KelsayDL said:
Again, one should note the scripture Paul spoke of was the text of the OT. There was no such thing as the NT when paul wrote this LETTER.
He wrote a letter. That after hundreds of years somehow became holy inspired scripture. That was never the intent.
Not true.
Of course, as I stated in my last post, Paul did not have a clue that he was writing what would later become a part of the Holy Bible.
Paul, in 2 Tim. 3:16, was of course referring to the OT because there was no NT. He was writing what he thought at the time was a private letter between him and Timothy.
But your presumption that it was not inspired by God is just that. There is no scriptural basis for your surmising. The word "scripture" as is used in 2 Tim. means a holy document. Period. So if God says that it's holy, if He was the one who inspired it, then it is holy. It was not Paul's "intent," but God's intent.
When the Holy Bible as we have it today was canonized, by whoevr at whatever time in whatever version, they had to determine which was inspired by God and which not. Of course opinions would vary, because men vary. But what we have today in the "protestant" canonized scriptures is there because each Book was determined as being the inspired Word of God.
But we need not worry if this or that should have been canonized and deemed God-inspired. God has not decreed that Truth be established on the earth based upon just one "witness," on just the written Word.
Truth was ordained by God to be established on two or more witnesses.
As example, we know that there's an instantaneous, supernatural event of the New Birth, not only because implication of it is found in both the OT and NT, but because we who have have experienced it.
So we who were born from above have as one witness the day and time when we knew that we knew that we were made a new creature in Christ Jesus.
We have additional witness, or should have, each day as "His Spirit bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God."
Then as a third witness, we can go to the Word and find its Truth hidden among the scriptures.
Conversely, since God's Spirit has revealed all of this personally to us in our inner person, we can know that the NT Word of God was true, that there truly is a New Birth given instantly and miraculously from above.
Then, too, if we were to suppose that there was some error in the scriptures, perhaps even an entire Book that was not inspired by God, we can again know this through ongoing witnesses by God's Spirit.
The Holy Ghost is Himself to be our guide into all Truth, and He can be trusted to show us either error or confirmation in the Word.
In fact, there is not even anything in the Bible that clearly tells us that there's a New Birth given instantly. We who have, have had to deduce it from the various scriptures such as the personal testimonies in Acts. But such cannot be undeniably proven from the written Word alone. Doesn't matter, and in fact that's the Way God wants it (John 2:23-25). But we have the experience whereby we have known, and such cannot be
disproven by the written Word.
But of course there will always be those who seek to justify their disobedience, rebellion and deficiencies, and who will insist on what they do and limit God's Word in their lives to only that which they have already obtained and/or were able to feign. Likely for such, such will not know their error until the Day of Judgment, for they have hardened their heart against any attempts by the Holy Ghost to guide them into the whole counsel of God's Truth. Very sad; reality.
Being a believer for 22 years now, and speaking for countless others who have gone before me, we have tried and tested the whole counsel of God's Word, found it to be entirely true (except, of course, for minor errors in translations, and also a few insignificant discepencies from one "orig." manuscript to another), and have obtained the promise of eternal Life by being conformed by Grace into someone complying with the whole counsel of God's Word, which end is the Love of God perfected in our heart.
So man can tamper with my Bible all he wants to, if God allows, but I can not be fooled or deceived, for the Holy Ghost,
if I walk in Truth, will always guide me in Truth.
Also again:
"The keys to the Kingdom of Heaven" were given by Jesus to the Apostles, and they were given spiritual authority by the apostolic office to bind in Heaven that which they bind upon the earth, and to loose those keys to Heaven, in Heaven, by whatever they decreed loose in the earth.
The doctrines gaining entrance to Heaven were entrusted to the Apostles, so we can be certain that God would never have trusted them with such keys had He not also had the means whereby He could inspire what they would decree as being necessary to enter Heaven, whether in their speech or in their written words.
So we who do trust God and not the Apostles: He is able to send out His Word without it coming back void, even if he uses a donkey to do it.
See Matthew 16:17-19.
brother jim
to the living WORD
I want to see you all sanctified....HOW...by the WORD of GOD .... and I "pray" even your mind, body and soul be sanctified until the coming of our LORD... FAITH FILLED is [the WORD] that will do it... 1Thes. 5: 23-24
