1 Timothy 5:23

It is often interesting how divine healing as God's will is often "debunked" by those who do not believe. There are many passages which people use to come against it. One of them is 1 Timothy 5:23 where Paul instructed Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach's sake.

Before we are quick to jump into conclusion that Paul didn't manage to heal Timothy, we need to understand that in those days, water was often contaminated. It was a common thing since the days of Hippocrates. Contaminated water causes stomach issue.

Paul, in his wisdom, obviously recognised the cause of Timothy's ailment - the latter kept drinking contaminated water. Even if Paul healed Timothy, the ailment would come back because the latter just kept drinking contaminated water. It's a no brainer.

To prevent this from happening, Paul suggested Timothy to 'use' a little wine. The word 'use' in Greek means to 'employ' or to 'make use of'. In other words, Paul is saying, "Stop drinking only water. Employ/make use of a little wine - mix it into the contaminated water." This will kill the bacteria in the contaminated water. In fact, ancient Greeks and Romans usually drank their wine mixed with water for this reason. It's amazing how the wisdom of God way surpasses the discovery of medical science.

Having said that, if we supposed that Paul really didn't manage to heal Timothy (assumed by those who don't believe in divine healing as God's will), which cannot be proven in Scriptures, who are we supposed to walk like? Paul or Jesus? The answer is obvious. The model we are to represent is not Paul. It's Jesus.

When it comes to loving people, we are on the common page - "We must love others like Jesus loves." But when it comes to healing, "Oh we must follow Paul instead of Jesus..." Is that biblical?

Why don't we model after Paul? Because he is not the ultimate model. In fact, he and Barnabas had such a sharp argument over John Mark that they had a division. Was the division God's desire? Nope. Did God redeem the division? Yes. That's how most of epistles were written.

Jesus embraced Judas in ministry despite knowing that the latter would betray Him. This is why He said, "I have loved them to the very end." He is the true representation of Love and we are to walk like Him. Paul didn't embrace John Mark - and this was just one of his shortcomings. Why don't we fully follow after Paul's example of love? The answer is obvious.

In a nutshell... 

1) We can't conclude that Paul didn't heal Timothy. However, we know that Timothy could be continually drinking contaminated water. Hence, Paul gave the wise advice for prevention.

2) Even if Paul didn't manage to heal Timothy (not proven in Scriptures), Paul isn't our ultimate example. Jesus IS.

If we want to model after Jesus in love, then let us also model after Him in power.