Little known bible characters 3 - Trophimus - by Elizabeth Prata

Excerpted from here. Our comments in bold.

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We have not had occasion to comment on Ms. Prata for some time, something that gladdens our hearts. This could only mean that she has maintained a degree of sensibility. 

Up until now.

This excerpt is an aside she inserted into her article, unrelated to the topic she was writing about. But because the desire to refute charismatics is always present, she take a tangent to make sure we know she doesn't believe in the gift of healing.

Ms. Prata asks a legitimate question, why Paul didn't heal Trophimus, but she didn't ask it to gain information. Cessationists like Ms. Prata don't like the idea that the Holy Spirit would move supernaturally in our contemporary churches. So they create doctrines out of thin air based on speculation about what the Bible doesn't say.

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The third time we read of Trophimus is when he had become too sick to travel. Paul had to leave him in Miletus. (Here's the verse:

2Ti. 4:20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. 

It's just too much trouble for these Bible teachers to quote the Bible, apparently.)

As a side note: IF the miracle gifts (ALL spiritual gifts are miraculous. All are endowments of special abilities by the Holy Spirit.)

had still been ongoing, why didn’t Paul just lay hands on his friend so he could continue the mission? (Ms. Prata makes her argument from a lack of information. However, we do not form doctrine based on what is not written. 

Ms. Prata assumes that Paul didn't heal Trophimus because he couldn't. She makes this assumption based on her doctrine, not from the testimony of Scripture.

Because Ms. Prata is speculating we are also free to speculate, since we also do not know what happened. We shall offer some plausible alternatives. For example:

• Paul might have had a falling out with Trophimus 
• Paul might have wanted to heal Trophimus but the Holy Spirit forbade it
• Paul might have actually healed Trophimus but he was still too weak to travel
• Paul might have not even seen Trophimus while in Miletus
• Trophimus might have stayed behind because he had another assignment after he gained his strength back

Absent additional biblical information, our speculations are just as valid as Ms. Prata's.)

Why doesn’t the verse say “Trophimus was sick in Miletus but I laid hands on him and by grace of God he used me to heal my friend.” Or something to that effect. 

2 Timothy was written in 64/65 AD, and the sign gifts were well and truly dying out by then. (Again Ms. Prata argues from silence. She wants to make a doctrine out of what's NOT written.

By the way, there are no such things as sign gifts. Neither the concept nor the phrase appear in the Bible.)

They were for a sign to authenticate the Apostles (No they weren't. There is no Bible verse that tells us this.)

and since it was nigh on 30 years since Jesus had departed and at least 20 years since the first NT book was written, the need to authenticate the ministers of God was lessening by the day. (There is no Bible verse that tells us this. In fact, quite the opposite. 

The Corinthian church was questioning Paul's apostolic credentials. They accused him of being bold when he was away from them and timid in their presence [2Co. 10:1]. They didn't like the way he spoke [2Co. 11:6]. Through most of chapter 11 and 12 of 2 Corinthians he tells them his credentials. 

He then wrote about these "super apostles" they preferred, telling them he was no less an apostle [2Co. 12:11].  Then, astonishingly, he reminded them of the miracles he did! Remember, Ms. Prata wants us to think that miracles authenticated the apostles. But Paul was pressed to defend himself AFTER performing miracles. 

The miracles did not serve to authenticate him.

Further, perhaps Ms. Prata might tell us which apostle was being authenticated here:

Ja. 5:14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.

Ac. 6:8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.

Further, was Ananias an apostle when he healed Paul? 

Was the man in Mark 9:38 an apostle?

Was the Corinthian church composed of apostles? [1Co. 12:7-11]

This is a common claim made by cessationists, that the miraculous authenticated the apostles' ministry. It's truly astounding to us that they cling to this claim with absolutely zero biblical evidence.)

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