Timothy was some kind of bishop. He had to manage leaders in the church:
17-18 Give a bonus to leaders who do a good job, especially the ones who work hard at preaching and teaching. Scripture tells us, “Don’t muzzle a working ox” and “A worker deserves his pay.”
19 Don’t listen to a complaint against a leader that isn’t backed up by two or three responsible witnesses.
20 If anyone falls into sin, call that person on the carpet. Those who are inclined that way will know right off they can’t get by with it.
21-23 God and Jesus and angels all back me up in these instructions. Carry them out without favoritism, without taking sides. Don’t appoint people to church leadership positions too hastily. If a person is involved in some serious sins, you don’t want to become an unwitting accomplice. In any event, keep a close check on yourself. And don’t worry too much about what the critics will say. Go ahead and drink a little wine, for instance; it’s good for your digestion, good medicine for what ails you.
As the Spirit was moving in the church, one could think that the Spirit would do some kind of magic. For instance, whenever a leader were falsely accused, the accuser would be killed by the Spirit. When Timothy, as a bishop, were ill, then no need for medicine: the Spirit should heal him.
However, reading this passage, I thought that this advice had a lot of common sense as if there were no kind of magic in the church.
We, human beings, are subject to the Lord rules and many rules are to be applied equally to all mankind. The Lord wants that his people love Him and love each other. Love is an alignment of our heart with the Lord's heart. This alignment make us think and take actions, as for instance, take medicine when ill, or to judge others with no partiality.
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