I recall Peter in his letter saying people twist Paul's letters as the Rest of the scriptures to their own destruction. Peter vouched for Paul's letters as scripture.
That is a good catch.
While at 2 Peter 3:16 the original Greek word is "other", not "rest", it is a minor difference.
And Paul's "letters" are not capitalized while the word "Scripture" is, but that too is minor and not definitive.
So I resort to the writers own descriptions.
The original Greek word (theopneustos) for
"inspired" means "God breathed." So the question is
: Are the Greek texts a dictation form God?
In the book of Revelation we are told the the words written were dictated from the angel that Christ sent. (Re 1:1)
But that is the only book in the Greek scriptures to make such a claim.
Here is how Luke described his writing process
:
(Luke 1:1-4) Seeing that
many have undertaken to compile an account of the facts that are given full credence among us,
2 just as these
were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and
attendants of the message,
3 I resolved also, because
I have traced all things from the start with accuracy, to write them to you in logical order, most excellent The·ophʹi·lus,
4 so that you may know fully the certainty of the things that you have been taught orally.
[w82 2/15 p. 13] Luke here assures his readers that he is not proceeding on the basis of hearsay or mere oral tradition. Why? Since Luke evidently did not become a disciple while Jesus was on earth,
when Luke was preparing his Gospel he did careful research among “eyewitnesses.” Also,
he investigated contemporary records, ‘
tracing all things from the start with accuracy.’ This should build our confidence in Luke’s writings. But
how did Luke obtain his detailed information? At a certain point in its account of Paul’s travels, the book of Acts switches from the third person (“he,” “they”) to the first person (“we,” “us”). It is understood from this that Luke began to travel with Paul during his second missionary journey. (Acts 16:10) Evidently by accompanying Paul to Jerusalem at the end of the third journey, Luke would there have been able to
interview men and women who were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ ministry. (Acts 21:1, 7, 15-18) There Luke may also have
examined documents, such as those used in preparing the genealogy at Luke 3:23-38.
Luke "
composed" (manufactured, produced) the books of Luke and Acts himself. (Ac 1:1) He tells us that it was hard work and research that was the source of the information, not inspiration.
At Luke 1:1-3 Luke tells us that
the other Bible writers of his time had
also "
undertaken to compile an account of the facts." Yes, those "
eyewitnesses and attendants of the message...
resolved" to trace (investigate) "
all things from the start with accuracy." Their writings were also the result of effort and inquiry.
No investigatory work would be needed if they were inspired dictations.
Note that the book of John itself is entitled "
According to John". A longer title is also used
: "
The Good News According to John". The accounts recorded in that book are not according to Jesus, or the holy spirit, or even according to God, but the contents of that book are according to John. All four gospel accounts are named that way
: "
According to..."
Although the holy spirit did not dictate the Greek texts to its writers as they were writing them (with the exception of Revelation) the writers did have knowledge given to them by the holy spirit when they were anointed, and they shared that information with us in their writings. For instance, we know what Jesus prayed about in the garden of Gethsemane, not because the writers heard him praying, but no doubt because the holy spirit told them what he prayed about. (Lu 22:41-45)
Does that mean that the Greek scriptures were not influenced by God at all? No it does not! Much of the Greek scriptures
were influenced by information from God, when the writers were anointed with holy spirit. Here is what Christ said about it
:
(John 14:26) But the helper, the holy spirit, which the Father will send in my name,
that one will teach you all things and bring back to your minds all the things I told you.
When he said that the holy spirit would teach them
"all things", did he mean that the holy spirit would make them all-knowing? No.
Only what he (the holy spirit) heard did he pass on. (1Jo 2:27)
(John 16:13) However, when that one comes, the spirit of the truth, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak of his own initiative, but
what he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things to come.
Yes, everything that the holy spirit was told to pass on to the apostles, was passed on, leaving nothing out.
(1 John 2:27) And as for you,
the anointing that you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to be teaching you; but
the anointing from him
is teaching you about all things and is true and is no lie. Just as
it has taught you, remain in union with him.
But not everything in the Greek scriptures is information given to the writer by the holy spirit. At times the writer also included his own personal opinion, and deductions based on personal reasonings. Paul often did this.
(1 Corinthians 7:12) But to the others
I say,
yes, I,
not the Lord: If any brother has an unbelieving wife and she is agreeable to staying with him, let him not leave her;
(1 Corinthians 7:25, 26) Now concerning virgins, I have no command from the Lord, but I give
my opinion as one who had mercy shown him by the Lord to be faithful.
26 Therefore,
I think that it is best for a man to continue as he is in view of the present difficulty.
(1 Corinthians 7:40) But in
my opinion, she is happier if she remains as she is; and I certainly think I also have God’s spirit.
(2 Corinthians 8:10) And in this I give
my opinion: This is for your benefit, seeing that already a year ago you not only initiated the action but also showed your desire to do it.
Don't get me wrong about Paul. The following scripture alone proves that he was a far better man than i am
:
(1 Corinthians 4:12, 13) When insulted, we bless; when persecuted, we patiently endure;
13 when slandered, we answer mildly;
So apparently 2 Timothy 3:16 does not apply to the Greek scriptures because they were not inspired and dictated to the writers. Each writer merely wrote down what he understood, or thought to be true, or remembered from what the holy spirit taught him when he was anointed, in regard to spiritual understanding that is. The spirit did not have to teach the writers what they did while with Christ. They wrote those things from their own memory, which is why human error from imperfect memories caused some minor differences in the four Gospels. (e. g. Mt 8:5 vs Lu 7:3; Mr 6:8 vs Lu 9:3) Even their memory of what the holy spirit had taught them was not perfect. (e. g. Mt 3:17 vs Mr 1:11; Mt 27:3-10 vs Ac 1:18-19)
The writers of the Greek scriptures were imperfect men. (1Co 1:27) And although there may be slight variations between their writings, the overall message from the holy spirit is the same.