I understand you'd like to shift the burden of proof, but let's be clear on something. All I need to demonstrate is the frequent ambiguity of Scripture because every obscure passage reinforces our need for Direct Revelation to comprehend it reliably. After all, all of us are aware of one, and only one, potentially infallible expositor of the text - and that is Direct Revelation. Moving on.
In most epistles, Paul's general designation for believers is "the saints". And yet twice when referring to Timothy he writes like this:
"But you, man of God, flee from all this" (1 tim 6:11")
The Greek phrase for "man of God", per Meyer's commentary, "is mostly understood by expositors to denote those entrusted with the office of evangelist".
And in the OT, that phrase commonly designated a prophet.
And he also asks Timothy "to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands" (2 Tim 1:6). All Scripture is didactic according to 2 Tim 3:16-17, and that would include Acts. Epistles tell us doctrine, but Acts provides historical accounts ILLUSTRATING the practice of those doctrines. And what do we find there? What kind of gift was USUALLY, in those days, transferred via the laying on of hands? Spirit-inspired speech (prophetic utterance). He tells Timothy to preach the Word in and out of season. Evangelism is biblically defined as prophetic utterance, I myself have a couple of exegetical proofs on this idea (the links are in
point 7 of my summary of objections to Sola Scriptura).
The laying on of hands might for us, today, be a trivial ceremony, but when it was recorded Scripture, it was potentially a momentous event - ordination to leadership or prophetic ministry: Example
And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wise! om, for Moses had laid his hands upon him : so the people of Israel obeyed him, and did as the Lore! had commanded Moses (Deut 34: 9).
Indeed Moses transferred the Spirit of prophecy from his own body to 70 elders:
"Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again."
And thus:
"When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all" (Acts 19).
Here's a Wikipedia comment on Timothy:
"The Apostle Paul met him during his second missionary journey and he became Paul's companion and co-worker along with Silas. The New Testament indicates that Timothy traveled with Paul the Apostle, who was also his
mentor."
Does that sound like the average believer to you? Or does it have the earmarks of a Moses-Joshua relationship? Do you think that Paul traveled with, and personally mentored, just any old average believer? Consider this. When writing to the Corinthians, here is how Paul described his traveling companions:
"For it seems to me that God has put
us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena."
Ordinary believers - believers without any special anointing - were not expected to travel with Paul preaching the gospel and planting churches. Timothy was no ordinary believer.
So here's why the burden of proof falls on you. You advocates of Sola Scriptura want to adduce this passage as the bedrock of your position. And yet the epistle was written to a single individual !!! Not to any of the churches !!!
Again, here is what Paul commanded the church:
"Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual things, especially the gift of prophecy" (1Cor 14:1).
