose that he disobeyed the Father’s moral command, “do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly: i.e., when it is fermented. (Proverbs 23:31), Indeed Christ came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17) and would have supported the Biblical passages that condemn intoxicating wine as “a mocker” and beer as “a brawler” (see Proverbs 20:1) and the words of Hab. 2:15, “woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it…till they are drunk (c.f. Lev. 10:8-11; Nu.6:1-5; Dt. 21:20; Pr. 31:4-7, Isa. 28:7; Am. 2:8,12; 4:1; 6:6; Ro. 14:13,21.

Furthermore, note the following modern medical evidence. (a) Leading medical experts have found unmistakable evidence that moderate alcoholic consumption is damaging to the reproductive systems of women of childbearing age, causing miscarriages and births of babies with incurable mental and physical defects. World authorities on early embryology maintain that women who drink even moderate amounts of alcohol around the time of conception (about a 48-hour time period) risk damaging the chromosomes of an egg preparing to leave the ovary and thus causing disastrous results to the mental and physical development of the infant. (b) It would be theologically absurd to maintain that Jesus encouraged the use of alcoholic beverages at a wedding that included many women as well as a young brined with the possibility of immediate conception. To maintain that he did not know of the potential terrible effects of intoxicating drink on unborn children is to call into question his deity, his wisdom, and his discernment of good and evil. To maintain that he knew of the potential harm and disfiguring results of alcohol, and yet promoted and encouraged its use, is to call into question his goodness, compassion and love

The only sound conclusion rationally, theologically and Biblically is that the wine Christ made at the wedding to reveal his glory was pure, sweet, unfermented fruit of the vine.